Our current projects:

National Program to Support Protected Areas (SNAP)

Ecuador / 2011 - 2015

The main objective of the National Program to Support Protected Areas (SNAP) is contributing to the sustainability of biologic diversity and life basis in Ecuador by strengthening SNAP in priority zones and involving regional and local co-responsible actors for the biodiversity conservation.

Support to Land Reform in Communal Areas

Namibia / 2011 - 2014

In the negotiations on development cooperation between the Government of Republic of Namibia and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2001 the governments agreed to support the communal land reform programme in Namibia. The main objectives of the land reform programme are: (i) To bring about more equitable distribution of and access to land; (ii) To promote sustainable economic growth; (iii) To lower income inequalities and to (iv) to reduce poverty. The MLR has developed an Action Plan adopted in 2005 that defines and describes clear targets, timeframes, actions to be carried out as well as estimated financial requirements for the Land Reform. According to it, the land reform programme builds on four pillars:

  • Re-distribution of land (involving state acquisition according to the willing buyer-willing
    -seller principle);
  • The Affirmative Action Loan Scheme (AALS) administered by Agribank;
  • Tenure reform;
  • The development of under-utilised non-freehold land.



In November 2006, the Ministry of Lands and Resettlement (MLR) and the German Development Cooperation through KfW Development Bank concluded a “Separate Agreement” on the co-financing of the Land Reform Programme. In order to speed up programme implementation and the disbursement of funds, MLR and KfW agreed to fund an accompanying measure. The key challenges are to overcome the lack of a management support mechanism with the main objective to keep track of the implementation of the financial cooperation programme, both technically and financially, synthesize lessons learned and best practices, and the subsequent dissemination of information to the key stakeholders.
The key objective pursued by the Programme is that communal lands in Namibia are developed and tenure rights secured in line with the Communal Land Act of 2002.



Sustainable Land Management

Ethiopia / 2011 - 2014

The development objective of the SLM program is to reduce land degradation in agricultural landscapes and to improve agricultural productivity of smallholder farms, specifically targeting “high potential” areas that are increasingly becoming vulnerable to land degradation and food insecurity.

Support Programme for Decentralization and Poverty Reduction: Promotion of Decentralization and Local Economic Development

Burundi / 2011 - 2013

Objective: Capacity building of municipalities and other decentralization stakeholders in the provision of basic services through public participation and promotion of local economy. The decentralization stakeholders are mainly the provincial administration and government decentralized advisory services offered by various ministries (education, health, agriculture, etc.) with experts at provincial or municipal level.

KV - Programme Community Promotion (PACT), Componente 3: Governance, regional and local economic development

Mali / 2011 - 2013

Despite the decentralization process initiated in Mali in 1992, the effect of the decentralization policy is still low. Communities lack personal and administrative capacity, their room for financial maneuver is limited. The population´s needs for public administration and basic services are not satisfied, economic development and local democracy cannot fully develop. The PACT Decentralisation Programme addresses these issues with a multi-level approach, commissioned by the Ministry for Territorial Administration and Local Government.
Innovative solutions are developed, tested, and adapted at local level before they are scaled-up throughout the intervention zone, involving decentralization actors (decentralised and deconcentrated).
These positive experiences are directly fed into the national discussion concerning the implementation of Mali's decentralization process and the development of deconcentration strategies via a government advisor at the Ministry. The overall objective of the program consists of improving the management of and access to basic social services, economic development and social participation at the level of local and regional authorities. The Components of the programme are: (1) consolidation of decentralisation, (2) local administration and basic social services, (3) governance of regional and local economic development.



Decentralization Programme, Component 3: Financial management at local level

Mozambique / 2011 - 2013

The Component 3 focuses more on the management of the implementation of infrastructure as foreseen in the district plan at local level. This manner, activities will be directly involved with good management and includes:

  • A reduction of the time used for administrative procedures;
  • The percentage of public commissions awarded in the district are in accordance with decree 54/05 (national procurement regulations), as well as the percentage of the planned infrastructure executed during the financial year.


Enhancing dialogue in the context of poverty reduction Budget Support to Mozambique

Mozambique / 2011 - 2012

Mozambique has been receiving direct budget support since the late 1990s from a growing group of donors, which at this moment includes 19 bilateral and multilateral agencies (the G19 Group or Programme Aid Partners Group - PAPs). The main reciprocal commitments have been enshrined in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in 2004 an renewed in 2008, which includes a number of undertakings by donors to improve aid effectiveness.

The project consists of supporting the routine areas of analysis of the planning, reporting and monitoring documents which are produced by the Government of Mozambique (GoM) according to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between them and partners (programme support partners – G19 PAPs) for the provision of Direct Budget Support, with special emphasis on the planning, reporting and monitoring documents in the education sector with a special focus on financial planning, management and sectoral budget execution also under a sector MoU detailing the strategic plan adopted for the sector.



Support and Consolidation of the reform of criminal proceeding and of the justice sector

Peru / 2010-2012

The objective of the project „Support and Consolidation of the reform of criminal proceeding and of the justice sector in Peru“is to assure the reforms implementation is conform to criteria in accordance to the rule of law.
The methodology applied bases on the strengthening of dialogue and it seffectiveness through communities of practice and on the development and sustainable implementation of training courses within local institutions such as universities. A regional long term expert accompanies this change process and manages a pool of international, regional and national experts (30 staff-months) for specific tasks in the general topics networking, training, direct counseling, financing the justice reform and local administrative reform.

Limpopo National Park: Implementation of the Support Zone Development Plan

Mozambique / 2010 - 2012

The rules for the use of natural resources in the Support Zone of the Limpopo National Park are determined by the Management Plan of the park. It is prohibited to commercially use natural resources. Currently, the mainly poor population is living from wildlife hunting (not legalized) and fishing, the marketing of non-forest products and small-scale agriculture and livestock husbandry for subsistence purposes.
The objective of the project is to improve the livelihood of the people living in the Support Zone and in so doing to reduce the pressure on the natural resource use in the park’s core area. Communities must be trained in a way that they can participate in the economic development of the country while at the same time using the available natural resources in a sustainable way and in harmony with the objectives and regulations of the park.
The consortium oversees the implementation of the Support Zone Development Plan with the main focus on the development of income generating projects in the SZ. Funding Agency is the development agency of France (Agence Française de Développement, AfD) and the Ministry of tourism in Mozambique (Ministerió de turismo, MITUR).

Policy advice for the development and consolidation of disaster risk management

Mozambique / 2010 - 2012

Mozambique is one of the countries in Africa most strongly and frequently affected by natural phenomena, such as hurricanes, inundations and droughts. The multiple natural risks and the high vulnerability especially of the poor rural population result in a high disaster risk, which even may increase in the future, among others due to climate change.
During the last years, there has already been made important progress in disaster risk management (DRM); for example aprox. 350 local DRM-Committees in disaster-prone villages and districts have been created and developed. Nevertheless, the institutional capacities of the Institute for Disaster Management INGC are still insufficient to establish decentralised DRM in all disaster-prone areas in a qualitative adequate and sustainable way and to attend adequately the existing local structures. Furthermore, the necessary consideration of DRM in the relevant sector ministries (among others Ministry of Construction, Educations, Planning) as well as in the development planning of the district administrations has to be further developed.
Despite the good progress already made, the population in the disaster-prone areas still doesn’t have the necessary support to reduce its disaster risk effectively and sustainably, due to the insufficient capacity of the local structures (core problem).
The objective of the second phase of the Programme is, that the population in cooperation with the local administrations and INGC is applies methods and measures of DRM and reduces its risk in disaster-prone areas (considering climate change).

Strengthening Municipal Landmanagement

Serbia / 2010 - 2012

Serbia is in a transition process, which includes the change from state-owned grounds to privatisation of land. The Serbian communities don’t have the capacities yet for an efficient landmanagement under these new circumstances.
The objective of the project is to strengthen the capacities of the serbian municipalities in the ecological, social and efficient landuse and planning to improve the local development of rural and urban serbian municipalities.
The objective of the first phase (2010- 2012) is to develop and test different instruments of spatial planning and land management.

Promotion of democracy on local level and reduction of poverty

Paraguay / 2009 - 2012

The overall objective of the program is: “Selected municipalities organize local development in an efficient, participatory and transparent manner”. The program includes four components:
1. The improvement of municipal management
2. Local inter-institutional coordination and citizen participation
3. Cooperation between local and central financial administration
4. Dissemination of best practices
The performance capabilities and potentials of both local governments and civil society are developed and strengthened. The services of AMBERO are concentrated on the components 2 “Local inter-institutional coordination and citizen participation” and 4. “Diffusion of best practices”.



Sustainable and peace-developing management of the environment and natural resources

Colombia / 2009 - 2012

Despite of relevant progress in the last years in the containment of the conflict new conflict lines and stakeholders, especially in rural areas, appeared.
The program “Development of peace by promotion of cooperation between state and society” has the following aim: State and non- state actors cooperate in a constructive manner for developing peace and strengthening social inclusion.

 



Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change (MACC) – Selva Central

Peru / 2010 - 2011

The project aims to contribute to forest conservation and reducing CO2 emissions, making the strengthening of management capabilities and effective control of six protected areas and buffer zones, the achievement of economic effect positive for local actors, by implementing a program of sustainable economic activity by local communities and making use of the land and its resources, and developing a regulatory and institutional framework that incorporates tools for mitigation and adaptation to climate change in the six protected areas, including marketing of carbon certificates.

Program Competitiveness and Environment (CYMA) Organizational Development and Capacity Development

Costa Rica / 2009 - 2011

The objective of the program CYMA is: The solid waste management in municipalities and industries in some selected regions of Costa Rica has advanced.
The consulting services aim the building and development of inter-institutional units on a national level and the capacity development of waste management units on the municipal level. The program contributes to a better communication and cooperation between the public sector, the private sector and the civil society.

Sustainable Land Management Programme - Participatory Forest Management Project

Oromia, Ethiopia / 2009 – 2011

The German contribution to the national Sustainable Land Management Programme (SLM) aims at reducing land degradation and improving food security in the mountain areas of Tigray, Amara and Oromia. The project works in three components: (i) legal frameworks and reform processes, (ii) increase of agricultural production and income, (iii) continual development of innovative approaches and methods of sustainable land-management, participative forest management and energy use.

As part of the third component, the consortium AMBERO-GITEC is implementing the subcomponent Participatory Forest Management (PFM). Here the focus lies on support of the Ethiopian partner, the Oromia Forest Agency and its subordinated forest enterprises, in up-scaling and further development of the already tested PFM-approaches.



Implementation of Community Development Strategy in Chimanimani TFCA in the Framework of the TFCATD Program

Chimanimani National Reserve, province Manica, Mozambique / 2009 - 2012

The Conservation Areas and Tourism Development Project (TFCATD Project) aims to support the conservation of biodiversity while improving the livelihood of local communities through economic development, in particular sustainable tourism within four Transfrontier Conservation Areas (Libombo, Limpopo, Chimanimani and Zimoza). The objectives of the project in conserving the natural environment and supporting biodiversity conservation and natural resource management in the protected areas include measures like the modification of boundaries, the use of potential for establishing new protected areas, and the development of regulations, procedures and institutional structures for planning, management and development. Local communities are to play an important role in a sustainable management of the natural resources and the development of economic activities. They are included in zoning and development plans for resource use (community based informal creation of protected areas) as well as economic development.

Programme Supporting Decentralisation and Local Development (PADDL)

Cameroon / 2008 - 2011

With the signing of the Millennium Declaration, Cameroon set off sweeping processes of social change. Nevertheless, decision-making processes and structures within the public sector and the interaction among development actors to date are not conducive to a comprehensive development of the country. The rural population, above all, lack resources and education, as well as such skills as self-organisation. Additionally hampered by a centralistic government with little enthusiasm for reform, local development potential cannot be appropriately realised.
On this basis the overall objective of the programme was formulated as such:
Population and decision-makers in selected local authorities independently shape their own social and economic environment. They can do this under development-friendly conditions (decentralisation, poverty reduction.)

Services for International Development