Partners in South-South Cooperation
Encyclopedia
Partners in South-South Cooperation, formerly Programme for South-South Cooperation PSC, is a development cooperation comprising several developing countries working together towards sustainable development and to fight poverty. Currently Benin
, Bhutan
and Costa Rica
are partners in the cooperation and other countries have expressed interest.
Since its inception in 2006 Partners has managed 34 projects in the three countries.
While initial funding was provided by the Netherlands
to kickstart the process, the cooperation is run independently by the members who support each other through knowledge transfer and exchange. This is distinctively different from the traditional development approach where developing countries highly depend on expensive and not always adequate Northern expertise and consultants (technical assistance).
Partners's guiding principles are Equality (among members), Reciprocity (between members on each project) and Participation (inclusion of civil society, governments, local authorities, professional associations, businesses, indigenous people). The cooperation emphasizes economic and social development and environmental protection within the prioritized sustainable development themes - water, agriculture and biodiversity.
Partners supports innovation through seeding initiatives, replicating successes, establishing transnational partnerships and disseminating information in five thematic areas:
During the Joint Committee Meeting of the Bilateral Agreements for Sustainable Development in May 2005 the three countries reaffirmed their commitment to the pursuit of sustainable development goals and created the Programme for South-South Cooperation on Sustainable Development between Benin, Bhutan and Costa Rica (PSC).
The organization changed its name to Partners in South-South Cooperation in 2011.
Sample projects:
Secondary beneficiaries are intermediate and participant organizations, such as grass-root organizations of the direct beneficiaries (like community organizations, cooperatives, associative enterprises, marketing boards), governmental and non-governmental development and environment institutions, local authorities, academic and research institutions and private sector companies.
Criteria for selection were:
From the jury report:
" The South-South Cooperation Programme has focused its efforts on three components of sustainable development: economic development, social development and environmental protection, three pillars that uphold one another. In its wide range of projects, including conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, sustainable agriculture, and development of low-cost renewable technologies, global thinking has been translated into local performance by the people of three countries on three different continents."
The Joint Committee is composed of high-level representatives from each partner country and provides political support and policy directions. The Joint Committee meets at least once every two years.
Management Board:
The Management Board (MB) consists of three representatives of the National Mechanisms Benin, Bhutan and Costa Rica. The MB meets twice a year and meetings are held in English. The MB decides on the policies governing Partners and on the allocation of funds to projects. The MB jointly appraises funding to proposals submitted by the National Mechanisms after evaluation.
Secretariat:
As administrator of Partners for South-South Cooperation, the National Mechanism of Costa Rica (Fundecooperación) provides the Secretariat.
Tasks of the Secretariat include implementation, monitoring, transfer of funds, evaluation of proposals, reporting and external relations.
National Mechanism:
The National Mechanisms designated by the governments of Benin, Bhutan and Costa Rica are the key actors at the national level.
Costa Rica: Fundecooperación para el Desarrollo Sostenible
Benin: Centre de Partenariat et d’Expertise pour le Développement Durable
Bhutan: Sustainable Development Secretariat
Partners in South-South Cooperation is funded by a 13,2 million US Dollar grant from the Netherlands
for the period 2007–2011.
Benin
Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...
, Bhutan
Bhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
and Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
are partners in the cooperation and other countries have expressed interest.
Since its inception in 2006 Partners has managed 34 projects in the three countries.
While initial funding was provided by the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
to kickstart the process, the cooperation is run independently by the members who support each other through knowledge transfer and exchange. This is distinctively different from the traditional development approach where developing countries highly depend on expensive and not always adequate Northern expertise and consultants (technical assistance).
Partners's guiding principles are Equality (among members), Reciprocity (between members on each project) and Participation (inclusion of civil society, governments, local authorities, professional associations, businesses, indigenous people). The cooperation emphasizes economic and social development and environmental protection within the prioritized sustainable development themes - water, agriculture and biodiversity.
Partners supports innovation through seeding initiatives, replicating successes, establishing transnational partnerships and disseminating information in five thematic areas:
- Sustainable tourism
- Conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity
- Access to sustainable energy and efficient energy use.
- Sustainable chains of production and consumption.
- Gender equity (as cross-cutting theme).
History
During the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) held in Johannesburg in 2002, the Republic of Benin, the Kingdom of Bhutan and the Republic of Costa Rica entered into a Strategic Partnership for Cooperation on Sustainable Development, signing an agreement on the 31 of August 2002. This agreement was the outcome of the collaboration of the three partner countries and the Kingdom of the Netherlands within the framework of the Sustainable Development Agreements (SDAs).During the Joint Committee Meeting of the Bilateral Agreements for Sustainable Development in May 2005 the three countries reaffirmed their commitment to the pursuit of sustainable development goals and created the Programme for South-South Cooperation on Sustainable Development between Benin, Bhutan and Costa Rica (PSC).
The organization changed its name to Partners in South-South Cooperation in 2011.
Projects
Since its beginning Partners has managed 34 projects. Activities are orientated towards issues such as capacity building, enhancing existing social capital, technology development and transfer, improving market access and small investments in physical assets.Sample projects:
- Local capacity development on eco-friendly agricultural technologies
- Promotion of sustainable cultural tourism through folk and multi‐cultural music
- Development of eco- and adventure tourism to support forest conservation and community development
- Conservation and sustainable management of mangroves
- Mushroom promotion and marketing
- Development of standards for women-run, eco-friendly micro and small enterprises (MSEs)
- Development of low-cost renewable technologies and supporting awareness raising programs
- Value chain upgrading for traditional and non-traditional agriculture and agro-industrial products
- Sustainable production and commercialization of native handicraft
- Development and marketing of organic soap
- Introduction of organic pineapple production in Benin
- Analysis and systematization of the contribution of national parks to the economic and social development
- Capacity building for biodiversity information management systems
- Development of non-timber forest products
- Design and implementation of an integrated and sustainable system for solid waste management
Beneficiaries
Principal beneficiaries of the Partners projects are the partner countries’ citizens, especially rural communities, women, micro and small enterprises, consumers, users of energy, small-scale farmers and forest dwellers.Secondary beneficiaries are intermediate and participant organizations, such as grass-root organizations of the direct beneficiaries (like community organizations, cooperatives, associative enterprises, marketing boards), governmental and non-governmental development and environment institutions, local authorities, academic and research institutions and private sector companies.
Impact
- 4862 new jobs created
- Higher annual incomes for 4303 families
- Creation of 139 new enterprises and 351 new products and services
- Training provided for 3594 people on topics such as management and marketing skills, sustainable agriculture technologies and waste management
- 700 people reached through awareness raising workshops on the conservation of mangrove ecosystems
- 60 tons of waste per month sustainably managed due to construction of solid waste centers and recycling awareness training
- 1.953 farmers and 716 hectares converted to organic agriculture
- Eco-friendly technologies introduced to 3.891 households
- Reforestation of 27 hectares of mangroves and planting of 122.000 trees
- Distribution of low-cost photovoltaic systems, solar kits, sustainable disposable dry-cell batteries, collection baskets for batteries and low-cost solar cooking equipment.
Award
In 2010 Partners received the UNDP South-South Cooperation Award in the category ‘Partnership’.Criteria for selection were:
- Southern Priority/Demand Driven
- Southern Ownership
- Southern Leadership
- Broad-based Partnership
- Innovation
- Efficiency
- Sustainability
- Scalability
From the jury report:
" The South-South Cooperation Programme has focused its efforts on three components of sustainable development: economic development, social development and environmental protection, three pillars that uphold one another. In its wide range of projects, including conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, sustainable agriculture, and development of low-cost renewable technologies, global thinking has been translated into local performance by the people of three countries on three different continents."
Governance and Funding
Joint Committee:The Joint Committee is composed of high-level representatives from each partner country and provides political support and policy directions. The Joint Committee meets at least once every two years.
Management Board:
The Management Board (MB) consists of three representatives of the National Mechanisms Benin, Bhutan and Costa Rica. The MB meets twice a year and meetings are held in English. The MB decides on the policies governing Partners and on the allocation of funds to projects. The MB jointly appraises funding to proposals submitted by the National Mechanisms after evaluation.
Secretariat:
As administrator of Partners for South-South Cooperation, the National Mechanism of Costa Rica (Fundecooperación) provides the Secretariat.
Tasks of the Secretariat include implementation, monitoring, transfer of funds, evaluation of proposals, reporting and external relations.
National Mechanism:
The National Mechanisms designated by the governments of Benin, Bhutan and Costa Rica are the key actors at the national level.
Costa Rica: Fundecooperación para el Desarrollo Sostenible
Benin: Centre de Partenariat et d’Expertise pour le Développement Durable
Bhutan: Sustainable Development Secretariat
Partners in South-South Cooperation is funded by a 13,2 million US Dollar grant from the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
for the period 2007–2011.