Tackling rural poverty, together

Extract

The European Commission has funded the international workshop “Development in a Drugs Environment: Beyond Alternative Development?” which was conducted by GTZ and FAO from 29th May - 1st June, 2006 in Berlin. The workshop was attended by 50 rural development and drug control experts from European Commission, FAO, GTZ, World Bank, UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), high ranking government representatives from Afghanistan (Minister for Rehabilitation and Rural Development), Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, representatives from international NGOs and consulting firms, universities and independent consultants. The workshop concluded that it is of highest importance for major rural development actors such as national and government institutions as well as international donor organisations to engage much more intensively in what is known as “Alternative Development” (AD) if sustainable development and a sustainable reduction of illicit drug crop production shall be achieved.
The AD approach was redefined to “Rural Development in a Drugs Environment” (RDE) for better expressing the required multi-sectoral, coherent, strategic and well-coordinated approach for drug control of the different actors.