Facing various developing challenges, Tunisia is elaborating a new National Strategy for Local Development based on natural resources management and more balanced economic development. The objective of the pilot “monitoring and applied research program for the development and conservation of agricultural lands” (« PR-OSCAR ») was to develop research activities aiming at:
- Assessing in the long term the impacts of development actions in rural areas;
- Developing the innovation capacities concerning sustainable natural resources management and development at local, regional and national level
PR-OSCAR has contributed to implement a pilot monitoring project in the rural area of Merguellil (central Tunisia) jointly managed by the administration, research institutions, universities, local authorities and actors.
PR-OSCAR was in the same time:
- A platform to collect and manage territorial data facilitating the building and sharing of knowledge in the long term concerning local development and natural resources management of the area studied.
- A decision support system for territorial management
- An experimental platform for technical and social innovations in local economic development and natural resources management
- An approach to support participatory rural planning
This pilot project was a first step in the implementation of a network of similar monitoring platforms in support of the development of various rural areas to be selected as part of a new program for natural resources management in vulnerable areas of Tunisia (program PACTE: 2017/2023).
Description of actual services provided by your staff
- Preparatory studies et building of the monitoring methodology
- Characterization of the pilot area, implementation of the monitoring platform and experimentation of the proposed governance system
- Organization of a multi-stakeholder workshop for the assessment of the monitoring platform including the experimental governance system.
- Building the methodological guidelines for the participatory monitoring and assessment
- Assessment the stakeholders’ information needs and of the existing information systems dealing with land, natural resources management and local economic development.
- Recommendations concerning the elaboration of participatory Local Territorial Committees: responsibilities, composition and functioning rules.
- Elaboration of a guide for participatory planning at territorial scale: strategic development plan, operational plan
- Capacity building of the project team and the Local territorial committee concerning participatory planning
