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Our editorial production has been prolific since the Research Department (RCH) was set up: 52 Notes and Documents, 92 Working Papers, 48 Ex Post (our evaluation and capitalization documents), without mentioning some external co-publications. Our series finally began to lack clarity as a result of this profusion of publications. We consequently reviewed our editorial policy in the autumn of 2009 and have launched five new collections. Each of them has a more clearly defined objective in terms of the research to promote and the target audience.
We now have “academic” series – devoted to more in-depth research – and our Working Papers. Macroeconomic and country risk research has until now been destined for AFD’s internal use, but is to have a dedicated collection: Macrodev. Our thematic or sectoral research is widely based on case studies, the Focales series will be dedicated to these monographs that are at the intersection between a topic and a country. The Conferences and Seminars series has also been launched. The aim is to make the proceedings of our conferences more widely available and give them more clarity. The Ex Post series is more recent and is clearly understood as being dedicated to evaluation and impact assessment. It will be continued in the same manner as the Working Papers.

This series is highly innovative. It first and foremost targets an operational public. The aim is to review existing knowledge of a specific issue: for example, the first volume addresses local fiscal methods, the second looks at public expenditure management in DCs, there is another on the practice of payment for environmental services. These publications analyze definitions, review and summarize available literature, examine practical cases of how things are actually applied and explore the limits and constraints in the field in terms of the instrument that is being analyzed. Our hope is that A Savoir will become a reference series for development professionals. 

Official Development Assistance (ODA) has always been criticized and its effectiveness constantly challenged. But we must be mindful of the historical perspective of its objectives that have changed over time with this concern for effectiveness. ODA was established after the Second World War, first in order to participate in the policy to “contain” communism, then to facilitate the decolonization process. It was quite effective in these two areas. It subsequently became bogged down in the management of structural adjustment programs where its action ended up being effective, but at an exorbitant cost; finally, it sought to help poor countries economically catch up with rich countries and to reduce poverty. Studies show that its effectiveness mainly depended on the quality of management in the countries concerned.
In short, it has been extremely effective in well-managed countries and widely ineffective in the others. In the end, we observe that it is the countries that need it the least that make the best use of aid. These principles today widely define the allocation policies for multilateral aid resources that are first given to the best managed countries. But this way of going about things neglects the fact that it is precisely the most badly managed countries – which are plagued by the most important difficulties – that need the most attention because the disasters that occur there are already turning them into regional or even global public evils.

The challenge is precisely to improve aid effectiveness in these countries, even those heading for implosion. All in all, apart from ODA, there is little rich countries can do in the face of the two major challenges that the South now poses: on the one hand, the foreseeable explosion of global environmental disorders that will gather pace with the economic and demographic growth of emerging countries and, on the other hand, the social, political and security disorders that are highly likely to occur as a result of the implosion of failed countries. ODA is one of the only available instruments to facilitate dialogue with emerging countries on environmental policies. This is what AFD is doing today and it is remarkably well positioned in this area.
In order to get countries that fall by the wayside back on track, one of the only things diplomats can resort to is conferences and military interventions get bogged down in asymmetrical conflicts. Here again, ODA is one of the only available instruments. The disaster in Afghanistan, which I analyze in detail in this book, shows us that it has its work cut out in order to change its approaches, its intervention methods and even the concepts that underlie its action.

Land use planning is a core issue: what should be the development policy for secondary cities alongside the reconstruction of Port-au-Prince? What should be the balance between the role of cities and rural areas? What should be the role of agriculture in the economic development of the island and its food security? Moreover, Port-au-Prince is located on a fault and we must consider the future of this capital. If the solution does not lie in rebuilding elsewhere or seeing the camps take on a permanent character, there is a pressing need to begin reflection on urban development. The aim will be to take all the different functions of the city into account, not only in terms of housing and buildings, but also the environment, mobility, public equipment…
Local councillors, particularly the mayor of the city of Port-au-Prince, Mr. Jazon, could conduct this reflection on urban development in the capital by drawing on the experience of foreign local authorities: French cities, Barcelona or Montreal have, for example, said that they are willing to support the mayor of Port-au-Prince. 

Jacques Austruy in his book “The Scandal of Development” writes that “development is reflection, a scandal for the mind and an historical exception all rolled into one”. We can hope that the management of this disaster will become the historical exception for Haiti and that it will give the country the chance to develop. State entities have been badly affected: for example, both courts and ministries have lost many of their officers and in some cases all their offices. In this context, the reconstruction of Haiti can create a new political impetus. Several factors can foster this change: the growing awareness of the diaspora which is now rallying considerably; the involvement of donors which, we can hope, will be significant; as well as private initiatives and local mobilization which is also extremely strong.

The decentralization policy has been scaled up in developing countries for several years now, and the local political level (regional, departmental and municipal) has been given a whole host of new political responsibilities, particularly in the regional development sector. Competence for city planning, access to essential services, housing, transport, employment and poverty reduction in general has in most cases been transferred to the local level. This trend for decentralization is seen as a positive signal of a move towards greater democracy which should be encouraged in these countries. It particularly helps build closer ties between political power and the population and makes elected representatives more accountable to citizens. And yet these transfers do not always come with sufficient financial and human resources and this makes it difficult to carry out these responsibilities.

At the same time, local authorities have to face unprecedented urban growth. With an average annual growth rate of 5%, Africa’s urban population is expected to double over the next 15 years and this will come with unprecedented needs in terms of access to essential services (housing, infrastructure, employment, etc.), investment and public support policies. This transition consequently poses a real challenge for all political actors and developers. However, due to a lack of effective public policies and sufficient technical and human resources, this growth is currently marked by the spread of slums, worsening poverty and increasingly vulnerable populations. Africa’s local authorities already lack resources and are unable to meet the increasing needs of the urban population.

African cities must at the same time implement actions to adapt to climate change. This is one of the main challenges they face and it could pose a serious threat for a number of urban areas. This is particularly the case for cities below sea level along the coast of the Gulf of Guinea or cities located near Africa’s main rivers.

Today it is necessary to anticipate the development of these regions and support local authorities, so that populations have the most decent possible living conditions, and build an urban future that is controlled and integrates climate change challenges.

In order to help local authorities face these core challenges and implement their regional project, AFD provides them with financial support thanks to several financial tools that can be tailored to local situations and national legislation:

• AFD can allocate a loan to a State which then reallocates it in the form of a loan or a grant to local authorities
• AFD is one of the only donors to directly finance local authorities when national legislation makes this possible. In this case, AFD grants a loan to a local authority, with or without a State guarantee, and it is the local authority that repays the loan
• AFD can allocate a loan to a bank, a municipal fund, or a specialized financial institution which repays the loan and reallocates it to local authorities
• AFD can allocate a loan to a national or local public urban operator
• AFD can allocate a grant that aims to build the capacities of local authorities with or without operational finance

The way the vast majority of Africa’s local authorities operate is hampered by the low level of municipal budgets and human resources. AFD provides training actions or finances technical assistance and consequently also helps build the capacities of local authorities in the long term in strategic areas such as urban planning and financial management. By acquiring sound skills in these strategic areas, local authorities can subsequently ensure the development of their regions is sustainable and controlled.

Everyone agrees that development will not happen if the risks caused by climate change are not taken into account. It is consequently going to be necessary to make an additional effort to finance the economic development of poor countries. The Stern Review published in 2006 concludes that in the medium and long term inaction will cost more than action. This additional effort has been estimated at 100 billion euros a year, a sum which comes in addition to current efforts for development aid.

In terms of organizing aid on this scale, the issue of its source poses the challenge of ensuring the certainty and predictability of the aid in a time scale that is out of sync with the budget calendar, whatever the origin of the financing (public/private, national/international funds, carbon markets…). From a governance perspective, the issues that are currently on the table concern North/South parity, eligibility, the creation and management of new funds or the use of existing channels, such as bilateral organizations.

AFD is deeply involved in these issues and its experience in the field is extremely useful. It is an organization that works for official development assistance and, at the same time, integrates the fight against climate change as a cross-cutting aspect for its projects. In short, it puts us in touch with reality by saying: “This is how it actually works in the field”. It also introduces a synergy with other players by helping to gauge and grasp the North/South dimension in a number of debates. AFD is also very present on the issue of forests and in financing national programs to combat climate change.

For the French delegation and Minister Borloo, the issue of justice and climate is extremely important. In Copenhagen, we want to propose that the most vulnerable countries come out of the negotiation with predictable flows of resources in order to have access to renewable energy, forecast extreme events and repair the damage in the best possible way, and enjoy food security. These are the core issues of France’s position and AFD helps us to provide a response to them.

The aim is to use the opportunity provided by the exceptional audience for the football world cup that will be held next year in South Africa to remobilize public opinion in both the North and South in support of the challenge of education for all. This action is led by the Global Campaign for Education, a platform which gathers a large number of actors from civil society.

The aim is, of course, to confirm – via public opinion – the political priority and the budget commitments to education made in both the North and South. It is also, more specifically perhaps, a matter of preparing the field for innovative additional financing that is complementary to traditional official development assistance. The goal is to gain in both volume and stability, without which governments that receive aid will hesitate, and rightly so, to raise their external dependence relating to the recurrent expenditure required to extend education coverage.

AFD is currently updating its sectoral intervention framework. The three areas that have been defined are:

• to support public policies
• to support economic operators
• to contribute to global issues.

The first area mainly concerns Africa’s least developed countries and our role is to support the definition and implementation of national strategies. But it also applies to a wider geographical area in the form of sovereign loans. The second concerns another area of AFD’s expertise and aims to develop suitable supply systems based on the qualifications that are needed. This involves working with companies and professional sectors in partnership with public authorities. The third area is more innovative: it concerns the specific contribution that education/training makes to global issues. This involves, for example, helping to build the new skills that are required as a result of organizational, technical and productive changes implemented by States, local authorities and companies in response to the climate crisis.