Sarhad Provincial Conservation Strategy - IUCN

ound tables and focal points address this need (see
section 16.4). The IUCN-SDC support for the
Transition to Implementation phase will have funds
for the establishment and operation of round tables
and focal points in six key departments. Additional
funds will have to be raised to institute similar
arrangements elsewhere. Government departments
and organizations will be encouraged to
complement the system of round tables with other
a r r a n g e m e n t s .
The public consultations for the SPCS were
marked by a feeling of frustration with the
Government’s inability to deliver programmes.
Inefficiency and growing corruption were very often
cited as reasons for this difficulty. These are systemic
problems with no easy solutions. But it is essential to
deal with them. The priority assigned to governance
and capacity building under the SPCS is a manifestation
of this concern. It is hoped that the institutional
reviews and reforms envisaged in the different component
strategies of the SPCS will increase efficiency
and reduce corruption. Encouraging transparency
and greater accountability in the implementation of
public-sector projects and programmes will also be
very valuable, as will be the placing of information
about the projects and programmes in the public
domain. Restoring public faith in the polity and
bureaucracy is extremely important.
The experience of the National Conservation
Strategy (NCS) and the SPCS shows that a major
weakness of government line departments is a lack of
capacity to generate fundable project proposals. The
reason is often the scarcity of quality time at their disposal.
The Planning, Environment and Development
(PE&D) Department has been trying to use research
and development funds to hire consultants to develop
project proposals, but the procedures for appointing
consultants are often prohibitively long and complicated.
Unfortunately, contracting someone to write a project
for a few thousand rupees requires the same
process as a multi-million dollar consultancy. This
needs to be changed. Therefore, it will be useful to
establish a list of experts in different fields in the
province whose services could be hired for small sums
(up to Rs. 50,000) to develop bankable projects without
going through the lengthy process of a consul-
tant’s selection. This will require a pool of funds, perhaps
under the core environment sector, and elaboration
of short and simple hiring procedures.
1 6 . 2 . 1
The Planning, Enviro n m e n t
& Development Depart m e n t
I N S T I T U T I O N A L P R O C E S S E S 16
The PE&D Department has the major responsibility
for overseeing SPCS implementation. This will mainly
include coordinating the implementation of the
SPCS by the respective line departments, instituting
and operating the environmental coordination structures
such as the Provincial Environment Protection
Council and Steering Committee, and providing policy
and strategic planning support to the line
departments. Implementation of the SPCS programmes
in the field by the PE&D Department is neither
desirable nor recommended, except projects
such as coordination of land use planning and zoning
that do not clearly fall in the domain of any one
particular line department. A major responsibility of
the PE&D Department will also be to integrate the
implementation of the Social Action Programme
(SAP) with the SPCS because, by addressing key
environment and development concerns, the SAP
becomes an integral part of the SPCS.
The proper staffing of the Environment Section in
PE&D has remained a problem during the three years
of SPCS development, largely due to difficulties in
changing the service rules. Even if the section were
fully staffed according to the original plan (one Chief,
one Assistant Chief, and two Research Officers), it
would be inadequate. The Environment Section (ES)
has developed a pipeline of donor-aided projects
exceeding Rs.1.5 billion, and additional donor aid is
difficult to access without more and better-qualified
staff. In addition, there is also the work of environmental
coordination, which the section is performing
in lieu of a full separate department of environment.
Therefore, the ES of the PE&D Department will be
further strengthened. It is envisaged to have one fulltime
Additional Secretary for Environment who will
supervise the work of the existing Chief, ES and a
Deputy Secretary, Environmental Coordination to be
positioned anew to share the increasing work load of
SARHAD PROVINCIAL CONSERVATION STRATEGY 187