ABSTRACT
Funding agencies have played a crucial role in the development of national strategies, and there are many ways to make the most of their involvement. There is a pressing need for donor coordination, so that the capacities of recipient communities are not undermined or distracted by overlapping and sometimes conflicting demands. There has been a tendency for donors to pick and choose from a portfolio of proposed actions, with the result that the strategy loses its importance as an overall framework for sustainable development. Also, donor support has been patchy, both in terms of the range of actions supported and continuity. Defining approaches for greater financial security needs to be given high priority.
National Environment Funds (NEFs) can contribute to long-term stable financing for strategies. Because NEFs rely on participatory management approaches, they also engender greater local control and self reliance. One of the most attractive features of an NEF is its ability to distribute its funding consistently over a long period at levels which local institutions can effectively absorb.
Like external funding, technical assistance to national strategies from international organizations has had mixed results. There are important lessons on how to involve expatriate personnel. Experience has shown that international NGOs, in particular, can continue to play a vitalrole in providing the appropriate kinds of technical support to strategy teams.
No matter how successful some national strategies have been in attracting funds for their planning and implementation, the levels of resources are insignificant when compared to those associated with the big forces shaping development, such as structural adjustment policies and World Bank. loans. For the remainder of the decade, the most important task for NSDSs will be to harness and modify those forces to be consistent with local sustainable development goals.
