The Role of Local Communities in Revising National Action Programs to Mitigate Drought, and Prevent and Combat Desertification: Lessons from Romania

Abstract

An important task of signatory parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) declared “affected countries” is to adopt a National Action Programme (NAP). After limited implementation of the 2000 NAP, and while confronted with the severe drought of 2007, a decision was made to proceed with its revision. A decision making process based on stakeholder participation assumes the consequent reduction of enforcement costs and enhanced effectiveness of the political programme. Another assumption is that UNCCD has an essential social component, as the decrease in agricultural production represents a great concern for rural communities in drylands. Questionnaires meant to grasp the position of local communities on drought and desertification were therefore instrumental in NAP revision. After being completed by a significant and representative number of mayoralties throughout the country, they were analysed at a centralized level. An important result of this approach was that it gave local communities key information, so they could have a thorough understanding of the processes. In addition, they seem committed to mitigation measures, by means of consistent contributions in kind and money. The exercise of NAP revision revealed several shortcomings which may be extrapolated for policy making on cross-cutting issues. First, the realization was made that the political profile of NAP relates closely to the severity of the natural phenomenon and its impact. Second, bringing together a multitude of potential stakeholders incurs transaction costs, adding to those already required for technical expertise. Last, actions proposed within an NAP may overlap with those of related programmes, such as climate change mitigation/adaptation and water management, entailing a need for synergetic action.