Policy Development TerrAfrica (sustainable landuse) Sustainable Land Management in Africa – The TerrAfrica Initiative - Finally the solution?! The World Bank, the secretariat of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification and the Global Environment Facility have started a partnership towards generating investments and funds for sustainable land management in Africa. This initiative is called TerrAfrica (see news of July 2, 2004 on the World Bank website). In general, consultations of The World Bank on further shaping TerrAfrica have to a large extent left out African civil society organisations and rural land users. Both ENDS and partners have written a critical response towards TerrAfrica regarding their latest Business Plan, calling for a number of adaptations to be incorporated. Such changes are indispensable to allow TerrAfrica to meet it’s ambitions; i.e., to assist local land users overcome those obstacles and keep at bay those destructive interventions which harm their land and livelihood. This response has been sent to the World Bank, the UNCCD Secretariat, the European Commission, the presidency of the EU and others. Resources on the TerrAfrica Initiative: TerrAfrica Information Sheet (pdf-en pp 3) Draft Business Plan 2005-2006, Working Document (pdf-en pp 24) Comments on the TerrAfrica Draft Business Plan 2005-2006, Working Document March 2005 (pdf-en pp 5) EniD/GTD response paper on the TerrAfrica initiative by the World Bank, the UNCCD and GEF “a special catalytic effort that aims at promoting a new paradigm for framing and implementing sustainable land management in Sub-Saharan Africa.” (pdf-en pp 9) For more information contact Marie José v.d. Werff ten Bosch mjb@bothends.org