FAO Sudan signed a new project agreement with the European Union (EU) yesterday for a new € 3 million project to promote community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) in Darfur. The project will support small-scale rural farmers, pastoralists and internally displaced persons (IDPs) to inclusively and transparently manage their fragile land resources and achieve peaceful and sustainable development. The project will also facilitate access to crop land, livestock routes and pastures for rural communities, as well as support the development of practical dispute resolution mechanisms to address competition over natural resources. In doing so, FAO seeks to alleviate rural poverty in the Greater Darfur region through practical soluitions to help communities secure access to crop land, livestock routes, rangelands and pasture.

The project's design is based on the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGGT), a series of guidelines initiated in 2009 by FAO and which were officially endores by the Committee on World Food Security in 2012. The VGGT promote secure tenure rights and equitable access to land, fisheries and forests as a means of eradicting hunger and poverty, supporting sustainable development and enhancing the environment. The guidelines outline principles and practices that governments can refer to when making laws and adminsitering land, fisheries and forest rights. As a key component of the project, FAO will host a series of trainings on VGGT to support guideline promotion among national and state cgovernment representatives working on natural resource management issues in Sudan. More information about the VGGT can be found here.

Dr. Abdi Adan Jama, FAO Representative to Sudan said:  “FAO is extremely pleased to be partnering with the EU and the Government of Sudan to support inclusive, pro-poor agricultural development through responsible land governance in Darfur. Agriculture is the backbone of Darfur’s economy and is the principal source of livelihoods for local communities. This project is an important step in strengthening sustainable and community-based management of land resources to eradicate hunger and poverty in Darfur. This is a critical component of FAO’s work to improve the region’s food and nutrition security.”

Ambassador Tomas Ulicny, Head of Delegation of the European Union said: "The new project reflect the commitment of the European Union to the peaceful future of communities in Sudan. This will be achieved by improving sustainable development through better management of natural resources and access to land. These two projects, which will be implemented over the next three years, will foster policies to prevent disputes over scarce resources, which have been a major source of conflict in Darfur".

FAO will implement the project with support from the Darfur Land Commission (DLC), the Darfur Regional Authority (DRA), the Voluntary Return and Resettlement Commission (VRRC) and state Ministries of Agriculture, Animal Resources and Housing and Public Infrastructure.