Thematic Areas: Poverty Reduction, and Energy and Environment

|Project Document|
|Annual Report 2007|
|Progress Report Quarter 1 2008|
|Progress Report Quarter 2 2008|
|Progress Report Quarter 2 2008 Annex 1 AWP|
|Progress Report Quarter 1 2007|
|Progress Report Quarter 2 2007|
|Progress Report Quarter 3 2007|
|Annual Report 2006|

[Last Updated July 2008]

Project Start Date: January 2006
Project End Date: December 2008
Project Location: MRRD, Kabul
Status of the Project: Ongoing
Partners: Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development MRRD

The National Area-Based Development Programme (NABDP) is a programme run by the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD), through the National Implementation Modality of UNDP. NABDP aims to promote urgent recovery and longer-term development in identified priority areas of rural development, while building the government capacity to lead and coordinate participatory approaches to development across the country. Building on the achievements of Phase I (2002-2004/5), the NABDP Phase II (launched in February 2006) continues to contribute to the reduction of poverty and improvement of livelihoods in Afghanistan. It is intended to serve as a key coordination mechanism to bring together key government and UN-supported programmes in the area of rural development, so as to maximize its impact. In the current phase, a greater focus is given to institutional development, capacity building, and inter-sectoral coordination at the regional and provincial levels to engage a wider audience, and promotion of regional and local economic regeneration activities. Structurally, NABDP Phase II is implemented through the following five main components with expected outputs:

1. Community Empowerment: Participatory and consultative mechanisms established at district/ provincial level resulting in an integrated rural development planning process.
2. Economic Regeneration: Capacity in the MRRD/Government is enhanced allow the formulation and regular updating of comprehensive regional economic regeneration policies & strategies, and identification of viable interventions for economic investment, poverty reduction and livelihood improvement.
3. Institutional Development: Institutional capacity and technical capabilities of MRRD and strategic partners are strengthened to fulfill its mandate of promoting rural regeneration and improved livelihoods.
4. Implementation Support: MRRD’s implementation capacity is strengthened, private and public resources mobilized, and implementation arrangements among partners/ and stakeholders are coordinated to deliver rural infrastructure projects.
5. Rural Energy: The Energy for Rural Development Afghanistan (ERDA) component has been initiated with specific objectives of government and community capacity development, policy review and piloting demonstration projects on rural & renewable energy. In the last quarter, ERDA has begun assessing microhydro project sites in Bamiyan and Badakhshan provinces and providing policy support to MRRD’s rural electrification programmes.

With MRRD as the lead implementing partner, UNDP provides support through financing the core programme management team and channels investment funds also to other UN implementing agencies.

Achievements:

Community Empowerment:

• District Development Planning: District Development Assemblies (DDAs) have been established in 306 districts in all 34 provinces to ensure community consultation and participation in the comprehensive rural development process. In these districts, DDAs have formulated their District Development Plan (DDP) which lists their priority projects. In order to improve the capacity of local communties to manage their development, the Community Empowerment unit is currently running training courses in subjects such as project management, gender, conflict management and disaster management.
• Provincial Development Planning: In all 34 provinces Provincial Development Plans (PDPs) have been formulated, taking into account the District Development Plans (DDPs), for this a handbook was developed to guide each team which is continuously updated.
• ANDS Sub-National Consultation (SNC) process: MRRD/NABDP had been entrusted to lead this process as a result of the Afghan Development Forum held in April 2007. SNC, conducted from June to August 2007 across the country, was done to identify development priorities of respective communities which further should be taken into consideration for provincial development planning in line with national strategies. The selection of MRRD/NABDP as a driving force of the SNC process is a sign of recognition of its community empowerment expertise and notable achievements.

Economic Regeneration:

• As a follow-up to the comprehensive country-level analysis on Regional Rural Economic Regeneration Strategies (RRERS), which identified potential rural enterprise sectors in various provinces, sector-specific business plans were developed for Balkh, Bamiyan and Herat provinces. These are currently being implemented by several Facilitating Partners (FPs) with the aim of improving the sector value chains, raising business profits and creating rural employment opportunities.

• Under the Border Province Stabilization project, the Economic Regeneration unit has been cooperating with Afghanistan Rural Enterprise Development Programme (AREDP) to support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in seven border provinces. Business Development Specialists will provide support to SMEs through support to business planning and the provision of grants and training. The lessons learnt from this project will provide useful input developing future strategies for AREDP’s support to SMEs in Afghanistan.

Institutional Development:

• Technical assistance was provided to directors of MRRD departments to draft the MRRD Strategic Intent (SI) Implementation Plan for 1386-1388.
• The Institutional Development (ID) unit has continued to support the MRRD Strategic Advisory Team, which provides advice to the Minister on the restructuring of MRRD departments and programmes. As part of this work, the ID unit is assessing MRRD’s human resource allocations to ensure that each department has a sufficient number of staff with the appropriate skills.
• ID unit staff continue to review the PCM process of several of the Ministry’s Departments, including HR, Rural Infrastructure Technical Service (RITS), Community-Led Development Department (CLDD), and the Rural Livelihoods & Energy Department (RLED).
• Project Cycle Management workshops have been held for provincial MRRD staff in every region.
• ID unit staff are supporting the development of the Afghanistan Institute for Rural Development (AIRD) and the MRRD Capacity Development Department.

Implementation Support:

• As of July 2008 NABDP has completed 371 rural infrastructure projects, while 352 projects are ongoing. The ‘Kandahar Model’ of contracting project implementation and security out to DDAs and CDCs has proven very successful in implementing projects in areas previously thought too insecure for development work, and is now being expanded to other provinces in the southern region. • Technical support units (TSU) have been set up in six regions. Each unit has in average eight qualified engineers who assist in the identification and surveying of projects. These TSUs do not only serve NABDP, but also other MRRD national priority programmes.
• The TSU in Kandahar has been upgraded to an MRRD regional office and has been delivering intensified support to the reconstruction efforts in Kandahar, Helmand and Uruzgan. Over 3000 projects have been identified in these provinces, which are being implemented as funding becomes available.
• The Implementation Support Unit (ISU) of NABDP has completed the NABDP Operational Guidelines on Project Cycle Management.
• The Disbandment of Illegally Armed Groups (DIAG) and Counter Narcotics Trust Fund (CNTF) activities are also managed by ISU on behalf of MRRD. NABDP has also assisted the ministry’s Water, Sanitation and Irrigation Programme (WATSIP) and National Rural Access Programme (NRAP) in fundraising and management

Future Priorities:

• Community Empowerment: Participatory and consultative mechanisms to be further strengthened at the district (DDA) and provincial (PDC) level to ensure grassroots engagement in an integrated rural development planning and implementation processes. Training modules in subjects such as project management, gender and conflict resolution are being piloted with selected DDAs.
• Economic Regeneration: Niche sector rural enterprises will be developed in Bamiyan, Balkh and Heart, while new and existing SMEs will be given assistance in Kandahar, Nangarhar, Badakhshan, Kunar, Paktia, Ghazni, and Nimruz. The ER component will continue to support the development of AREDP at the policy and project implementation levels.
• Institutional Development: Although continuing to support the growth of institutional capacity and technical capabilities within MRRD, the Institutional Development unit will increasingly focus on enhancing the development delivery process at the provincial and district levels, including work on building the capacity of DDAs.
• Implementation Support: ISU will continue supporting and strengthening the MRRD’s capacity in regard to project implementation, particularly with other national programmes such as NRAP and WATSIP, and work to mobilize private and public resource. Links with other ministries, development partners and communities to manage integrated rural development projects will be maintained, and ISU will also work on specific projects designed to support national initiatives such as DIAG and CNTF.
• Energy for Rural Development in Afghanistan (ERDA): As an initial step, four pilot microhydro projects will be implemented in Bamiyan and Badakhshan provinces, and 100 biogas plants set up in Nangarhar. ERDA will also build capacity for coordination, project identification, planning, implementation, monitoring and sustainable operation of energy systems and services at different levels of governance, and develop policies and strategies on renewable energy in Afghanistan.

Partnerships and Resources:

Target Budget: USD 164 million
Received Budget: USD 135 million
Shortfall: USD 29 million
Current Donors: UNDP, CIDA, Belgium, Japan, UNHCR, USA, UK, Norway and Netherlands

Focal Points:

Jamie Graves, Programme Manager (jamie.graves@mrrd.gov.af)
Moqamuddin Siraj, Programme Officer (moqamuddin.siraj@undp.org)

More Information: www.mrrd.gov.af/NABDP