Greater Mekong Subregion

Capacity Building for Promoting Sustainable Development in the GMS (TA No. 6198)

Overview

During the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, the GMS countries committed through Agenda 21, to pursue an integrated policy to achieve sustainable development objectives, i.e., mutually reinforcing economic development, social equity and environmental conservation. Chapter 8 of Agenda 21 called upon countries to develop national sustainable development strategies (NSDSs).

The Rio Conference recommended that the NSDS process be built into existing social, economic and environmental policies and plans. Over the last decade the GMS countries have formulated many policies and programs related to economic growth, social welfare and environment conservation, but acknowledge that a better coordinated and formalized relationship between their planning and environment institutions is needed to build on existing processes and to produce more viable strategies.

Given commitments to Agenda 21, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI) made during the 2002 Earth Summit, each GMS country needs to develop an NSDS by 2005.

Objectives and Scope

The purpose of the TA is to build the capacity of GMS countries to integrate social, economic and environmental objectives into existing planning mechanisms for sustainable development (SD) on both national and subregional levels. Outputs include the following:

1. diagnostic assessment of existing policies, strategies, planning mechanisms and capacities
2. consultations and training workshops for stakeholders on integrating SD objectives into existing policies/ strategies
3. country-specific guidelines for preparing the NSDSs
4. country-specific guidelines, including institutional frameworks for public participation in integrated planning processes
5. institutional framework for subregional planning mechanism on environment
6. report on establishing indicators for evaluating regional SD planning
7. report on using SD planning to help GMS countries meet their MDGs
8. subregional SD strategy to provide vision, goals and targets for SD in GMS

Methodology and Key Activities Implementation

Methodology and Key Activities

Several consultative and training workshops will be held to develop guidelines and build capacity for integrating environment into economic planning. International and local consultants will work with governments and stakeholders to develop generic guidelines on national SD planning and related participatory mechanisms, provide in-country training to stakeholders, and develop country specific guidelines for national SD planning.

Participating countries will initiate a process to establish a multi-stakeholder structure following specific guidelines. The process of developing guidelines and a system for NSDS will include reviewing policies and strategies relating to economic, social and environment, assessing the scope of integrating principles of SD into existing strategies, and developing a strategy planning framework.

The process of developing guidelines and a system for subregional SD strategy will include developing a mechanism to identify common and transboundary issues and analyze key challenges and their links with global and national levels.

Implementation Arrangements

ADB will be the Executing Agency, and a Steering Committee (SC) composed of GMS country representatives, ADB and UNEP will be established. The TA Secretariat will be established at the UNEP Regional Resource Center (RRC) in Bangkok. The TA will be completed in 2 years, from November 2004 to September 2006.

Project Cost and Financing ($ 000)

Status

Ongoing.

For detailed information on the project, write to the GMS Unit (ADB) at the following e mail address:

gms@adb.org