| Central Asian Countries Initiative on Land Management

The Central Asian Countries Initiative on Land Management (CACILM) is a governance structure which facilitates the coordination and harmonization of donor activities, the exchange of experience and the cooperation between the five Central Asian countries mainly in the field of land management. CACILM was established in 2007 by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Global Mechanism (GM), Deutsche Gesellschaft für international Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and other development cooperation agencies as well as by five countries of Central Asia. Whereas the first phase (2007-2009) focused on the implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), in the second phase (since 2010) the thematic spectrum has been broadened to include climate change, biodiversity and water management. In general, three dimensions of CACILM can be distinguished:

On-the-ground-projects: All projects of ADB, GIZ and UNDP related to land management (about 12) are implemented in the framework of CACILM, i.e. are coordinated and linked with the relevant government institutions by the respective national secretariat.
Governance structures: In each of the five Central Asian Countries, a National Secretariat (NSec) of CACILM is responsible for coordinating the activities in land management and for transferring the experience made on the ground to the national level. An Advisory and Coordination Group (ACG) of CACILM, which consists of representatives of all governmental institutions concerned with land management, meets regularly in each of the countries to discuss the progress of the individual projects, to analyze the lessons learnt and to define priorities. Additionally, a multi-country secretariat (MSec) located in Bishkek is responsible for organizing the exchange of experience between the national secretariats and for promoting the cooperation between the five Central Asian countries.
Regional projects: Regional projects about information systems, knowledge management, capacity building and research are no standalone projects but support the on-the-ground projects.
The multi-country capacity building (MCB) project: Launched in 2010, the GIZ Regional Program engages also in a joint GEF / UNDP / GM / GIZ project on capacity building for sustainable land management, one of the four related multi-country CACILM projects. The project has regional and national elements and project units at regional level and in each of the Central Asian countries implement the activities. The project aims to increase the capacities at the national and cross-country levels to develop and implement integrated approaches and strategies to combat land degradation. It works towards a better policy coherence by fostering mainstreaming of SLM principles into national policies and legislation. The Central Asian countries are supported to effectively mobilize resources to support SLM initiatives, such as integrated national financing strategies, and thus creates long-term perspectives for SLM. Targeted human capacity development and an effective knowledge management assure the development and strengthening of learning, dissemination and replication of sustainable land management approaches and techniques. The project cooperates very tightly with the CACILM structures. Especially efforts on knowledge management and important regional activities are jointly planned and implemented.
CACILM Knowledge Management Component (KM): In the area of Knowledge Management, MCB closely cooperates with the CACILM Component dedicated to SLM knowledge management, which was launched in 2007. For this component, priority areas of activities are the collection, documentation and dissemination of best practices and experiences relevant for SLM, which were developed by CACILM projects in the 5 Central Asian countries and thus, promoting sustainable land management in Central Asia. CACILM MSEC is a member of the WOCAT global network and applies WOCAT tools for documenting SLM best practices. Until the end of 2011, 25 SLM best practices, which were selected using WOCAT qualifying criteria, will be fully documented in Russian and English languages and posted on the on-line WOCAT Database. Additionally, 13 SLM case studies are already available online. At the same time, relevant target groups, which might be interested in the above SLM best practices at the national level, are proactively considered during dissemination, thus, enabling the preparation of information products in the qualities and languages required by the target groups. Effective dissemination of best practices is facilitated by National Strategies on Dissemination of best practices and other relevant information on SLM under CACILM.

	Regional program Central Asian Countries Initiative on Land Management Countries Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan Contact person: Dr. Stepan Uncovsky tel: +996 312 90 93 40 Alona Reichmuth (Knowledge Management)		Central Asia



			Central Asian Countries Initiative on Land Management

			The Central Asian Countries Initiative on Land Management (CACILM) is a governance structure which facilitates the coordination and harmonization of donor activities, the exchange of experience and the cooperation between the five Central Asian countries mainly in the field of land management. CACILM was established in 2007 by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Global Mechanism (GM), Deutsche Gesellschaft für international Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and other development cooperation agencies as well as by five countries of Central Asia. Whereas the first phase (2007-2009) focused on the implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), in the second phase (since 2010) the thematic spectrum has been broadened to include climate change, biodiversity and water management. In general, three dimensions of CACILM can be distinguished: On-the-ground-projects: All projects of ADB, GIZ and UNDP related to land management (about 12) are implemented in the framework of CACILM, i.e. are coordinated and linked with the relevant government institutions by the respective national secretariat. Governance structures: In each of the five Central Asian Countries, a National Secretariat (NSec) of CACILM is responsible for coordinating the activities in land management and for transferring the experience made on the ground to the national level. An Advisory and Coordination Group (ACG) of CACILM, which consists of representatives of all governmental institutions concerned with land management, meets regularly in each of the countries to discuss the progress of the individual projects, to analyze the lessons learnt and to define priorities. Additionally, a multi-country secretariat (MSec) located in Bishkek is responsible for organizing the exchange of experience between the national secretariats and for promoting the cooperation between the five Central Asian countries. Regional projects: Regional projects about information systems, knowledge management, capacity building and research are no standalone projects but support the on-the-ground projects. The multi-country capacity building (MCB) project: Launched in 2010, the GIZ Regional Program engages also in a joint GEF / UNDP / GM / GIZ project on capacity building for sustainable land management, one of the four related multi-country CACILM projects. The project has regional and national elements and project units at regional level and in each of the Central Asian countries implement the activities. The project aims to increase the capacities at the national and cross-country levels to develop and implement integrated approaches and strategies to combat land degradation. It works towards a better policy coherence by fostering mainstreaming of SLM principles into national policies and legislation. The Central Asian countries are supported to effectively mobilize resources to support SLM initiatives, such as integrated national financing strategies, and thus creates long-term perspectives for SLM. Targeted human capacity development and an effective knowledge management assure the development and strengthening of learning, dissemination and replication of sustainable land management approaches and techniques. The project cooperates very tightly with the CACILM structures. Especially efforts on knowledge management and important regional activities are jointly planned and implemented. CACILM Knowledge Management Component (KM): In the area of Knowledge Management, MCB closely cooperates with the CACILM Component dedicated to SLM knowledge management, which was launched in 2007. For this component, priority areas of activities are the collection, documentation and dissemination of best practices and experiences relevant for SLM, which were developed by CACILM projects in the 5 Central Asian countries and thus, promoting sustainable land management in Central Asia. CACILM MSEC is a member of the WOCAT global network and applies WOCAT tools for documenting SLM best practices. Until the end of 2011, 25 SLM best practices, which were selected using WOCAT qualifying criteria, will be fully documented in Russian and English languages and posted on the on-line WOCAT Database. Additionally, 13 SLM case studies are already available online. At the same time, relevant target groups, which might be interested in the above SLM best practices at the national level, are proactively considered during dissemination, thus, enabling the preparation of information products in the qualities and languages required by the target groups. Effective dissemination of best practices is facilitated by National Strategies on Dissemination of best practices and other relevant information on SLM under CACILM.