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environment and sustainable development issues are identified and prioritized. 



In the best of cases, such as Madagascar, they are developed in highly participatory 

 ways, set specific goals and objectives, establish priorities for the use of limited funds, and 

 become a mechanism through which donors, host governments and the people of Africa 

 themselves jointly collaborate in attacking environmental problems. In Madagascar, the 

 NEAP successfully pulls together nearly $200 million in donor and country programs, 

 designed around common objectives to maintain the country's unique flora and fauna, while 

 promoting more sustainable economic growth for the Malagasy. 



To be effective, of course, NEAPs and other environmental planning tools must be 

 more than a plan. They must be a process, continually updated and continuously 

 implemented. And they must involve everyone. In Madagascar, for example, PVOs, NGOs 

 and local communities are playing major roles in implementing the NEAP. 



NEAPS are just one example of the growing commitment of Africans to addressing 

 the environmental challenges they face. There are many others as well. Environmental 

 education is being introduced to schools, for example. There are also growing numbers of 

 local advocacy groups — increasingly Africans themselves are demanding improved 

 environmental management. 



A FOCUSED STRATEGY 



And USAID is playing an important role in this effort as well. The creation of the 

 Development Fund for Africa in 1987 was a signal event. That legislation directed USAID 

 "to help the poor majority of men and women in sub-Saharan Africa to participate in a 



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