Near East Foundation

Period: 1993 - present
Primary Donor(s): Government of Mali, OXFAM/NOVIB, Embassy of the Netherlands in Mali, US Agency for International Development

Since the 1990s, NEF has served as a leader in strengthening decentralized local governments, training thousands of local government officials in democratic principles, participatory planning, and regulatory procedures. Much of this work was organized through two district-level logcal government resource centers, which played an important role in consolidating Mali's then nascent democracy.

NEF works with local partners to document their experience and represent their interests in important policy issues at regional, national, and international level. In 1994, NEF was a founding member of the Decentralized Natural Resource Management Network in Mopti (GDRN5), which brings together more than 40 international and local organizations for training and policy advocacy. Under NEF leadership, GDRN5 played a major role in shaping the Forest Code, the Pastoral Charter, the Agricultural Guiding Law and their implementation legislation.

Currently, NEF works with local government officials in Mopti and Douentza to collaborate with farmers and herders in efficient, environmentally responsible agriculture. They inventory and assess adaptive strategies, matching these strategies with technology-based planning tools and integrating adaptive natural resource mapping (NRM) practices into existing development plans. NEF has helped local governments organize pilot programs to improve environment quality, including reforestation, soil conservation, fish farming, irrigation, and vegetable gardening.