Innovation
for Sustainable Development: Local Case Studies from Africa
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This report aims to shed light on how innovative
solutions have arisen at the local level to address sustainable development
challenges in Africa. The case studies in the volume identify the
determinants of success, ongoing problems and unfinished business, and the
scope for replication. The report is a contribution to the background
documentation for the 16th and 17th sessions of the
Commission on
Sustainable Development, which has Africa as one thematic focus. Its
preparation is the result of a fruitful dialogue and interaction between the
UN Secretariat and practitioners in the field in Africa. Several of the case
studies were prepared by people directly involved in and uniquely informed
about the projects, their history, challenges, implementation experience,
lessons learned and future plans. |
This report shows that sustainable projects need to link environmental goals
to income generation, draw upon local knowledge and ideas, ensure effective
buy-in from stakeholders through local community involvement in project
design and implementation, and employ financially self-sustaining business
models (which are crucial for success but remain a challenge in some cases).
External forces which impact on a project and affect conditions for success
include international markets and national legislation. In some cases,
though, local success can provide arguments for more accommodating national
policies to facilitate replication and scaling up. Lastly, simplicity in
project design, committed seed capital and integration of local traditions
and cultural heritage appear to be important success factors for innovative
local initiatives.
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