Introduction
This book documents experience in regional development planning and investment project formulation, including the incorporation of environmental considerations into these processes. It looks at actual implementation of development in relation to plans. Both successes and failures are recorded to help practitioners learn what has worked and what has not worked under different conditions in Latin America. Regional planning is defined as multisectoral planning of particular spaces - states, provinces, river basins or other areas - where governments have decided to promote investment and stimulate development. The methodologies described are applied by multidisciplinary teams of professionals.
The book addresses several audiences: managers of integrated development studies, government policy-makers, universities and training centers, international lending agencies, and development assistance agencies.
The Department of Regional Development (DRD) of the Organization of American States has been providing assistance to Latin America and the Caribbean in development planning and project formulation for 20 years. It has concluded that neither comprehensive planning nor purely sectoral approaches to planning and project formulation is appropriate for developing countries. DRD's approach involves the diagnosis of principal problems and potentials of a given area: the preparation of a development strategy; and the formulation of a coordinated package of projects of infrastructure, production, and supporting services projects within an action plan for implementing the strategy.
DRD believes that "environmental" problems usually occur when one sector competes with another for the use of natural goods and services. If resource management is considered early in the planning process, these sectoral conflicts can be minimized, obviating the need for costly environmental impact assessments.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (AID), and the U.S. National Park Service (NPS), through their joint Natural Resources Expanded Information Base Project, cooperated with the Department of Regional Development of the Organization of American States in the preparation and funding of the book.
Guidelines
I. Designing the Study
To begin designing a regional development study, a planning team needs a definition of the study area, a statement of the government's goals and intended investment level, a clear sense of the region's general problems and potentials, and knowledge of the agencies that will conduct the study and implement its results. DRD fields a preliminary mission to get this information and to examine other elements that condition the study design: the degree of application of the regional development process in the country, the relationship of the region's problems to broader national issues, and the relationship of the region's resource management practices to wider ecosystems.
Problems encountered in development planning usually require multisectoral solutions that, in turn, require an integrated, multidisciplinary approach. The central problem of study design is defining the technical focus broadly enough to make viable solutions possible while staying within time and resource limits. Put another way, a study's scope can be reduced without destroying the integral focus if goals and resources are wisely matched,
Regional development studies are managed jointly by national counterpart agencies and DRD. This coordinated management helps mobilize local participation, improves the likelihood that the study's recommendations will be implemented, and provides for efficient technology transfer.
The design phase culminates in an agreement stipulating the products of the study, the financial commitments of the participants, and the schedule of activities or work-plan. The workplan specifies which technicians must collaborate on each task and how the tasks relate to each other and to the study products.
II. Executing the Study
Study execution is divided into two phases: development diagnosis (Phase I) and project formulation and preparation of the action plan (Phase II).
Phase I consists of a diagnosis of the principal regional needs, problems, potentials, and constraints; the formulation of development strategies; and the identification of potential investment projects. In relatively developed areas, analysis of existing data can suffice for the diagnosis, which may be aimed at improving on-going activities. Where data is deficient, information on natural resources and other subjects is collected so that areas with high development potential can be selected rapidly. Study tasks are defined in terms of problems or spatial subdivisions rather than technical disciplines. Alternative strategies consistent with national goals are formulated to capture major opportunities, resolve critical problems, and unify subregions. Project possibilities are identified to implement the strategies and to minimize potential conflicts among users of natural goods and services. Local agencies and beneficiaries participate in this process. The Phase I report enables the government to select one of the strategy alternatives, as well as a group of projects to be formulated in Phase II.
In Phase II, the development strategy is refined and Phase I project proposals selected by the government are formulated (usually as pre-feasibility studies) with the participation of beneficiaries and implementing agencies. The projects are tailored to the criteria of prospective sources of financing and assembled into project "packages" consisting of coordinated, mutually reinforcing investments in production, infrastructure, and social services. The action plan prepared at this point provides the policy framework and rationale for the projects and recommendations for an investment timetable, institutional arrangements, and relevant legislation. Phase II ends with a final report composed of the proposed action plan and interrelated projects. (Table 1 is a synthesis of the process of study execution.) A fundamental objective of the process is to strenghten the national institutions that participate in the study.
III. Implementing the Recommendations
Even a technically and economically sound development proposal will not automatically be converted into action. The greatest development challenge is political - getting plans implemented under prevailing financial and institutional conditions. Measures that help to insure that recommendations will be heeded can be applied throughout the study process:
- In the design of the study, make the study compatible with the national system of project generation. Keep implementation agencies informed, if not intimately involved. Allow enough time and resources for project formulation.- During execution of the study, use public meetings and the media to generate broad popular and political support. Solicit project ideas from local agencies and fit new project ideas into national sectoral plans, In multinational projects, create a high-level but informal forum for technical discussion. Initiate small projects during the study to build momentum for larger projects.
- After the study is completed, hold seminars with government officials to discuss technical findings and proposals. Ensure that funding for implementation is included in the appropriate regional or national budget. Conduct training on the use of the final report. As needed, help the government prepare loan applications for international financing agencies. Above all, try to keep the integrated package of projects from unravelling.
Table 1 - SYNTHESIS OF THE PROCESS OF EXECUTING A REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANNING STUDY
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PHASE I |
PHASE II | ||
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Activities |
Diagnosis of region |
Project formulation (profile or prefeasibility) and evaluation | ||
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· sectoral analysis |
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· production sectors (agriculture, forestry, agro-industry, industry, fishing, mining) |
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· spatial analysis |
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· support services (marketing, credit, extension) |
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· institutional analysis |
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· social development (housing, education, labor training, health) |
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· environmental analysis |
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· infrastructure (energy, transportation, communications) |
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· synthesis: needs, problems, potentials, constraints |
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· urban services |
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Relation to national plans, strategies, priorities |
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· natural resources management | |
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Development strategies |
Action plan preparation | ||
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· formulation and analysis of alternatives |
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· formulation of packages of projects |
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· identification of project Ideas |
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· policies for priority areas and sectors |
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· enabling and incentive actions | |
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· investment timetable | |
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· evaluation of funding sources | |
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· institutional development and training | |
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· promotion | |
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Products |
Interim Report (Phase I Report) |
Final Report | ||
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· diagnosis of region |
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· development strategy |
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· preliminary development strategy |
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· action plan |
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· identified projects |
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· formulated projects |
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· supporting actions | |
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Timeframe |
9 to 12 months (12 to 18 months historically) |
12 to 18 months | ||
Case Studies
The six case studies were selected to illustrate the guidelines. They represent a wide range of social, ecological, and institutional settings; typical regional development problems; and such various spatial planning units as political subdivisions, river basins, and frontier zones. These multidisciplinary studies represent the mainstream of DRD's experience and embody its current methodologies. (Tables 2 and 3 capsulize the case studies.)
Table 2 - SUMMARY OF CASE STUDY FACTS
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Case Study |
Country |
Dates of Fieldwork |
Area (1,000 km2) |
Elevation (meters) |
Physical Characteristics |
Counterpart Agencies |
Cost (US$1,000) |
Total Proposed Project Investment (US$1,000) |
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OAS |
National |
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Dominican Republic |
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Natural Resource |
Dominican Republic |
1/65-5/66 |
48 |
0-3,175 |
Varied |
Nat'l Planning |
354 |
50 |
5,000 |
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Inventory |
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Office |
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DELNO |
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2/72-12/74 |
10 |
0-3,175 |
Dry woodland, marsh, montane humid forest |
Min. of Agriculture |
266 |
300 |
45,000 |
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Eastern Cibao and |
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10/78-12/79 |
5 |
0-3,175 |
Subtropical dry to wet forest, montane wet forest |
Technical Secretariat of the Presidency |
701 |
1,000 |
332,000 |
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Cibao Region |
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1/80-2/83 |
19 |
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Darien |
Panama |
2/75-7/78 |
17 |
0-1,800 |
Humid tropical forest |
Ministries of Planning, Agriculture, Public Works |
473 |
268 |
49,000 |
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Pilcomayo Basin |
Bolivia, (Argentina, Paraguay |
2/75-10/77 |
272 |
52-5,000 |
Eastern Andes, piedmont, Chaco |
Arg.: INCyTH* |
275 |
2,713** |
1,072,000 |
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Tripartite Area |
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1/79-12/80 |
71 |
52- 400 |
Piedmont, Chaco |
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307 |
447 |
348,000 |
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Santiago-Mira |
Ecuador |
1/78-6/81 |
25 |
0-4,900 |
Paramo, steep tropical mountain forests, tropical coastlands |
Nat'l Planning Board, Nat'l Water Resource Agency |
500 |
960 |
984,000 |
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Chapare |
Bolivia |
4/78-5/80 |
24 |
300-5,000 |
Humid tropical forest Andean piedmont and adjacent plain |
Min. of Agric.; Institute of Colonization; Cochabamba, Develop. Corp. |
296 |
147 |
15,000 |
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San Lorenzo |
Mexico |
9/79-12/81 |
0.4 |
1,700-3,100 |
Chaparral, desert |
Autonomous Agrarian Univ. "Antonio Narro" |
142 |
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* National Institute for Water Science and Technology.
** Includes US$750,000 from UNDP.
Table 3 - NOTEWORTHY FEATURES OF CASE STUDIES
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DOMINICAN REPUBLIC | |
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- Describes a methodology for development-oriented national natural resource inventory. |
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- Detailed description of "agricultural zoning," a methodology for project identification and evaluation. - History of 18 years of technical assistance in regional development planning In one country, tracing evolution of the regional planning approach. Documents three types of problems (lack of natural resource data for planning and project Identification, lack of investment projects, and unsuitable formulation of investment projects). |
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- Pitfalls: excessive data collection and the loss of momentum in implementation resulting from the failure to study project proposals through pre-feasibility. |
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DARIEN, PANAMA | |
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- Addresses the problem of limiting spontaneous settlement along a penetration road Into a humid tropical forest area. |
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- Identification of small areas suitable for colonization In a large undeveloped area. |
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- Reduction of the scope but not the Integral character of planning as investment capital becomes scarce. |
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- Preparation of a market/service center plan for a remote area. |
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- Pitfalls: "after the fact" approaches to environmental management; a preferred approach is rapid and concentrated development of selected areas which would attract migrants away from marginal and ecologically fragile areas. |
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PILCOMAYO: ARGENTINA, BOLIVIA, PARAGUAY | |
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- Addresses the challenges of planning development of a multinational river basin. |
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- Design of the management structure of a multinational study. |
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- A method for rapidly identifying "program areas" of high development potential in a large region. |
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- Establishment of regional accounts in such an area. |
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- The use of satellite imagery for reconnaissance mapping. |
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- Pitfalls: the danger of proposing creation of multinational Institutions or undertaking development actions before countries thoroughly understand all their options. |
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SANTIAGO-MIRA, ECUADOR | |
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- Addresses the issue of development planning In a border area of extremely heterogeneous subregions. |
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- Detailed description of workplan preparation. |
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- Detailed description of the role of the environmental management specialist. |
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- Formulation of border projects that benefit from economy of scale through binational production and marketing. |
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- Pitfalls: The use of a sectoral agency as lead agency in Integrated development planning. |
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CHAPARE, BOLIVIA | |
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- Addresses the difficulty of planning regional development in an area of established and new spontaneous colonization. |
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- Preparation of guidelines for settlement of new land. |
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- Identification and implementation of immediate actions to alleviate social problems. |
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- Use of local leaders as change agents. |
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- Early Involvement of beneficiaries and implementing agencies In preparation of an action plan. |
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- Identification and adjudication of conflicts between local interest groups. |
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- Pitfalls: the effects of political instability on project Implementation. |
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SAN LORENZO, MEXICO | |
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- Addresses the problems of land use conflict in an area of rapidly growing urban population. |
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- Preparation of a land-management system, accommodating demands for urban water supply, recreation, research, and small-scale farming. |
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- Working with a university as a counterpart agency to redefine a study initially conceived In narrow sectoral terms, converting It to an Integrated development study. |
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- Mobilizing local interest and the media to promote political acceptance of recommendations. |
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- Pitfalls: use of a university as the counterpart in a practical development study. |
Looking Ahead
Development planning must be as dynamic as development itself: thus, changing conditions in Latin America and the Caribbean will necessitate corresponding changes in planning methodology.
Economic constraints, natural resource constraints, and large population movements will affect development in the 1980s. Most likely, relatively developed areas (as opposed to undeveloped frontiers), urban centers and their surrounding rural hinterlands, and multinational regions will be the principal foci of planning. Given anticipated economic constraints, investment will be channelled toward improvements in the use of existing infrastructure, projects already under way, and low-cost alternatives to large projects. Institutional and legislative changes that cost little but make a significant difference, and projects that generate foreign exchange will be favored. Accordingly, diagnoses must be conducted more efficiently, and with more attention to existing plans and projects. Energy and food production and distribution will receive greater emphasis, as will problems associated with urbanization, conflicts over the use of natural resources, migration, and natural disaster mitigation. Long-range challenges for regional development planning include: (1) establishing functional links between regional planning and national and sectoral planning, and (2) coordinating subregional integration in such areas as multinational river basins and border zones.
