Sarhad Provincial Conservation Strategy - IUCN

and are viewed not as producers but as dependent
consumers, linked to a vicious circle of poverty,
depletion of resources, and a deteriorating quality of
life. However, the transformation of women from
objects of reproduction to autonomous persons in
their own right entails a fundamental change in perceptions
and attitudes. Changes in the role of women
may be an evolutionary process, but extensive
Government intervention is needed in making opportunities
available to women, such as employment,
skills development, health care, and, most important,
information to enhance participation in all spheres.
Women’s organizations need not only to spread
awareness about women’s rights but also to destroy
myths about women’s non-productivity and to ensure
a similar awareness about the essential role of
women in solving environment and development
problems.
5
E X E C U T I V E S U M M A R Y
COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION
Until the middle of the nineteenth century, self-help
and mutual cooperation were the only ways to
endure life in the NWFP, in an area with an extreme
climate, scant rainfall, and little means of communication.
When the British occupied the sub-continent,
the Government began to assume a paternalistic
role, resulting in increased dependency on the state
that continued to increase after the creation of
Pakistan in 1947. Bureaucratic control over public
funds for development made the Government vulnerable
to abuse, and caused an inequitable distribution
of benefits. Consequently, there has been a
renewed interest in self-help work in the province in
the last few decades.
NGOs active in the province have managed some
significant successes over the past few years. But to
play a more meaningful part in the sustainable development
of the NWFP, two specific objectives will
have to be attained: to identify and develop effective
mechanisms and institutions that will strengthen NGO
participation in sustainable development in the
province; and to create an enabling environment for
NGOs and communities to play an active role in sustainable
development.
xvi SARHAD PROVINCIAL CONSERVATION STRATEGY
Strategies for Greater NGO Participation
Networking and communication are key to the development
of the NGO sector. Besides acting as a
strong unified body to represent the sector, networking
can provide a forum for the exchange of experiences,
ideas, knowledge and information between
the various NGOs, and also for extended cooperation
and collaboration among them. At the same
time, the network could serve as a liaison and voice
to articulate the perspectives and concerns of communities
of the NWFP at various national development
fora.
Capacity-building both in technical and management
aspects is another key area. Additionally,
NGOs need to be supported in proposal development,
fund-raising strategies, organisational growth,
and financial and personnel management.
Social organisation techniques need to be extended,
to encourage the formation of new communitybased
organisations or to strengthen and reactivate
older ones.
Taking care of the local environment is a key element
of any strategy for sustainable development.
NGOs working closely with communities can play a
significant role in strengthening the primary environmental
care abilities of communities as well as their
capacity to deal with external forces of change, so
that they reap the benefits without sacrificing their
environment and production systems.
NGOs will need to use advocacy—public consultations,
lobbying, issue papers, media presentations,
audio-visual materials, round tables and seminars—to
solve the key problems that face the province. Most
significant changes that affect the province can only
be solved by policy changes and proper implementation
of laws by Government.
Finally, NGOs in the NWFP need to become
financially sustainable by: developing projects
that will be funded and implemented by the
beneficiaries, setting up separate income-generating
activities such as consultancies, training, or producing
products based on appropriate technology for
local and export markets, seeking donors’
endowment and core funds and competing for a
greater share of the Government development
b u d g e t .