8. SUMMARY OF CONCLUDING PLENARY SESSION

Morning Session, 27 November 2003

Chairperson: Ato Berhanu Debele,
Former Vice Ministry of Natural Resources, Ministry of Agriculture

ATO BERHANU OPENED THE FLOOR FOR ANY COMMENTS RELATED TO WORKING GROUP PRESENTATION OR THE WORKSHOP IN GENERAL. SOME OF THE MAJOR POINTS RAISED INCLUDE:

• There is very high urban agriculture within the Lake Tana basin, which could be incorporated into the project.

• A number of school-leaving students could be trained and be used in becoming service providers and connecting to the job creation process rather than overburdening the land. A large number of school dropouts and leavers go back to rural areas. Efforts should be made in terms of training and practical skill development so that young people can find employment.

• Participants agreed to do a listing of important studies done in the specific topics discussed by each working group and send such information to ARARI in the future.

• Participants debated on the merits of whether to go forward with projects identified by the three working groups as separate projects or link them under one umbrella.

  There was clear consensus that the Simen Mountains National Park should be submitted as a separate project since there is a separate window of funding for it under mountain ecosystem. A number of participants also suggested that the Lake Tana watershed management and the Borkena-Robi watershed management should be pursued separately while some suggested the merit of combining them under one bigger umbrella since both are covered and eligible for funding under GEF operational programme #15 (sustainable land management). It was finally agreed that the Workshop organizers (particularly Dr Alemneh and Dr Gete) should decide on how best to proceed on this matter after consulting the GEF Secretariat and other relevant people in the donor community.

• Some participants also raised concern whether ARARI, whose official mandate is as a research organization, could be entrusted to coordinate the design and the implementation of development programmes proposed by the working group. Others pointed out that past experiences within the region have shown that organizations (such as the Regional Bureau of Agriculture) which were given the task to coordinate a certain initiative because of their official mandate, had not delivered. It was emphasized that ARARI, under the leadership of Dr Gete, is the only viable alternative to get this momentum going and produce results. Finally, a consensus was reached that ARARI will be entrusted to be the lead and coordinating agency in the formulation and preparation of the project. It was also decided that an ad hoc committee chaired by Dr Gete should also be established to include members from all the relevant Government agencies in the region (i.e. the Bureau of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection, Land Use and Land Administration). These members should be involved in the process from the beginning so that there will not be a knowledge gap if there is a decision to hand over these projects/programmes to these agencies during the implementation stage. It was also agreed that membership of the ad hoc committee should include national and international experts with extensive experience in this area. The chair also underscored that the projects identified by the working groups have significant global and national significance and should be on the agenda of the regional government. ARARI should make an utmost effort to bring together all concerned Government agencies and stakeholders to make it successful.