Formulation Mission for Public-Private Partnerships for the Poor, Bac Kan Province

The Formulation Mission visited Bac Kan province between 7-24 May 2008 including all 6 districts and 10 representative communes and held extensive consultations with political leaders, Government agencies, mass organizations, private sector interests and a range of rural poor households and other members of supply chains. The findings of these consultations led to the formulation of the mission’s proposals which were developed in partnership with the provincial administration and line departments and reviewed and revised with government stakeholders and representatives of mass organizations during a half-day workshop in Bac Kan on 22 May 2008. The findings of these consultations were presented to the Government in an aide-memoire, which was discussed on 30 May 2008. The Formulation Mission report reflects the comments of the national and provincial agencies at those meetings.

The proposed project’s development objective intended to achieve sustainable and equitable poverty reduction and improved livelihoods of the rural poor in Bac Kan with the  purpose to provide an approach and process for sustainable and profitable sloping and upland valley land use in Bac Kan province, especially targeting rural poor households. It impacted on more than 50% of the poor, mostly minority households in Bac Kan province.

The project included the following:

• Components for Improving the Business Environment (good governance, forest land use entitlement and public-private investment);
• Enhancing Livelihoods of the Poor (community managed services and investment fund, knowledge and skills development and effective service delivery); and
• Ecosystems Protection (sustainable hillside farming and payment for environment services).