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CENESTA in brief
The Centre for Sustainable Development (CENESTA)
is a non-governmental,
non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting sustainable community- and culture-based
development. Its main area of work is Iran and Southwest Asia. CENESTA
experts have also engaged in extensive activities in Africa, Latin America,
Asia, and in the international arena in general. CENESTA is a member
of IUCN—the World Conservation Union and is affiliated with the University
of the North (Iran).
CENESTA
works with a variety of partners, from local communities in Iran and other countries
to local and national governmental agencies, from universities and research organizations
to national and international NGOs. The UN bodies with which CENESTA and
its experts entertain on-going collaboration include UNDP, FAO, UNICEF, UNSO,
IFAD, UNCCD and the UN Secretariat.
CENESTA
has a small core of staff and a large network of associates—ranging from
community-based groups to women’s associations and technical experts who
act on the basis of common concerns and specific capacities. CENESTA staff
and associates work in the context of project contracts and/or on a voluntary
basis, contributing time as well as financial and material resources for the goals
of the organization. Set up in Tehran
originally in 1979 and re-organised after the war in
1991, CENESTA is active in the following areas: -
Community empowerment and equity
(participatory development planning, social animation, Community Investment Funds
and rural credit schemes, women and development initiatives); -
Community health, environmental health and pollution control;
-
National and international
policies for sustainable development; -
Social
communication.
- Renewable
energy (solar, wind, biomass technologies);
-
Sustainable
agriculture (non-chemical control of pests, regenerative soil management, agro
forestry, farming systems research);
-
Collaborative
management of natural resources (common property management, traditional management
institutions for watershed, fisheries, water, pasture, etc.);
-
Living
with the desert (policy and practice on arid lands, nomadic pastoralism, climatic
and vernacular architecture);
-
Environmental impact assessment studies;
Summary Research Initiatives (1979-2006)
For more information please visit
CENESTA Activities 2001-2006 |
