Strengthen decentralized structures in rural areas for the development of an innovative regional management and creation of networks for the cooperation between various regions

Overview:
In spite of political reforms and considerable overall economic success, development in  Cambodia and Laos is still focused on a small number of sectors near urban centres and city regions. In contrast, rural economic regions frequently lag behind in their development. Here, agriculture remains the primary engine for economic and social dynamics, while having a low impact on local development. The most important causes for this are low productivity and diversification of the agricultural sector in addition to poor organised local and regional markets. Moreover, the weak and only recently established state institutions lack the capacity to steer and coordinate economic development in a way that is oriented on poverty alleviation; similarly, their capacity to provide services relevant to poverty and development is also limited.

As a result, the need for capacity building includes the development of individual and institutional management and governance capacity of experts and decision makers in the local and regional structures of both countries. This is the only way in which they will be enabled to design and steer regional development in their rural regions in an active way. Training measures in both countries and in Germany include three key areas: the strengthening of decentralized structures in rural areas for the development of an innovative regional management; the creation of networks for the cooperation between various regions including a trans-national exchange of experience; the support of regional management multipliers and the strengthening of relevant further education institutions.

Experts and decision makers who act as multipliers in state and non-state institutions which have a key role in the planning and implementation of integrated rural regional development at the national, regional or local level

Sabine Nagel
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