Partnerships and co-operation

The local associations
NGOs, projects, programmes and agencies
The local authorities
The States
The regional institutions
Partners in development cooperation

The local associations

In the border areas, local associations, particularly those of youth and women, are highly engaged in the implementation of cross border initiatives in domains such as health, education, production and trade, security, the management of natural resources, etc. As a consequence, these associations not only play a major role in the prevention of conflicts and in the socio-economic development of the border areas, they furthermore contribute to the reinforcement of the linkages between communities, States and regional structures.

In the Southern Senegambia, Enda Diapol collaborates with the following local associations:

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NGOs, projects, programmes and agencies

NGOs are mainly functioning as a support to the local associations, as well as an interface with the local authorities and partners in development cooperation. Their interventions merits a better valorisation and especially an improved coordination between the different interventions on the Southern Senegambia level. The added value of Enda Diapol vis-à-vis these NGOs is particularly rooted in its intermediary role to improve the coherence between their different interventions in the perspective of socio-economic development in the border areas.

In the Southern Senegambia, Enda Diapol collaborates with the following NGOs:

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The local authorities

Local authorities in charge of the management of the border areas play a key role in the implementation or the accompanying of cross border cooperative dynamics. They are active on the interface between the “central power”, the citizens of the area and the ensemble of the interventions of partners in development cooperation. They assure the crucial functions of coordination and arbitration between the numerous stakeholders of the zone.
In a context of great interdependencies between communities on different sides of the border, the local authorities increasingly need to develop relationships with their counterparts on the other side of the border. In some specific domains, such as security issues, they are furthermore supposed to collaborate with traditional or custom powers, who more easily circulate throughout the border areas and who develop as a consequence new forms of local governance.
Enda Diapol attempts, throughout its interventions, to valorise the role and functioning of these local authorities and to promote the establishment of cross border dialogues between these structures. Lastly, Diapol lobbies at regional level (ECOWAS) for the development of supranational legal instruments facilitating and formalising these cross border partnerships between local authorities.

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The States

The States play definitely a crucial role in the regional integration process of ECOWAS as well as UEMOA. Yet, the existing spontaneous integration dynamics in border areas, are hardly known at central government level and, as a consequence, are not sufficiently supported at national political level, for example in terms of trade, agriculture, psychical planning, etc. This situation can be particularly explained by the fact that these dynamics and initiatives are by definition developed in the peripheries of the Nation, that they are developed at scales beyond national borders and lastly because of the highly informal character of the initiatives, which makes them difficult to identify and even more to measure their impact.
In this context, Enda Diapol, works on documenting and increased visibility of the cross border cooperation, especially in direction of the States. Furthermore, Diapol focuses on their significant role in the process of regional integration.
A first challenge is an increased articulation between national and regional politics on regional integration and cooperation, and the spontaneous dynamics developed by local stakeholders. An intervention is developed with the aim to associate the three States (the Gambia, Guinea Bissau and Senegal) in a concerted landplaning exercise in the Southern Senegambia area.

In each of the three states, the principle Ministries concerned by the activities of Enda Diapol and its regional integration and cross border cooperation programme are:

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The regional institutions

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is historically the first regional West African organisation. Since its founding in 1975, it has made important institutional progress, for example xxxx . Its progress remains however limited since the application of its regulations is still a challenge, especially that of the free circulation of persons and goods. In the ECOWAS zone, traders, transporters, or just citizens, are still confronted to border obstacles such as insecurity, (semi) official taxations of customs and police officers, degradation of routes etc. These obstacles are limiting regional trade flows despite its great development potential. By means of the WABI initiative, Enda Diapol and its partners try to increase the visibility of the realities in the border areas at ECOWAS level mainly by means of information spread and communication. Also we favor the participation of stakeholders from the border areas in the sub-regional policies dialogues.
By the adoption of the Memorandum on « Cross border concept or local integration » by its Ministres of Foreign affairs in January 2005, and the development of the « Cross border initiatives programme », ECOWAS considers cross border cooperation as a veritable motor for regional integration and marks its will to support the innovative initiatives in cross border collaboration. Enda Diapol’s programme « reinforcement of regional integration through cross border cooperation ; towards an integrated management of the Southern Senegambia » is also benefiting the official support of ECOWAS’ Executive Secretary.
www.ecowas.org

L’Union Economique et Monétaire Ouest Africaine (UEMOA) is created in 1994, after the devaluation of the CFA Franc. It unifies Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo. UEMOA is particularly engaged in the elaboration of a communal land planning policy for the UEMOA region. Cross border cooperation and the integration of proximity are also issues UEMOA takes into consideration, as is stated in its orientation document. Based on the these common grounds between the perspectives of UEMOA and the programme of Enda Diapol, a fruitful collaboration between the two, especially in the field of land planning, should be sought.
www.uemoa.int

In the 2006-2010 action plan, The Inter State Committee for the Fight against Drought in the Sahel (CILSS) is planning to work on the trade flows and markets in West Africa. Collaboration with Enda Diapol on these issues could be envisaged.
www.cilss.bf

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Partners in development cooperation

 The Austrian Development Cooperation has financed part of the launching seminar of the Cross border Initiatives Programme pilot operation in Southern Senegambia in Octobre 2005, as well as support to field missions of Enda Diapol.

 The conference secretariat of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) has financed part of the launching seminar of the Cross border Initiatives Programme pilot operation in Southern Senegambia in Octobre 2005.

 The Sahel and West African Club is partner of Enda Diapol Le Secrétariat du Club du Sahel et de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (SCSAO) is partner of Enda Diapol in the WABI initiative and has particularly participated in the organisation and financing of the launching seminar in Ziguinchor in October 2005.

 The GTZ PROCAS programme in Casamance (Senegal) collaborates with Enda Diapol on technical and political issues regarding support to cross border cooperation in the area.

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