Transport as vector for cross-sector regional development

Lessons from Tocantins, Brazil

Eric LancelotSenior Transport Engineer, LCSTR The World Bank

Transport Forum

Washington DC

March 31, 2011

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Approach: Broad support to State development agenda

Overall design: Focusing on integration and inclusion

Implementation tools: Original & customized

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Overview of project innovative aspects

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State of Tocantins Newest Brazilian state formed in 1988

Area: 277,000 km2

Second largest hydro basin inside Brazil (between the Araguaia and Tocantins rivers)

Population of 1.37 million. Low density of 4.8 inh./km²

Fragile population: 7,000-11,700 indigenous people and 5,000 Quilombolas(*)

GDP/capita in 2007: 8,920 R$ - below national average (14,464 R$) and 2.5 times smaller than Sao Paulo’s (22,667 R$) but state growth/year higher than national growth: 5,2 % vs 4.2% national growth (average 2003-2008)

HDI: state value (0.756) smaller than national average (0.807)

Poverty more severe in rural areas: 68% living under poverty line

(*) A Quilombola is a resident of a Quilombo in Brazil. Quilombola are descendentsfrom slaves who fled far within the territories, until abolition in Brazil in 1888.

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Tocantins State and Bank Partnership

Accompaniment of the State development since its creation

• Recently created State in construction• Priority given to trunk structuring infrastructure

• A state in consolidation • Priority to strengthening economic

growth and local development in order to reduce regional disparities

• An established State with a comprehensive development agenda

1994-1999

• Second State Highway Management Project (US$87M)

2003-ongoing

• Tocantins Sustainable Regional Development Project(US$60 M)

Pipeline

• Tocantins Integrated Sustainable Regional Development Project

An innovative approach with encompassing support to the consolidation of the State’s development agenda by a cross-sector project, in which transport plays a vector role

A set of original mechanisms of implementation

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Main Challenges for State Consolidation

Governance

Land use and Environment

Rural development

Low capacity in public management and planning, particularly at the local level

Limited commitment of local stakeholders

to public management and planning

Challenging climate for private sector due to poor public services & infrastructure

Lack of spatial coordination among

public sector programs

Environmentally sensitive ecosystems

Degradation of soils from unsustainable

production

Challenging water resources

managementClearing of remaining

native vegetationPoor access of producers to

markets

Limited access to jobs and health services for women and landless

workers

Lack of reliable rural transport services affecting school

attendance

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An Integrated Project In Support to the State Development Agenda

PDO Raise living standards and reduce inequalities and regional disparities by:

• improving access for rural communities in Tocantins' poorest regions, while

• ensuring a sustainable management of the environment

Governance

Land use and

EnvironmentRural

development

COMPONENT 1: Participatory planning and management of regional and municipal development

COMPONENT 3: Rural transport improvement

COMPONENT 2: Environmental management 6

HORIZONTAL INTEGRATION

Local

Regional

State

Governance

Transport

Environment

VERTICAL INTEGRATION

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Project Beneficiaries

Indirect beneficiaries : The population of the State of Tocantins

1.37 million

Core/direct beneficiaries: rural communities from the State’s 4 poorest regions

417.000 beneficiaries

67 municipalities

Attention given to fragile communities - Quilombolas

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Participative Planning and ManagementComponent

State/Regional Level

• Foster decentralization of state administration to increase proximity to localusers

• Strengthen capacity in multisectoral state-level planning and improveadministrative management

Local/Municipal Level

• Empowerment of local populations and building of social capital throughparticipatory processes to define and monitor municipal developmentagendas and investments funded by the Project

• Strengthen planning and management capacity at inter-municipal andmunicipal levels and foster local development initiatives

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Empower Civil society in municipal and regional development agendas The Integrated and Sustainable Development (DLIS) methodology

Creation of Development Forum open to all members of civil society

Training of Forum participants on basic principles of DLIS

Elaboration by Forum participants of a diagnostic identifying DLIS potentials and key challenges

Preparation of local development agenda

Forum participants empowered to follow-up the development agenda implementation

Empowerment and Building Social Capital

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Empowerment through active participation in Municipal Development Agendas

Municipalities produce participatory Development Agendas – which foster the building of social capital through active participation of citizens

Economic development

Infrastructure

Social development

Environment

Traditional AgricultureIrrigated AgricultureLivestock-Beef Cattle-Dairy CattleTradeFruitsApicultureTourism

Transport EnergyICTWaterHabitat

EducationSocial assistance HealthCultureSportLeisureReligion Eco-tourism

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Environmental Management Component

Foster Environmental Sustainability of Development Agendas

• Foster sustainable land use management• Incentive sustainable multi-usage of water (drinking water,

irrigation, sewage, transport…)• Improve climate monitoring

Consolidate State’s Environmental Protection Agenda

• Awareness-raising of Environmental Stakes at local and community levels

• Protect biodiversity by creating protected areas and develop mechanisms and incentives for private protected areas (ecological corridors)

• Develop eco-tourism

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Rural Transport Improvement Component

Local/community level

Improve access for rural communities to jobs, markets, health and education by eliminating critical spots on municipal road networks as a mean to foster local development

State level

Improve complementary State feeder itineraries

Mainstream road asset management efficiency

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Rural Transport Development –Mechanisms of implementation

Condition for investment: Municipal agendas forsustainable local development finalized following DLISmethodology

Resource allocation by municipality based on the population served, the area of the municipality and the municipal poverty

Prioritization of itineraries and investments based ona guided participatory process

Bridge decks construction centralized

Execution of bridges infrastructures, culverts decentralized, favoring local employment

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Rural Development - Innovations

• Focusing on the elimination of critical spots by building bridges and culverts to ensure all year round access

Nature of works

• Based on a participative approachMethod of prioritization

• Compromise between an “industrialized” and standardized technology and a labor-intensive approach

Method of implementation

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Project’s main achievements

Governance

Land use and Environment

Rural

Development

•67 development agendas for the target municipalities

•4 decentralized units created in support to local development initiatives

•Targeted support to the modernization of the State administration

• Increased sensibility at state level to the actual life conditions of remote communities

•Adoption of state-of-the-art innovative policies and regulation on biodiversity and multiple-use of water

• Improvement of the monitoring system of climate conditions

•Creation of protected areas•Continuous dialogue to improve land use

management• Improved rural transport through

accessibility: 4400 km of municipal roads (540 roads) and 200 km of trunk roads (state roads) improved; 700 bridges and 2500 bridge culverts constructed

•Construction technology – job opportunities created through local entrepreneurship and increased ownership of projects

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Cross-cutting achievements

An integrated project approach in which transport serves a wide sustainable development objective - transformational infrastructure

A bottom-up approach to foster rural communities empowerment in local development by participatory planning and implementation, promoting better societal inclusion and enhanced appropriation of economic oppportunities

A strong ownership of the Project by final beneficiaries (who wish more…) and State counterparts (deeply committed) beyond political alternancy, leading to perspectives of continued engagement beyond the actual Project

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Key messages and questions

A complex energy-

intensive project

Required consistent

commitment from local counterparts

More than 200 different activities undertaken VS.

implementation efficiency?

Ambition of the Project vs. limited

resources

Particular activities may

not be fully completed

Deceived expectations?

A customized approach to local specificities and

needs VS. Reproducibility?

Local capacity to continue the actions

undertaken in the Project

VS. Sustainability?

Thank you

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