Abbreviations
CP
/Communities Programme
DDP
/District Development Plan
PEI
/Poverty-Environment Initiative
TF
/Trust Fund
UNDP
/United Nations Development Programme
UNEP
/United Nations Environment Programme
EP
/Environmental Protection
RT
/The Republic of Tajikistan
SEP
/State Environment Programme
DF
/Dehqan Farms
MEDT
/Ministry of Economic Development and Trade
ES
/Emergency Situations
STF
/Sewerage Treatment Facilities
HCS
/Housing and Communal Services
EPC
/Environment Protection Committee under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan
SDW
/Solid Domestic Waste
UN
/United Nations
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. General information about CP and PEI
3. General information about DDP in Khatlon Province
4. Analysis of DDP projects
5. Monitoring the implementation of DDP projects, analysis of costs and funding sources
6. Analysis of the projects’ expenditure part related to poverty reduction, environmental protection and/or sustainable development
7. Analysis of the percentage component of the projects’ budget related to poverty reduction, environmental protection and/or sustainable development from the total budget of DDP projects
8. Difficulties in getting prepared for the review
9. Conclusions
10. Sources of information
1. Introduction
According to the Terms of Reference, this study’s main purpose is to carry out a review of costs of the District Development Program (DDP) projects for the period of 2010-2016 in Khatlon Province. It was necessary to analyze all the funding sources directed at reducing poverty, preserving the environment and sustainable development over the past time between 2010 and 2016 in 19 target districts of Khatlon Province. The review should include projects financed by the Poverty-Environment Initiative (PEI), as well as projects financed by the government, and to find out what is their potential for replicating this experience in other regions of the Republic of Tajikistan.
This work includes data analysis by the consultant concerning the implementation of DDP projects, expenditure part of these projects and monitoring of their funding sources. It was necessary to monitor the implementation of projects aligned with DDP in 19 target districts of Khatlon Province for the period of 2010-2016. At the same time, it was necessary to segragate the completed projects by their funding sources and identify those projects related to poverty reduction, environmental protection and/or sustainable development.
Based on the work outcomes, it was necessary to calculate and analyze the corresponding ratio (share) from the total budget of all 19 districts, the exhausted finances for activities and/or projects related to poverty reduction, environmental issues and/or sustainable development. It was also necessary to determine the cumulative coefficient of the total budget share of all districts implemented by projects within the framework of DDP covering the period of 2010-2016. Thus, it was necessary to determine the percentage of such projects in the budget of each district and province. Data received from the departments region’s Hukumat, Khatlon Province’s Environmental Protection Office, Statistics Office, MEDT and EPC RT and other sources were used to implement the review.
2. General information about CP and PEI
The Community Programme (CP) is a multi-year UNDP initiative in Tajikistan, which builds on UNDP’s previous achievements since 1996 and supports work towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and implementing the National Development Strategy for 2016-2030.
The goal and objective of the UNDP’s CP is to support the efforts of the Government of Tajikistan to reduce poverty by improving local governance and creating conditions for sustainable development of the local economy. The objective of the UNDP Community Development Program is to improve the people’s living standards by strengthening local governance and creating an enabling environment for local economic development, which is implemented by CDP, including through one of its Poverty-Environment Initiative (PEI) projects.
PEI is a joint global program of UNDP and UNEP that supports national efforts to advance the links between poverty and environment in the national and local development planning processes, starting from policy development and ending to budget formulation, implementation and monitoring. Promoting PEI involves identifying the linkages between the environment and poverty, and then identifying the policy aspects, planning and budgeting processes that can lead to better pro-poor environmental governance in order to contribute to the achievement of development goals.
This program was officially launched in 2005 to reduce poverty, strengthen environmental security and preserve ecosystems by taking into account the links between poverty and environmental sustainability as a basis for economic policy and development planning. Currently, the program supports initiatives in 18 countries, including Tajikistan, by streamlining the integration of poverty and environmental issues into national and subnational development planning, from strategy to budgeting, implementation and monitoring. The first phase of PEI in Tajikistan was implemented in 2010-2013 and the second project phase was launched in early 2014, which is currently being implemented for the period until 2018. In an effort to systematize the process of PEI’s advancement in strategic planning, and to strengthen the role of state environment control bodies in planning processes, PEI reviews the costs of the District Development Program (DDP) projects for the period of 2010-2016 in 19 target districts of Khatlon Province. Such endeavour was carried out in 2015 targeting 14 District’s Social and Economic Development Plans (DDP) in Sughd Province.
3. General information about DDP in Khatlon Province
Khatlon Province is an administrative region within the Republic of Tajikistan. It represents one of the three provinces of the country. The administrative center is Qurghonteppa City, which is located 100 km south of the capital of the Republic of Tajikistan, Dushanbe. Population of the region as of January 1, 2017 represented 3 048 200 people. In terms of population, the province ranks first among the provinces nationwide and in terms of density it surrenders second only to the country’s capital.
The province is located on the southern spurs of Hissar-Alai mountain range with the continental climate. The region consists of 4 cities and 21 districts. The present review covers 19 administrative units of the province out of 25.
The main feature of this province is the fact that as of 01.01.2014, according to the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, only 12 districts had district development plans designed in compliance with the new methodology. The remaining districts and cities elaborated the Social and Economic Development Plans in compliance with the old method. Monitoring of these plans’ implementation was superficial and monitoring of these projects’ implementation was not analyzed in most areas of the province. During the period of 2012-2015, DDP was developed according to the existing methodology for 23 administrative units of Khatlon Province (except for Khovaling and Baljuvon districts):
Active DDPs in Khatlon Province1 / Khatlon Province / 2016-2020
2 / Kurghonteppa City / 2016-2020
3 / Kulob City / 2015-2019
4 / Norak Town / 2016-2020
5 / Farkhor District / 2016-2020
6 / Shuroobod (Shamsiddini Shohin) District / 2016-2020
7 / Panj District / 2014-2018
8 / Shahritus District / 2014-2018
9 / Jilikul (Dusti) District / 2013-2016
10 / Danghara District / 2016-2020
11 / N. Khusrav District / 2015-2019
12 / A Jomi District / 2015-2019
13 / Qubodiyon District / 2016-2020
14 / Khuroson District / 2016-2020
15 / Sarband Town / 2016-2020
16 / Bokhtar District / 2016-2020
17 / Yovon District / 2016-2020
18 / Vose District / 2016-2020
19 / Temurmalik District / 2016-2020
20 / Qumsangir (Jayhun) District / 2016-2020
21 / Hamadoni District / 2016-2020
22 / Vakhsh District / 2016-2020
23 / Jaloliddini Balkhi District / 2016-2020
24 / Khovaling District / 2015-2019
25 / Baljuvon District / 2010-2012
26 / Muminobod District / 2016-2020
Within this review, an analysis was carried out for 19 DDPs covering the period 2010-2016. The review did not include the following districts: N. Khusrav, Dangara, Vose, Muminobod, Temurmalik and Kulob City:
1 / Qurghonteppa City / 2016-20162 / Sarband Town / 2016-2020
3 / Norak Town / 2016-2020
4 / Farkhor District / 2016-2020
5 / Shuroobod (Shamsiddini Shohin) District / 2016-2020
6 / Panj District / 2014-2018
7 / Shahritus District / 2014-2018
8 / Jilikul (Dusti) District / 2013-2016
9 / A. Jomi District / 2015-2019
10 / Vakhsh District / 2016-2020
11 / Jaloliddini Balkhi (Rumi) District / 2016-2020
12 / Qubodiyon District / 2016-2020
13 / Khuroson District / 2016-2020
14 / Hamadoni District / 2016-2020
15 / Bokhtar District / 2016-2020
16 / Yovon District / 2016-2020
17 / Khovaling District / 2015-2019
18 / Baljuvon District / 2010-2012
19 / Qumsangir (Jayhun) District / 2016-2020
At the first stage, analysis of implementation of the DDP projects and their financial review was conducted in 11 districts, and in the second stage, the necessary information was collected from 8 districts of Khatlon Province (Yovon, Vakhsh, Khuroson, Bokhtar, A.Jomi districts, Norak, Qurghonteppa and Sarband cities). At the final stage, data concerning the implementation of DDP projects and their financial component for 2016 in all 19 target districts and cities of Khatlon Province were added to all districts. The data obtained was compared with the reports of the districts of Khatlon Province in respect to the implementation of the State Environment Program of the Republic of Tajikistan for 2009-2019.
Analysis of projects aligned to DDP
One of the important components of the development plan is the elaboration of specific projects/activities aimed at achieving medium-term goals and objectives. During the DDP design, relevant projects/activities in each district were developed to achieve the set goals and objectives. The analysis demonstrated that within the period from 2010 to 2016 the number of such projects accepted for implementation in 19 target districts of Khatlon Province amounted to 3,977. Projects in the context of DDP sectors were distributed as follows:
Table 1
№ / District / Number of projects accepted into DDP, total / including in DDP sectorsEconomic sector / Social sector / Infrastructure sector / EP and ES sector / Resource support
1 / Baljuvon / 204 / 69 / 81 / 45 / 8 / 1
2 / Khovaling / 192 / 47 / 86 / 52 / 7 / 0
3 / Shuroobod / 224 / 67 / 82 / 56 / 7 / 12
4 / Hamadoni / 199 / 55 / 85 / 38 / 10 / 11
5 / Farkhor / 374 / 81 / 196 / 46 / 31 / 20
6 / J. Rumi / 149 / 47 / 55 / 38 / 7 / 2
7 / Qubodiyon / 214 / 85 / 89 / 15 / 15 / 10
8 / Shahrituz / 256 / 79 / 90 / 59 / 20 / 8
9 / Jilikul / 243 / 64 / 120 / 48 / 11 / 0
10 / Qumsangir / 232 / 47 / 121 / 49 / 7 / 8
11 / Panj / 263 / 65 / 109 / 59 / 18 / 12
12 / Sarband Town / 189 / 101 / 37 / 32 / 7 / 12
13 / Bokhtar / 175 / 51 / 88 / 26 / 4 / 6
14 / Yovon / 285 / 61 / 198 / 18 / 6 / 2
15 / Vakhsh / 205 / 46 / 110 / 33 / 10 / 6
16 / Khuroson / 127 / 25 / 79 / 18 / 4 / 1
17 / A. Jomi / 131 / 49 / 40 / 19 / 17 / 6
18 / Norak Town / 220 / 63 / 81 / 62 / 8 / 6
19 / Qurghonteppa City / 95 / 40 / 24 / 16 / 11 / 4
Total for 19 districts / 3977 / 1142 / 1771 / 729 / 208 / 127
From the total number, 1142 projects or 28.7% were submitted in the economic sector, 1771 projects or 44.5% were submitted in the social sector, 729 projects or 18.3% were submitted in the infrastructure sector. 208 projects or 5.2% were submitted in the environmental protection and emergency response sector and 127 projects or 3.2% were submitted for resource support sector (Figure 1).
Figure 1
Based on the conducted monitoring of the DDP implementation, including the implementation of projects aligned to them, it was established that funding (as of 01.01.2017) was not fully implemented:
Table 2
№ / District / Number of projects aligned to DDP / Number of projects implemented / Number of projects being implemented / Projects lacking the financing source1 / Baljuvon / 204 / 65 / 67 / 72
2 / Khovaling / 192 / 95 / 55 / 42
3 / Shuroobod / 224 / 171 / 17 / 36
4 / Hamadoni / 199 / 97 / 42 / 60
5 / Farkhor / 374 / 290 / 13 / 71
6 / J. Rumi / 149 / 96 / 26 / 27
7 / Qubodiyon / 214 / 171 / 6 / 37
8 / Shahrituz / 256 / 170 / 24 / 62
9 / Jilikul / 243 / 205 / 11 / 27
10 / Qumsangir / 232 / 112 / 39 / 81
11 / Panj / 263 / 157 / 13 / 93
12 / Sarband Town / 189 / 70 / 30 / 89
13 / Bokhtar / 175 / 98 / 25 / 52
14 / Yovon / 285 / 184 / 26 / 75
15 / Vakhsh / 205 / 77 / 10 / 118
16 / Khuroson / 127 / 69 / 13 / 45
17 / A. Jomi / 131 / 75 / 19 / 37
18 / Norak Town / 220 / 101 / 42 / 77
19 / Qurghonteppa City / 95 / 69 / 14 / 12
Total / 3977 / 2372 / 492 / 1113
Thus, out of the total number of projects (3977), 59.6% were realized (1088), 12.4% continue to implement (492) and 28% did not explore the financing sources (1113):