The Sub-Programme 4, "Alternative Livelihoods and Sustainable Development" would promote Alternative Livelihood and Sustainable Development initiatives through launching a number of community-based measures on the joint borders of Western Afghanistan provinces with Iran, where cultivation of opium and production of heroin and morphine have become a major challenge to Afghanistan as well as to the region and international community. The measures and programmes will target Iran's Khorasan Razavi and Southern Khorasan provinces bordering Afghanistan under the UNODC Iran Country Partnership Programme
The Project will work with state and non-state actors at the central and provincial levels, as well as with the local leaders and community members in order to support the process of creating income-generating opportunities including sustainable crops and farming substitution, on-farm / off-farm trade, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), and border trade zones schemes.
UNODC's activities will further aim to facilitate and foster regional and international cooperation through partnership and capacity-building measures; sharing of expertise, knowledge, and best practices; as well as dissemination of technical tools and guidelines. A good part of the activities will include conducting field visits and assessment studies, providing technical trainings to local communities, and holding specialized gatherings where national officials, experts, academia, private sector and Civil Society Organizations (CSO), and international donor community could exchange, devise recommendations, and seek ways to advance the Alternative Livelihood projects at local levels through fund-raising efforts.