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Working domains:

Intercooperation (IC) in Pakistan and worldwide has been actively engaged in the development sector right from its inception in 1982. In Pakistan, IC began its interventions when the Kalam Integrated Development Project was mandated to the newly founded organization by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). Since then, IC has remained engaged in rural development at various levels with several stakeholders in the sector including technical themes such as agriculture, livestock, forestry and non formal education, with communities together with the government, civil society and private sector. During almost three decades of activities in Pakistan, Intercooperation has implemented over twenty development projects, particularly in natural resource management, most of which were implemented on behalf of SDC. Currently, IC in Pakistan is active in the areas of Livelihood improvement, Natural Resource Governance and Climate Change / Disaster Risk Reduction. The key essence of these themes is derived from the following domains comprising of IC institutional experience in Pakistan:

Natural Resource Management (NRM):
In this category of development interventions our main sub domains in Pakistan are Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock and Water. IC Pakistan has over the last 20 years collaborated with its partners to work on the multiple dimensions of natural resource management, particularly in the forestry sector in NWFP. The latest SDC funded intervention of IC is the Integrated Natural Resource Management (INRM) project. It aims at structuring and making operational the integrated management of natural resources in and around forest by using a participatory approach on the basis of livelihood analysis and by ensuring the cooperation between partners (e.g. Interest Groups within the communities, NGOs, the Forest, Livestock, Agriculture and Water Departments of the Provincial governments and local councilors). INRM capitalizes on past initiatives, particularly in state-owned lands. The collaborative way of working helps developing mutual trust and defining roles and responsibilities of various partners.

Local Governance and Civil Society:

The entire organization operates in a learning environment and is aligned towards building capacities of partners for effective management of resources. IC in Pakistan cradles and nurtures its institutional web, to remain flexible to the variety of organizational cultures that it interfaces with. Our institutional setup is guided by a design that is based on the comparative strengths of the partners such as the technical know how of the Government, indigenous knowledge of communities and social mobilization skills of local NGOs. The Community Based Sustainable Resource Management (CBRM) Project was an example of a well-knit institutional web that is strong in its linkage, flexible by attitude and structured to sustain successes. Integrated Natural Resource Management (INRM) aims at improved governance of resources at village level through integrated working of multi-stakeholders in NRM. Our Project for Livelihood Improvement (PLI) promoted adult literacy for women and men farmers to catalyze the process of empowerment ultimately leading to their contribution to decision making at local level.

Rural Economy:

Our rich experiences of 28 years in the field and with the rural poor elucidate the link between conservation and livelihood. We therefore actively promote market orientation, farmer-centered approaches and enterprise development in all our projects to encourage farming as an enterprise. We mostly work with small farmers and self-operators and help them identify “most promising” options to explore their business potentials and acquire self sufficiency. We address gaps in the value-chain through interventions that involve engaging relevant actors across the value-chain and thereby, making markets work for the poor. The Innovation for poverty Reduction Project (IPRP) has clearly demonstrated the value of linking livelihood needs with conservation in Chilgoza pine forests of Chitral. The Farm Forestry Support Project (FFSP) promoted business approach in the entire farm forestry chain from seed to wood products hence making farm forestry even more attractive for small farmers and the landless in rainfed areas.