Shared Resources, Joint Solutions
Securing International Public Goods through Advocacy and Lobby
Securing International Public Goods through Advocacy and Lobby
The Shared Resources, Joint Solutions (SRJS) program is a partnership between the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Union for the Conservation of Nature, Netherlands (IUCN NL), and World Wildlife Fund, Netherland (WWF NL) under the ‘Dialogue and Dissent program of the Dutch Government. The program will run from 2016 to 2020.
The long term goal of the SRJS program is a secured ecosystem-based International Public Goods (IPGs), water provisioning, food security and climate resilience for improved livelihoods. To achieve this goal, the program will support Civil society Organizations (CSOs) to lobby and advocate for the adaption and implementation of sustainable policies and practices by communities, business and government. It will also support advocacy for creation of enabling policy legal environment that support the security of IPGs.
The program is being implemented in 16 low and lower-middle-income countries across nine eco-regions with Ghana being one of the countries. In Ghana, the program is focusing on the Volta Basin which contributes significantly to Ghana’s economic development through the provision of vital water resources. Within the basin, the program is zooming in on two landscapes; the Mole landscape in the Northern savannah zone and the Weto landscape further downstream alongside Lake Volta. The achievements in these two landscapes will be used as evidence to support lobby at the national level and as model for replication and up-scaling in the Volta Basin. Lobby and advocacy at the national level will help to establish and implement a policy and legislation framework that favors integrated landscape development in the two landscapes. Many good policies, laws and regulations for natural resource management are in place in Ghana, however implementation and enforcement are weak. The program is therefore focusing on strengthening implementation and enforcement at both national and landscape level.
Three main result areas have been identified to contribute to the achievement of the project’s goal. These outcomes are related to the policies and/or practices of the three key stakeholders whose activities impact the provision of the IPGs – communities, businesses and government. These results are:
Achieving these outcomes through change in the actions of these stakeholders will have a positive effect on the state of ecosystems in the landscape, hence supporting the protection of International Public Goods (IPGs).
The core implementing Civil Society Organizations on the project are A Rocha Ghana (ARG) and the Development Institute (DI). ARG is the lead for the Mole landscape and program’s coordination task. DI is responsible for activities within the Weto landscape. Both organizations are involved in national lobby which will be done in close collaboration with the Green Livelihood Alliance (GLA) program in Ghana. Other supporting implementing organizations have been identified at the grass-root level in the landscapes and at the national level.