ENDA – Tiers Monde
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ENDA – Tiers Monde
Résidence Phare Mamelles
BP 3370 Dakar
Senegal
Tel: +221-869 99 48
Fax: +221-860 51 33
E-mail : se@enda.sn
Website: http://www.enda.sn/
Contact: Ms. Joséphine Ouedraogo, Secretary General
Description
Environment Development and Action in the Third World (Enda TM) was created in 1972, as a joint program of the African Institute for Economic Development and Planning (IDEP), the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the Swedish International Development and Cooperation Agency (SIDA). In 1978, Enda TM established its headquarters in Senegal. Today, Enda TM has a permanent presence in thirteen countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe (Vietnam, India, Ethiopia, Tunisia, Morocco, Mali, Senegal, Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia, Dominican Republic, Belgium and France) and works in more than 40 countries.
Enda TM aims to serve the populations of the developing world through: protection of the environment, poverty reduction, and citizenship promotion. Thus conceived, Enda TM’s work can be characterized as fighting against exclusion and for sustainable development. At the local level, Enda TM seeks to improve the lives of vulnerable groups, while at the international level it is involved in action-oriented research, capacity building and advocacy initiatives around topics such as climactic change, the Millennium Development Goals, fair trade, WTO negotiations, debt cancellation, human rights, and violence against women and children.
Track Record
Environmental Protection: Enda TM’s environmental protection work began as early as the 1970s and underlines the uniqueness of its approach to international development. Enda TM recognized early on that development could not take place with out environmental justice and that the most destitute populations often suffered from a combination of economic poverty and environmental degradation. Thus, Enda TM’s approach to environmental protection links respect for nature with respect for human dignity, focusing on the socio-environmental problems faced by the urban poor across the African continent. These enclaves of urban poverty are often the result of rural exodus, caused by disinvestment in rural production and/or repeated droughts. Enda TM was one of the first international organizations to identify this phenomenon, study it and advocate for international aid to help combat it.
In the 1980s Enda TM’s environmental protection work evolved to include the right to access to basic social services such as water, decontamination, education, health care and energy. Here again, the link between poverty and environmental degradation is clear, and Enda TM’s strategy seeks to break this vicious cycle. Thus rather than treating the symptoms of rural exodus, Enda TM’s work also encompasses strategies to revive agricultural production in the African countryside. These initiatives include campaigns against the use pesticides and the introduction of genetically modified organisms, support for organic agricultural practices, re-forestation, anti-desertification, and protection of arid and semi-arid zones.
After working on environmental protection issues for close to 35 years, Enda TM has become an authority in the domain and has actively worked towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.
Poverty Reduction: Enda TM’s poverty reduction work takes place at both the local and the global levels. Locally, Enda TM supports small scale initiatives including, access to micro-credit, micro-enterprise, artisanal production based on recycled materials and community employment in water distribution and rubbish collection. At the international level, Enda TM works to promote political dialogue and advocacy around poverty reduction strategies in the developing world. It recognizes the importance of local ownership and advocates for development strategies that combine external resources with local knowledge and public education aimed at reinforcing the coherence and sustainability of development programs.
Citizenship Promotion: Enda TM’s approach is a holistic one that combines the fight against environmental degradation, poverty and exclusion. The fight against exclusion thus includes poverty reduction and environmental protection as well as advocacy for the recognition of economic and social rights of underprivileged populations. Enda TM’s citizenship promotion work has contributed to reinforcing the organizational capacity of underprivileged social groups and enabling their effective participation in the construction of public dialogue around their needs. Enda TM’s citizenship program supports capacity building initiatives among African civil society organizations and the populations they serve.
Challenges
A major challenge is that the majority of Enda TM’s funding has been project-based, and has not been configured in such a way as to advance institution-building or strengthening. Over the last year (2005-2006) Enda TM’s total budget has risen in large part due to increase contributions to project funds, while core funding has decreased. Core support accounts for less than 20% of the organization’s total budget.
Currently Enda TM’s main concern is to locate sufficient additional funding to allow it to undertake institutional reconstruction and in particular, to reinvigorate the executive secretariat by reinforcing the managerial capacity of staff, improving working conditions, reinforcing budgetary resources and improving institutional communication.
Opportunities
Enda TM’s unique approach to development sets it apart from other international development organizations operating on the continent. In particular, the organization’s holistic approach to environmental protection, poverty reduction and the inclusion of marginalized groups enables it to carry out creative initiatives in various domains, including natural resources management, agriculture, fishing, urban planning, water purification, public health, education, promotion of women’s activities, and support of South-South and South-North partnerships.
