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     Findings


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            Africa Region · Number 147                              · April 2008
  Findings Infobriefs reports on Good Practice in ongoing operational, economic and sector work carried out by the World
Bank and its member governments in the Africa Region. It is published monthly by the Knowledge and Learning Center
on behalf of the Region. The views expressed in Findings are those of the author/s and should not be attributed to the
World Bank Group.



Africa Region
Regional Environmental Information
Management Program
   Forest ecosystems in the Congo Basin are seen as global biodiversity «hot spots.» Several
   donor agencies have undertaken efforts to assist national governments in addressing
   these concerns within the framework of the Convention on Biodiversity (Rio 1992). A
   study of a number of initiatives in the region identified a critical problem in this field as
   the lack of comprehensive and accurate environmental information, and the difficulty, if
   not the impossibility, of access to it.


The REIMP addresses this situation by creating a regional network of public, private and non-
governmental agencies based in Central Africa willing to share information and capitalize on
their experiences and lessons learned.

The primary goal of the REIMP was to improve planning and management of natural resources
in the Congo Basin, with specific focus on biodiversity conservation, by providing the various
stakeholders with appropriate information on the environment in response to the needs they
identify.

The project had five objectives:
   • Ensure the circulation of environmental information and optimize benefits from existing
      initiatives;
   • Foster involvement of decision-makers in environmental information use and facilitate
      sound land use planning in the Congo Basin;
   • Provide users (public and private sectors, NGOs, sub-regional and international organi-
      zations) with environmental information meeting their demand;
   • Strengthen national capacities for environmental information management;
   • Implement a Regional Fund for Local Initiatives (REFLI).



   The “Good Practice Infobrief” series is edited by Lawrence Mastri, AFTRL, World Bank, 1818 H Street NW, Washington D.C., 20433. Tel.
   (202) 473-3308; e-mail: lmastri@worldbank.org
In order to implement the REIMP, six governments in the Congo Basin (Cameroon, CAR, Congo,
DRC, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon) signed a regional memorandum of understanding creating
the “Association pour le Développement de l’Information Environnementale” (ADIE) as the
implementing agency for the REIMP. The Government of Chad joined the ADIE in 2001.

Impact

The project has established a basis for a better management of information related to natural
resources. The project collected, organized and set means to disseminate information used in
decision-making processes. The REIMP enabled it by facilitating:
   ƒ a better understanding of the region’s needs in terms of environmental, scientific and
       social knowledge and in terms of management of environmental information;
   ƒ the assessment of the willingness of countries to implement information systems in
       order to better manage natural resources along with the promotion of forest information
       management systems;
   ƒ the creation of tools to archive and manage information;
   ƒ the promotion of the involvement of local communities in the management of natural
       resources;
   ƒ capacities building.

Lessons learned

   ƒ   Promoting development by providing information is a good way of bringing people together
       in a region.

   ƒ   Innovative development topics can be introduced in a region by widely involving every
       active stakeholder from the very beginning.

   ƒ   Information to improve environmental management requires an important adaptation of
       mindset.

   ƒ   A regional approach has the advantage of enabling economies of scale to create and
       share information and knowledge.

   ƒ   The financing of the implementing agency should be part of an agreement with donors.

   ƒ   Project management should put more emphasis on linking financial management and
       monitoring & evaluation.

   ƒ   Technical experts recruited or appointed in project implementing agencies should en-
       sure an adequate transfer of knowledge towards local executives.

   ƒ   The project should ensure better links with the private sector because this sector is a
       key recipient of the information disseminated and produced by the project.



This Infobrief was based on World Bank Implementation Completion Report No. 29549, from which
detailed information can be obtained.




 Persons accessing the Bank’s internal and external websites can find more information on Knowledge Sharing and
 Environment by clicking on Topics.