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The OECD Workshop on Capacity Development in Environment, which took place in Rome on 4-6 December 1996, presented a unique opportunity for policy makers and practitioners from different countries and different sectors of society to come together and share a wealth of experience, as well as to take away some new and useful ideas aimed at using aid to contribute more effectively to sustainable development.

The Workshop had its origins in a substantial body of work carried out in preceding years by the OECD's Development Assistance Committee (DAC), through its Working Party on Development Assistance and Environment. Following Agenda 21's call for greater attention to be given to enhancing local capacities for sustainable development, the Working Party took up the challenge of seeking ways for development co-operation to help in achieving this goal.

This involved breaking new ground and reassessing traditional approaches to aid, and a new conceptual framework emerged as result. To help ensure that developing countries themselves were properly involved in this process, the Working Party then organized a joint workshop with developing country colleagues in Costa Rica in 1993. Subsequently, a new set of DAC Guidelines, Donor Assistance to Capacity Development in Environment and a conceptual guide Capacity Development in Environment: A Framework for Donor Involvement, were published. Rome has marked the next step in a continuing effort to foster capacity development in environment (CDE), with the emphasis now turning to a very practical level.

The main objective was to generate broad support among policy makers and development co-operation staff in OECD countries and in partner countries for the promotion and pro-active implementation of capacity development in environment as a vital part of sustainable development strategies.To achieve this objective, the Workshop aimed to exchange views on approaches to CDE and to examine reasons for successes and failures. It aimed also to identify adaptation and change that might be implied for aid modalities. Above all, it was hoped to provide participants with useful and replicable material and tools on capacity development in environment to take back to their own agencies, for internal use as well as for use in the public domain, in order to demonstrate the linkages and interaction between CDE, sustainable development and aid effectiveness.

The Workshop and the process leading up to it have been an integral part of the OECD contribution towards the successful implementation of the conclusions of the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in June 1992. Looking forwards, the Workshop and its outcomes also form a key element in realizing the vision of progress adopted by DAC Development Ministers in 1996, in their new strategy, Shaping the 21st Century: The Contribution of Development Co-operation. The outcome of the Workshop deliberations will also contribute to the process leading up to the UN Special Session on Sustainable Development in 1997.

In these proceedings, the reader will find the summary report of the Workshop, two keynote addresses, and summaries of the discussions which took place in each of the six parallel working groups which were conducted throughout the workshop. This is accompanied by a series of diskettes on which all documentation prepared for the Workshop is made available (46 case studies and a series of synthesis papers, theme papers and speeches).

The structure of the Workshop proceedings broadly reflects the structure of the Workshop itself. After plenary presentations (Dutch and Costa Rica experiences) to orient discussions, participants focused on the sharing of experiences through case study presentations, and a discussion of approaches and tools around six selected themes related to environmental management. Summary accounts of those six parallel working group discussions are provided, along with the syntheses prepared of each group's case material.

The second half of the workshop involved discussions on approaches and tools around six cross-sectoral themes such as participation, CDE aspects of the project/programme management cycle, donor coordination for CDE, etc. These groups focused on identifying common challenges for donors and their partners in the management of CDE initiatives. The second part of the proceedings presents some of the main elements discussed in each of these six working groups, along with the main background documentation to those discussions.

It remains only to add that the Workshop would not have been possible without the active involvement and generous financial support of a large number of OECD Member countries and organizations. In particular, the Workshop could not have taken place without the vision and generosity of the Government of Italy, the hosts for this event. Special thanks must also go to Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, the European Commission and UNDP, who also formed the nucleus of a very dedicated Workshop Steering Group. There were, of course, many others, too numerous to list here, whose time, commitment and support for the event were very greatly appreciated.