USAID Public Policy E-Bulletin EDICION #1, January 2011

The Minister of Agriculture requested assistance from USAID and the USAID Public Policy Program to develop five draft legislative decrees for submission under Decree 4580. A team of experts from AECOM and Ecoversa, along with representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Environment, provided technical recommendations and drafted four decrees on environmental compliance, management of flooded areas, reforestation, and improvement of land use. The decrees aimed to mitigate the consequences of flooding on agricultural land, sanitary problems, crop devastation, and rural housing. The technical drafts were submitted for review to the Ministry of Agriculture's legal office on December 24th. AECOM's team of finance experts provided input in the design of tools to target resources for the recovery of productive capacity in affected rural areas. Many of the recommendations were included in Decree 4828, which was approved on December 29, 2010. The draft decree on reforestation is under review by AECOM's experts after recommendations from the Ministry of Agriculture's legal team, and it will be presented again to the Minister's Council on January 6th. The Policy Team will continue to work with the Ministry of Agriculture on resolutions and the design of programs to achieve more comprehensive reforms in key areas and to strengthen the recovery and mitigate the effects of future disasters. The Policy Program has been actively supporting INCODER in the implementation of the Emergency Plan "Plan de Choque" for restitution and formalization of rural property. A team of experts has been hired to assist INCODER in the implementation of the plan and to strengthen its institutional capacity. The Policy Program has also been supporting the drafting of the Land and Rural Development Law (Ley de Tierras y Desarrollo Rural), which has been presented to Congress. In December, the Policy Program, in conjunction with the MIDAS program, held a week-long conference in Medellin on "Land Policy in Colombia: a contemporary vision for structural change." Attendees included National and Regional level GOC officials working on land-related issues, as well as representatives from civil society organizations. The conference aimed to inform GOC officials on the situation in Colombia and to discuss next steps to improve land tenure, land use, and land titling in Colombia. The DIPEM Component has been focused on understanding GOC priorities and how they fit with the Program's Work Plan. Initial efforts include supporting the GOC in the design and revision of the National Consolidation Policy, the strengthening of sub-national governments, and public employment policies. The GOC, through the High Commissioner for National Security, Sergio Jaramillo, requested USAID support in the design and implementation of the Strategic Revision of the National Consolidation Policy. The Program has provided technical assistance to support the core Consolidation team in defining the methodology and structure of the review process and in designing mechanisms for the active participation of GOC entities involved.