Locally led action to preserve the Sundarbans
In 2005 over 100 countries and international organisations signed the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, a milestone on the debate about localisation of development. Localisation is about shifting the power to local development actors and communities by promoting ownership, alignment with local agenda, results, and mutual accountability, leading to locally led development (LLD). The adoption of the SDGs in 2015 turned the focus toward inclusive, locally driven approaches, while the 2016 Grand Bargain agreement highlighted the importance of strengthening the role of local and national responders in humanitarian efforts.
For a long time, Helvetas Bangladesh has been committed to strengthening locally led development in partnership with national organisations. Helvetas believes in respecting and building on local knowledge and experience, effectively engaging partners in co-designing projects, ensuring their representation on project advisory boards, and fostering reciprocal learning, This means CSOs, local government bodies, and street-level bureaucrats will have more space, and autonomy in decision-making and the ownership of the development process.
For this to happen, though, a change in the mindset, behavior and processes of donors, INGOs, and funding organizations is needed, as well as a shift in the attitude of local CSOs, who should be ready to stand up for their communities.
Young people champion cutting the use of plastic
Reducing Pollution and Improving the Ecology of the Sundarbans by Engaging Youth Network is a landmark initiative for Helvetas Bangladesh's localisation efforts. This project is co-designed by Bangladeshi NGO Rupantar and Helvetas starting from the concept note preparation to the final proposal and budget. Rupantar also included young people in the concept note preparation and consulted them during the final drafting.
The project is based on the engagement of youth in raising awareness and advocating for a reduction in single-use plastic and polythene and the involvement of the private sector in reusing and recycling. The idea of involving young people as champions of sustainability, the creation of opportunities for sustainable business models, and the collaboration with local government institutions, market committees and street-level bureaucrats to implement effective waste management systems, were particularly appreciated by the donor, the German Ministry for the Development and the Economic Cooperation (BMZ).
Rupantar co-funds the project by providing equipment, spaces, and management capacity. Helvetas Bangladesh’s collaboration with Rupantar, particularly through initiatives like the Sundarbans project, sets a path for future development efforts prioritising local expertise and co-design.
Our idea of locally led development
Locally led development is achieved by adopting a systemic, collaborative and inclusive approach that strengthens local systems by building on local knowledge, context, and agency, respecting local expertise and trusting our partners' abilities and skills to manage funds. This means empowering local communities to drive their development agenda, and international cooperation in modified roles, essentially refraining from a dictating attitude. An equality-based partnership approach also means, moving away from subcontractor models, fostering a shared sense of ownership over project outcomes, and involving local partners in the monitoring and evaluation framework. Let's embark on localisation by putting the local actors on the steering wheel of project initiation and implementation while supporting them through demand-driven capacity sharing, to achieve locally led development.