Fragile and Conflict-Affected Situations and Small Island Developing States Approach

FRAGILE AND CONFLICT-AFFECTED SITUATIONS AND SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES APPROACH

JUNE 2021

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Publication Stock No. SPR210202-2

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22617/SPR210202-2

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Contents

Tables, Figures, and Boxes

Abbreviations

Executive Summary

The paper on the fragile and conflict-affected situations (FCAS) and small island developing states (SIDS) approach (FSA) outlines an operational approach and action plan (2021–2025) for how the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will achieve its Strategy 2030 objectives to improve the effectiveness of ADB assistance and the development outcomes of developing member countries (DMCs) in FCAS and SIDS contexts, and for pockets of fragility and poverty at subnational level.

ADB classifies 11 DMCs as FCAS, and 16 DMCs are SIDS. Afghanistan and Myanmar are classified as FCAS because of ongoing national or subnational conflicts; the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) because of fragility; and 8 of the 16 SIDS (the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, and Tuvalu) because of various dimensions and degrees of fragility. The eight non-FCAS SIDS are the Cook Islands, Fiji, Maldives, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Tonga, and Vanuatu.

Differentiated approaches, based on understanding the causes and drivers of fragility and conflict, and the multidimensional aspects of risk and resilience factors in the specific FCAS and SIDS contexts, are crucial to more productive ADB engagement and DMC outcomes. The FSA will institutionalize ADB’s approaches to FCAS and SIDS to improve their development outcomes by

(i)enhancing the flexibility and responsiveness of operational procedures, processes, and guidelines;

(ii)developing fragility and resilience assessments, knowledge analytics, and tools to improve risk-based country partnerships strategies, program planning, and project preparation and implementation in DMCs;

(iii)building institutional capacity for operating in FCAS and SIDS, both within ADB and in DMCs; and

(iv)reinforcing partnerships and coordination.

The FSA utilizes lessons learned from ADB’s experience in implementing the 2013 FCAS operational plan and the ADB Pacific Approach, 2016–2020; the results of assessments by ADB’s Independent Evaluation Department; and the consultations undertaken with stakeholders to determine how to make ADB’s involvement with its FCAS and SIDS DMCs knowledge-driven, context-sensitive, and adaptable in meeting the needs of their populations.

ADB’s FCAS team, supported by the FSA interdepartmental working group, led the preparation. This involved extensive consultations with