Context and Origins of LDP and its CIFAL Network

The origins of the CIFAL Network date back to the year 2000, when the first training centre for local authorities was established, the CIFAL Centre in Divonne-les-Bains in France. Two years later, at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg, the Decentralized Cooperation Programme launched a Type II partnership initiative entitled: 'Reinforcement of Local Capacities and Training for Sustainable Urbanization: a Public-Private Partnership' which represented the corner stone of the CIFAL Network. Among the partners that jointly developed and presented this initiative were UN-HABITAT, the World Association of Cities and Local Authorities Coordination (WACLAC), the NGO Global Ecovillage Network, and VEOLIA Environment.

In 2003 the following three associated CIFAL Centres were launched with training sessions on sustainable urbanization:

CIFAL Kuala Lumpur / Malaysia for the Asia-Pacific region
CIFAL Ouagadougou / Burkina Faso for French-speaking Africa
CIFAL Curitiba / Brazil for Latin America and the Caribbean

By early 2004 the number of associated CIFAL Centres had steadily increased to include new centres in Lyon / France, Bilbao / Spain, as well as in Durban / South Africa.

The first  CIFAL Steering Committee meeting took place in Divonne-les-Bains and Geneva in February 2004 to define and adopt the ethic charter of the network. The outcome of this meeting was summarized in the CIFAL Network Common Ground which was launched during the institutional segment of the meeting iat the Palais de Nations, Geneva.

By late 2006 the number of associated CIFAL Centres had increased to include new centres in Tallinn/ Estonia, Plock/ Poland, Findhorn/Scotland.

More recently as the result of the overarching UNITAR Strategic Reform Plan the former Decentralized Cooperation Programme has become the Local Development Programme. In 2009 UNITAR Local Development Programme (LDP) team in consultation with the CIFAL Network Steering Committee, set out the UNITAR accreditation requirements for existing and new CIFAL centres. Its purpose is to ensure greater coherence, effectiveness and quality control of the CIFAL Global Network.

As of February 2009, 10 associated CIFAL Centres have been established by the respective host cities / regions.

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