Participatory Negotiated Territorial Development (Ghana)

Participatory Negotiated Territorial Development (PNTD) is a rural development approach developed by FAO.

Aims / objectives: It offers a structure to build consensus among individual communities and development partners on natural resources/territorial management and development issues. PNTD facilitates consensus based planning within a team that represents different actors at different levels, including sector offices / technical services (agriculture, environment, etc.) and NGOs (involved in community-based rural development) at district/ department/ municipality level; and traditional authorities, user groups and associations at community/ village level.

Methods: During the diagnostic phase of the PNTD process, local territorial issues are analysed based on the viewpoints of the different actors and on a historical analysis. This step contributes to a coherent, shared understanding of the territorial system, thus providing the basis for collective agreements on development. These are referred to as Social Territorial Agreements. They are based on negotiation within the PNTD team. Main activities of PNTD include: (1) Facilitation of the planning process; (2) Provision of technical expertise; (3) Linkages to relevant institutions; (4) Technical advisory to assess viability and costs of joint development proposals; (5) Reporting back to communities and provision with final plans and resource maps; (6) Signing of ‘Social Territorial Agreements’ and endorsement by local government; (7) Establishment of a joint monitoring and evaluation system; and (8) Follow-up meetings between government institutions and NGOs.

Other important information: Independent external support by territorial facilitators is essential to assist in various aspects of the process. A PNTD approach was piloted within a project in the Onchocerciasis (riverblindess) Freed Zone along the Burkina Faso-Ghana border. This newly opened zone lacked a well defined, accepted management structure to support the development process, while cross-border aspects further complicated development, requiring cooperation among the communities and development partners from both countries. The PNTD team was supported by facilitators from the Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV). The team’s capacity to carry out inclusive planning processes has improved significantly, in terms of proposal development, negotiation and consensus building, and in placing the findings of the diagnostic phase in the larger geographical context. Joint development plans were elaborated and agreed upon from the perspective of the communities. FAO has been supporting the exercise through technical backstopping.