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Linking resources, building sustainable futures
Access is key
Creating the link
Lessons learned
Success Stories
Over the last three years, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has focused on impacting sustainable human development (SHD) by creating and supporting the Sustainable Development Networking Programme (SDNP). A direct result of the 1992 United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development (the Rio Earth Summit), the SDNP has already linked together government organizations, the private sector, universities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and individuals in 24 developing countries through electronic and other networking vehicles for the express purpose of exchanging critical information on sustainable development.
At the Rio Earth Summit, environmental and economic leaders agreed in the Agenda 21 document that early access to and the deliberate sharing of information and expertise between all nations was a key component to ensuring a sustainable future for the planet. The UNDP Capacity 21 programme addresses this need by encouraging developing countries to devote human and organizational resources to sustainable development efforts.
An autonomous initiative, the SDNP enhances Capacity 21 by enabling developing countries to share vital information and expertise. It complements the existing human network by using every available and appropriate communications tool, from e-mail to electronic bulletin boards, faxes, phones and posters. Every SDNP node is a country-owned, non-profit information networking system that supports decision makers and key stakeholders from all sectors of civil society on issues related to SHD. All of SDNP's efforts are geared towards national capacity building and training.
Already the results are remarkable and the creation of a "culture of information" is beginning to emerge in more developing nations. For example, the SDNP has positively impacted land-use planning in Bolivia; educated lobbyists and government officials making environmental policy in Nicaragua; facilitated the creation of the African Internet Forum, a consortium of development partners whose goal is to provide Internet access to the continent; and saved lives in Pakistan by locating supplies of rare blood types needed for transfusions.
The communications revolution has already enabled millions of people to become better informed about decision making processes in their countries, cities, villages and communities which can improve their standard of living. The SDNP capitalizes on the global thirst for information by identifying key sources of critical information at the national and international levels and by providing access to this data via electronic networks to users in developing nations. Through the creation of national directories, the SDNP empowers national SDNP teams to access affordable, reliable information on a regular basis.
The information revolution provides an invaluable new set of tools for all partners striving to achieve sustainable development. It makes empowerment both meaningful and effective and opens up for developing countries the prospect of leapfrogging over earlier communication technologies to become real participants in the global economy.- Maurice F. Strong, former Secretary-General,the Earth Summit
The SDNP is a national information exchange operation run by independent entrepreneurs. To establish the program in each country, the UNDP Country office provides guidance in the formation of a Steering Committee of individuals from stakeholder groups including key ministries such as Environment, Health and Education; the private sector; academia and non-governmental organizations. They commission a feasibility study conducted by national consultants, using terms of reference custom-tailored to each country, and if appropriate they then develop a project proposal. SDNP New York approves the project, collaborates on recruitment decisions and provides the necessary equipment. All equipment is configured and tested in New York before it is shipped. All national staff are thoroughly trained in one-on-one sessions, through global workshops and/or with written training materials.
SDNP provides seed money, typically for two years, to enable each node to build its own user community and shift from external to domestic financing. Every SDNP is regarded as a service organization that must be demand-driven to survive; consequently the long-term viability of each SDNP rests on the entrepreneurial skills of its National Coordinator, a Steering Committee which supports and promotes their policies and the nourishment by a user community whose interest is in SHD.
The desire for access to information seems virtually insatiable and is presently driven more by non-governmental organizations, academia and the private sector than by governments. Nonetheless, SDNP has been in contact with over 100 governments who have reaffirmed their willingness to encourage open access to information via an SDNP program.
Each of these countries needs and wants to operate a national network, although a regional approach may be more relevant where small user communities, such as small islands, must take advantage of economies of scale. Though few users are willing to pay for information at the outset, once the value of that information to their work is understood, they are more willing to contribute toward its cost. There is hard evidence that a user community can be steadily built and financially sustain its network.
Though the SDNP continues to evaluate other technologies like UUCP and other low-cost alternatives, primary focus is now on the Internet. Affordable access to the Internet is often difficult to obtain in developing countries. Public Telecommunication Operators (PTOs), which are generally monopolies, are facing many challenges such as a shortage of capital, insufficient staff, and a need to fully understand the implications of the new communications technologies including the Internet.
Promoters of global networking should recognize that concern about access to Western culture and certain types of information is genuine, but can be controlled.
Effective Steering Committees are an important ingredient in a successful SDNP. National consultants and staff can best formulate project proposals and manage the national program. National SDNP Coordinators should be concerned about making the already powerful more powerful and further marginalizing the uninformed. An aggressive outreach campaign and providing affordable access to information are the best responses.
SDNP does not compete with or duplicate already existing networking operations. It works with many different partners, from financial institutions to bilaterals to national and international non-governmental organizations. A combination of bilateral assistance joining forces with SDNP may be more acceptable to some countries as well as being mutually beneficial, but few administrations facilitate this approach. SDNP has ongoing working relationships with organizations such as the Consortium for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) and the United Nations Environment Programme's Infoterra.
Now that the significance of access to sustainable development information is gaining recognition, the real challenge is training people to use the information most effectively for decision-making.
Information technologies like the Internet are significant tools for sustainable development practitioners, but not yet as widely used as they should be. Access to these new technologies and resources diminishes the desire to leave the country, or not to return after overseas training, thus minimizing the "brain drain". Furthermore, SDNP promotes effective technical cooperation between developing countries (TCDC).
The SDNP already operates from Pakistan to Poland, China to Chad, and Togo to Tunisia. Another 75 countries have expressed interest in establishing networks to stimulate SHD and many have embarked upon or even completed feasibility studies. However, most countries interested in initiating an SDNP are constrained by lack of financing.
Thanks to the SDNP, 180 organizations and tens of thousands of users are part of this successful network. A country with poor infrastructure and communication facilities, Bolivia is nonetheless rich in its use of the SDNP guided by a creative and energetic National Coordinator. Using everything from radio announcements for national registration of SDNP users to sending updated cassettes once a week to various towns, this SDNP functions exactly as it was designed by providing easy access to information to all levels of civil society in Bolivia.
The SDNP has transformed Pakistan from a country where information did not flow to many areas of society to a nation on the cutting edge of the information superhighway. When the SDNP first started, there was only one other e-mail service provider. An energetic SDNP team generated news stories and advertisements about the importance of "being connected" in a variety of publications. The result: the Pakistan SDNP now handles 2,500 nodes catering to nearly 5,000 users country-wide through its offices in four cities. And 8 competitive e-mail providers have entered the field in Pakistan, encouraged by the success of SDNP.
This SDNP also offers consulting services to other e-mail providers, which generates revenue, and it provides government institutions with expert advice on network legislation. Additionally, it has helped to create Usenet-type conferences and serves as the backbone for these conferences, providing them free of cost to other e-mail providers.
The people of Nicaragua use the SDNP as a forum to lobby their Congress on issues related to SHD. With good staff training and an effective Steering Committee, this SDNP has helped to update environmental laws and has become known as the source for reliable information on the environment and development.
The creation of an SDNP node in Estonia, as part of a link with CIESIN and the local UNDP office, has catalyzed the organization of local databases specifically concerned with information about Estonia. This node routinely registers more than 30,000 hits per week on its website.
Accessibility to information for all levels of civil society is particularly important in a developing democracy, and Estonia is now moving faster to benefit from the information revolution than any other country in Eastern Europe. The country already boasts more permanent Internet connections per capita than many European Union members and 80% of its schools are on-line.
" Dollar for dollar, an SDNP is the biggest bang for the buck for moving toward sustainable human development." - Chuck Lankester, Director, SDNP
For more information
visit SDNP's website at: http://www3.undp.org/
There you will find a list of all operational SDNP's, National Coordinators and their contact points, national feasibility studies, project documents, workshop reports, papers, speech materials and this brochure.
Or, contact SDNP headquarters at:
Sustainable Development Networking Programme
304 East 45th Street, Room FF-10108
New York, NY 10017
USA Tel: (212) 906-5862
Fax: (212) 906-6952
E-mail: sdnp@sdnhq.undp.org