24 March 2015: The UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has published an evaluation report on the effectiveness of national action programmes (NAPs) as tools for policy change, based on the premise that “a virtuous circle” exists between the dual roles of NAPs as both a practical framework for action and a driver of political action. The evaluation stresses that this circle has in fact broken down, and explores the political dimension of obstacles to national-level implementation of action on desertification, land degradation and drought (DLDD).

The report, titled ‘Evaluation of the effectiveness of national action programmes to implement the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification,’ seeks to identify blockages that are keeping DLDD from being taken seriously at the national level and the reasons behind examples of stronger political will to take effective action, including cases where NAPs may not have been a prominent part of the structures and measures employed. It offers conclusions relating to how NAPs are conceived and designed, as well as how they are supported by the UNCCD Secretariat.

The report suggests that, while NAPs “are too often treated as a document that states are obliged to produce with few tangible benefits on the ground,” the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly including the focus on a land degradation neutral world (LDNW), could give the international community a new focus on strategies to address concrete targets related to DLDD. The report also suggests that there is a role for the Secretariat in both “advising on legal frameworks for regulating the use of natural resources, sharing good practice examples and guiding states in applying to the various funding instruments available and the principles and frameworks to which they work,” as well as in adopting a role that raises the level of political support for the implementation of NAPs. The need for more clarity regarding the role of NAPs and UNCCD focal points is also highlighted, with recommendations that the purpose of NAPs be clarified “as a policy framework that sets targets and describes how different projects contribute to meeting them” and that focal points and other key agents at the national level “be involved in constant political dialogue across all sectors, selling the cross-sectoral benefits of sustainable land management (SLM), lobbying relevant line ministries to adhere to coherent, integrated programming and mobilizing legislators and CSOs (civil society organizations) to adopt supportive positions.”

On ensuring that political commitment translates from “rhetoric in international meetings to tangible action on the ground,” the evaluation recommends: empowering local actors to help decision makers identify the processes, channels and language to use in domestic political advocacy; supporting the political and technical functions that enable increased coherence between Ministries, NAPs and relevant initiatives; selling NAPs to Heads of State and Finance Ministers by making an economic argument for them; and catalyzing demand from civil society organizations and Parliamentarians.

The evaluation used a review of documentation, including national, sub-regional and regional action programmes, strategy papers, workplans, reports and other analyses of implementation effectiveness, and undertook interviews with 31 people closely involved in NAPs and the UNCCD. The evaluation was published in advance of the 13th session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC 13), which is meeting from 25-27 March 2015. [Publication: Evaluation of the effectiveness of national action programmes to implement the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification] [IISDRS Coverage of CRIC 13] [CRIC 13 Website]