Training Course: "Territorial Development and Social Pacts"

Participant Organizations : Fundación TIERRA, Grupo ALLPA, CONGCOOP, COCOCH, FENACOOP, ASOCODE, FAO

Region: Latin America

Content: The training course was organized by FAO, IRD, ILC and CIAT, in Cali - Colombia from 17-21 June 2003. The aim was to analyse the components related to territorial development.

In accordance with the Land Coalition 's mandate, land access is considered to represent leverage for rural development and related processes. The land complexity was to be analysed and CSOs equipped with the capacity to understand the appropriate tools for its management. This was the framework in which the training course was organized.

Historical processes, use of land and land vocation, social demand and productive objectives, vulnerability of natural resources and exclusion/inclusion of marginalized groups have been topics for study of many researchers.

The training course's approach was to share these theoretical concepts applied to development. The concrete experience of civil-society groups, Land Coalition members and participants, was crucial in validating the instruments considered to be valuable by the research community.

Results: The experiences of CSOs have been compared with theoretical tools produced by researches and investigations. The main results have been the need to train development agents in social commitment and technical capacity in order to promote inclusive social and economic dynamics.

The successful experiences of Colombia , Brazil , Bolivia , among others, have been very useful in providing evidence of concrete changes produced by merging social and technical skills.

Lessons learned, among others:

The capacity of negotiating for common objectives, taking into account concomitantly the tacit or explicit interests, can be very productive and challenging. CSOs are often ill-equipped to play this role.

The strategy for responding to lack of government institutions within the same territory can vary; the roles of different actors should be clear and recognized. Conflict management can become a fundamental tool for territorial development.

The social pact for territorial development is a very long-term objective; social time needs to be carefully considered.