Foundation
DCG Sudan became a separate member in March 2004, after having been part of DCG Ethiopia Sudan since April 2000.

DCG Sudan was established in Nairobi, Kenya by the Norwegian funded NGOs operating in the greater Sudan: ADRA based in Northern Sudan, ADRA based in Southern Sudan, CARE based in Northern Sudan, NCA based Northern Sudan, NCA based in Southern Sudan, and NPA based in Southern Sudan.

Mission
DCG Sudan aims to contribute towards improving food security and natural resource conservation in the drylands of Sudan.

Its objectives are to:

• Contribute to improving the capacity and quality of development interventions carried out by its member and partner organizations.
• Become a recognized resource forum on food security and natural resource management in the drylands of Sudan and on the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
• DCG Sudan members, in addition to their direct contribution, shall encourage and support their partners in contributing to the follow-up of the National Action Program (NAP) for the UNCCD.
• DCG Sudan shall actively seek to strengthen its national institutional viability.

Member Organizations
Board Members:

1. ADRA Sudan
2. ADRA South Sudan
3. Norwegian Church Aid Sudan
4. Norwegian Church Aid South Sudan
5. Norwegian People's Aid South Sudan
6. CARE North Sudan
7. SSARTO - MAF: South Sudan Agricultural Research and Technology Organization - Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
8. NDDCU: National Drought and Desertification Control Unit
9. ARC: Agricultural Research Corporation
   

Associate members:

1. Sudanese National Convention to Combat Desertification (SNCCD) - focal point for RIOD
2. Agricultural research council/North Sudan.
3. Agricultural research council/South Sudan
4. Natural Resource management technical team/South Sudan
5. Famine Early Warning System (FEWS)/ South Sudan
6. Directorate of Agriculture/South Sudan

Structure
All board members meet twice a year at an agreed location and date and take decisions for DCG Sudan. The chair person is Fadul Beshir (fadulbeshir at yahoo.com) and the coordinator is Mutaz El Sadig (dcgsudan at yahoo.com). The role of the coordinator is to:

• Facilitate linkages with members and partners of DCG Sudan; 
• Disseminate papers, reports and minutes;
• Call and chair DCG meetings;
• Facilitate the arrangement of workshops;
• In consultation with the DCG Sudan board, identify resource persons/consultants;
• Manage the administrative fund of DCG Sudan according to established DCG financial guidelines;and
• Submit required reports to the Board and to DCG Norway.

Particularities
Sudan is the largest country in Africa neighboring nine African countries and the Red Sea on the northeastern boarders. 80% of the country’s total population is rural; their means depend on agriculture and farming. The country enjoys a series of variations in ethnic groups, languages, soils, climate conditions and hence ecological zones, which determine people’s means of life.

Situation
The impact of the drought on the natural resources of Sudan since the turn of the century has been accompanied by a vegetation cover deterioration process that coupled with the negative impact of the civil war, internal displacement and external refugees influx to the country ended with food insecurity and tribal conflicts over natural resources.

Even though agriculture is the backbone of Sudan’s economy, agricultural production is primarily subsistence agriculture practiced under three main farming systems: irrigated, mechanized rain fed and traditional rain fed. Traditional rain fed agriculture is the most widely practiced and the most vulnerable to crop failure due to insufficient and/or unequal rainfall distribution.

DCG Sudan projects
DCG Sudan during this first base year (2004), has implemented one unique project, “Experience Sharing Tour and Workshop on Shelterbelts and Fuel Wood Substitutes in Sudan”. This study intends to find solutions to the phenomenon of sand creeping in the northern part of the country of which 13 states are under the threat of deforestation.

The Sudan part of DCG Ethiopia Sudan, has conducted two other studies on northern Sudan one of them being the “Perceptions of Knowledge and Coping Strategies in Nomadic Communities. The Case of the Hawawir in Northern Sudan” and the other one being a “Training Course on the Role of Local Institutions in Regulating Resource Use and Conflict Management”. In October 2002 Sudan hosted the first DCG  international conference.

Current activities
DCG Sudan, following the peace agreements between the North and the South, will be leading the national civil society institutions towards achieving its objectives.

For more information on DCG Sudan's current activities, please visit this webpage.

Relevant articles for Sudan from external sources

(Source: DCG Sudan)