The ecosystem of actors implementing regional integration projects in the Congo Basin: the need for a clear division of labor

Regional integration is generally defined as a process whereby countries give up some of their national sovereignty to address specific issues, which often relate to economics but that can also be political, monetary or social. It generally involves the establishment of supranational institutions and the ratification of treaties, which set the rules, objectives and timeframe for integration. Through such agreements, national authorities give regional institutions the necessary means to carry out its mission on behalf of all participating countries. Regional integration is achieved through the financing and implementation of joint projects for the benefit of the wider regional area. In such projects (known as regional integration projects) countries work collaboratively to carry out all or part of the activities that make up the overall project. For example, if the project involves two countries, the implementing actors are easily identifiable and the implementation is relatively straightforward. However, when a project involves several countries, the difficulties associated with implementation are accentuated. The number of implementing actors grow and their interests occasionally diverge.

Three recent evaluations carried out by the Independent Development Evaluation (IDEV) at the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) highlight such tensions that stem from  lack of an explicit and clear division of labor between the various entities participating in the project, including the Regional Economic Communities and specialized agencies. The three evaluations are: (a) the evaluation of regional integration strategy and operations for East; (b) the evaluation of regional integration strategy and operations for Central Africa and (c) the evaluation of the Congo Basin Forest Fund.

Tensions between implementing actors …

Countries sometimes create specialized regional structures such as the Central African Protected Areas Network and the Central African Forests Commission. Often regional communities create ad hoc implementing agencies whose mandates overlap with those of specialized agencies. As such, there may be tensions that arise between established specialized regional structures, ad hoc agencies and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) when implementing regional projects. The above-mentioned evaluations enable us to identify two categories of tensions: internal tensions and external tensions.

Internal tensions

These tensions can manifest themselves (i) between member countries and the Regional Economic Community to whom they themselves have given a mandate. These evaluations indicate that Regional Economic Communities in Central and Eastern Africa are weak because they lack the human capacity and financial resources to assert their autonomy. This can be a problem of trust in the capacity of the regional institution to carry out the mission entrusted to it. Tensions may also exist (ii) between the Regional Economic Community and the specialized regional agencies set up by the member countries.

To a certain extent, there is a form of competition for the implementation of operations. One of the findings of the case study of the Congo Basin Ecosystems Conservation Support Project (PACEBCO) that I participated in, was that the project report did a fairly comprehensive mapping of the internal actors without identifying a clear division of labor between these actors[1]. The organizational architecture of the project between the Economic Community of Central African States, the Central African Forests Commission, the Central African Protected Areas Network and the PACEBCO’s ad-hoc coordination unit was so complex that it created a bottleneck during the implementation of the project.

External tensions

The Congo Basin attracts funding and initiatives from a variety of bilateral and multilateral donors (see some initiatives on page 19 of the Congo Basin Forest Fund evaluation report). The area also attracts NGOs and civil society organizations (CSOs) involved in the field of environmental protection. There is very little coordination between donors, and obviously there is little desire for coordination. Therefore, apart from multi-donor funds such as for example the Congo Basin Forest Fund, each donor identifies its projects and intervention areas with the risk that the project beneficiary may not be able to attribute certain achievements to one or another donor. The situation is completely blurred.

The place of NGOs and civil society organizations …

The other battle is between NGOs, CSOs and national and regional agencies. Each of these parties want to intervene in the implementation of the project and often against the rules and procedures of the donor. The Congo Basin Forest Fund evaluation indicates that “most projects, in which government was the contract signatory were implemented in a through-funding arrangement by NGOs or private sector bodies” and that “…the Central African states, through the Central African Forests Commission, expressed their early disquiet at the manner of choosing the initial round of projects. Specifically, because of their readiness and ability to respond quickly, most of the projects that emerged from the first call for proposals were from bids from international NGOs, rather than Congo Basin governments and local organizations…” In the implementation of PACEBCO, there were tensions between the program coordination unit and the Netherlands Development Organization (SNV), who had a key role in the local development projects. SNV had withdrawn from the program over disagreement with the AfDB about recruitment of its staff.

Some donors even circumvent the Regional Economic Communities to implement their projects through international NGOs, effectively assigning observer status to the Regional Economic Communities and their implementing agencies. This is contrary to the objective of building the capacity of regional institutions. However, the low level of transparency by some Regional Economic Communities in the application of donor procedures means donors often turn their backs on them or give them minor roles in project management.

Finally...

Unfortunately, these tensions make it difficult to achieve the objectives of such projects. There is clearly a need to dissociate roles and avoid tensions and their negative consequences on project performance, especially because the purpose of these projects is to improve the living conditions of the populations of the region.

Recommendations

The Economic Community of Central African States Member States and donors should further support the capacity building of regional implementing agencies such as the Central African Forests Commission and the Central African Protected Areas Network. They should provide them with the financial and technical means to fully assume their functions. To do this they should help to establish a clear division of labor during the design of regional projects and communicate effectively about the projects and their implementing actors. This would avoid direct or indirect tension between these agencies, NGOs and ad-hoc units in the implementation of regional projects.

 

---

Endnotes

 

[1] Page 60 of the evaluation of the regional integration strategy and operation for Central Africa.

 

Jean Mombombi Nyangue a fisherman on the Congo River, Lukolela, Democratic Republic of Congo. Photo by Ollivier Girard/CIFOR.