The Norwegian Church Aid in Ethiopia on behalf of DCG organized a three day workshop from December 7-9th to 2006 in Nazareth.

The objective of the workshop was to improve the capacity of federal and regional council members (the Pastoralist Affairs Standing Committee (PASC), the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Standing Committee (NREPSC) members, GOs and NGOs) in the elaboration and implementation of the National as well as the Regional States Action Plans to combat desertification and promote dryland development. In addition, the workshop aimed at strengthening regional contacts with Members of Parliament’s pastoralist and environmental standing committees, and enabling participants to learn more from inland and other countries’ experiences on how to streamline UNCCD/NAP/RAP into policy making to support and strengthen dryland development through implementation of the UNCCD/NAP/RAP.

More specifically, the workshop's goals were to:

• Introduce and raise awareness for the participants on UNCCD/NAP
• Strengthen linkages and collaboration between MPs and regional councils
• Apply a participatory approach for the identification of appropriate methods to mainstream the UNCCD/NAP/RAP into the different policies of the country/region that started to deal with pastoralists, dryland communities.
• Discuss and establish a consensus on intensification of proper management of the fragile natural resources of drylands at the community level.
• Lay a foundation for developing a regional action plan related to the UNCCD.

Expected results:

• Enhanced familiarity of various regional policy makers with the UNCCD and NAP.
• Strengthened linkage and collaboration between MPs and regional councils.
• Encouraged the regional council and other concerned organizations to mainstream the causes of the UNCCD/NAP/RAP into their various policies and development programs to create an enabling environment for dryland ecosystem management.
• Created good conditions for regional council and other concerned GOs and NGOs collaboration for the implementation of the UNCCD-NAP/RAP and drylands management.

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