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National Implementation of Agenda 21
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Information Provided by the Southern African Development
Community (SADC) to the United Nations Commission on
Sustainable Development
United Nations Department for Policy Coordination and
Sustainable
Development
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This report has been provided by:
Name of Ministry/Office: Information Section, SADC Environment and Land Management Sector Unit
Date: April 15, 1997
Submitted by: Pernilla Strid
Mailing address: Private Bag A284, Maseru 100, Lesotho
Telephone: 266-312158
Telefax: 266-310190
E-mail: elmsinfo@lesoff.co.za
Note from the Secretariat: An effort has been made to present all country profiles within a common format, with an equal number of pages. However, where Governments have not provided information for the tables appended to Chapters 4 and 17, those tables have been omitted entirely in order to reduce the overall length of the profile and save paper. Consequently, there may be some minor inconsistencies among the formats of the different country profiles.
All statistics are rendered as provided by the respective Governments.
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In November 1981 the Council of Ministers of the Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC) decided to entrust the Government of Lesotho with the responsibility for coordinating regional activities relating to Soil and Water Conservation and Land Utilization (SWCLU). The SWCLU Sector Coordination Unit was established within the Ministry of Agriculture, Co-operatives and Marketing, Lesotho, in 1985.
At its August 1991 meeting, the SADCC Council of Ministers approved a proposal for a broadened mandate for the SWCLU Sector, charging it with the overall responsibility for environmental coordination in the SADC region. At the same meeting, the Council also approved that the Sector's name be changed to SADC Environment and Land Management Sector (ELMS).
With the signing, by the SADC Heads of State or Government, of a Declaration, Treaty and Protocol on regional economic integration (in August, 1992), SADCC's name was also changed to Southern African Development Community (SADC).
The SADC member States are: Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
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| ACRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS | |
| EXECUTIVE SUMMARY | |
| PART 1 - The New SADC: Challenges and Opportunities | |
| 1. The Multiple Challenges in SADC Countries | |
| 2. From Coordination to Integration | |
| 3. Building on Success | |
| 4. Accelerating Growth with Greater Equity | |
| 5. Managing the Environment and Resource Base | |
| 6. Fast Tracking Environmental Cooperation | |
| PART 2 - Implementing Agenda 21 in the SADC Region | |
| 1. Integrating Environment and Development | |
| 2. Implications of Agenda 21 for key SADC Sectors | |
| 3. Policy Gaps in the Present SADC Structure | |
| 4. Post-Rio Action in the SADC Region | |
| PART 3 - Moving Beyond Agenda 21 in the SADC Region | |
| 1. Poverty Alleviation the Priority | |
| 2. Equity-led Growth and Sustainable Development in the SADC Region | |
| 3. New Goals for Economic, Social and Environmental Sustainability | |
| 4. Integrating EIA3 in Decision-Making | |
| PART 4 - SADC Policy and Strategy for Environment and Sustainable Development | |
| 1. An integrated Approach Needed in the SADC Region | |
| 2. New SADC Environmental Policy Goals and Programme | |
| 3. Strategic Priorities for Action | |
| 4. Organizational Implications | |
| 5. Funding Implications | |
| 6. A SHARED Programme and Future | |
| ANNEX | |
| 1. Key SADC Sectors and Agenda 21 | |
| LIST OF TABLES | |
| 1.1 Key Economic, Social and Environmental Indicators | |
| 1.2 Environment Policies and Strategies in SADC Countries | |
| 1.3 SADC Economies by Income, Indebtedness and Exports | |
| 2.1 Key Environment and Development Issues | |
| 2.2 Environmental Assessment, Awareness and Action | |
| 2.3 SADC Decision-Making Structure and Sectors | |
| 2.4 Key Environmental Agreements and Supported by SADC Countries | |
| 3.1 Sustainable Developement Goals in the SADC Region | |
| 4.1 SADC Environment and Sustainable Development Programme | |
| 4.2 Strategic programme Categories and Activities | |
| 4.3 SADC Decision-Making Structure for the Programme |
| APELL | Awareness and Preparedness for Emergencies at Local Level |
| CFC | chlorofluorocarbon |
| CGIAR | Consultative Group on International Agriculture Research |
| CILSS | Permanent Inter-State Committee on Drought Control in the Sahel |
| EEZ | exclusive economic zone |
| ECA | Economic Commission for Africa |
| ECE | Economic Commission for Europe |
| ECLAC | Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean |
| ELCI | Environmental Liaison Centre International |
| EMINWA | environmentally sound management of inland water |
| ESCAP | Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific |
| ESCWA | Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia |
| FAO | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |
| GATT | General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade |
| GAW | Global Atmosphere Watch (WMO) |
| GEF | Global Environment Facility |
| GEMS | Global Environmental Monitoring System (UNEP) |
| GEMS/WATER | Global Water Quality Monitoring Programme |
| GESAMP | Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Pollution |
| GIPME | Global Investigation of Pollution in Marine Environment (UNESCO) |
| GIS | Geographical Information System |
| GLOBE | Global Legislators Organisation for a Balanced Environment |
| GOS | Global Observing System (WMO/WWW) |
| GRID | Global Resource Information Database |
| GSP | generalized system of preferences |
| HIV | human immunodeficiency virus |
| IAEA | International Atomic Energy Agency |
| IAP-WASAD | International Action Programme on Water and Sustainable Agricultural Development |
| IARC | International Agency for Research on Cancer |
| IBSRAM | International Board of Soil Resources and Management |
| ICCA | International Council of Chemical Associations |
| ICES | International Council for the Exploration of the Sea |
| ICPIC | International Cleaner Production Information Clearing House |
| ICSC | International Civil Service Commission |
| ICSU | International Council of Scientific Unions |
| IEEA | Integrated environmental and economic accounting |
| IFAD | International Fund for Agricultural Development |
| IGADD | Intergovernmental Authority for Drought and Development |
| IGBP | International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (ICSU) |
| IGBP/START | International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme/Global Change System for Analysis, Research and Training |
| ILO | International Labour Organisation |
| IMF | International Monetary Fund |
| IMO | International Maritime Organization |
| INFOTERRA | International Environment Information system (UNEP) |
| IOC | Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission |
| IPCC | Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change |
| IPCS | International Programme on Chemical Safety |
| IPM | integrated pest management |
| IRPTC | International Register of Potentially Toxic Chemicals |
| ITC | International Tin Council |
| ITTO | International Tropical Timber Organization |
| IUCN | International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |
| MARPOL | International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships |
| OECD | Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development |
| PGRFA | plant genetic resources for agriculture |
| PIC | prior informed consent procedure |
| SADCC | South African Development Co-ordination Conference |
| SARD | sustainable agriculture and rural development |
| UNCTAD | United Nations Conference on Trade and Development |
| UNDP | United Nations Development Programme |
| UNDRO | Office of the United Nations Disaster Relief Coordinator |
| UNEP | United Nations Environment Programme |
| UNESCO | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization |
| UNFPA | United Nations Population Fund |
| UNICEF | United Nations Children's Fund |
| UNIDO | United Nations Industrial Development Organization |
| UNU | United Nations University |
| WCP | World Climate Programme (WMO/UNEP/ICSU/UNESCO) |
| WFC | World Food Council |
| WHO | World Health Organization |
| WMO | World Meteorological Organization |
| WWF | World Wide Fund for Nature (also called World Wildlife Fund) |
| WWW | World Weather Watch (WMO) |
| | |
| ADB | African Development Bank |
| AIDS | Acquired Immunity Deficiency Syndrome |
| AMCEN | African Ministerial Conference on the Environment |
| Ang | Angola (on Tables in text) |
| Bot | Botswana (on Tables in text) |
| CIDA | Canadian International Development Agency |
| COMESA | Community of Eastern and Southern African States |
| DAC | OECD Development Assistance Committee |
| EAC | East African Community |
| ELMS | SADC Environment and Land Management Sector Coordination Unit |
| EU | European Union |
| GDP | Gross Domestic Product |
| GNP | Gross National Product |
| GTZ | German Agency for Technical Assistance |
| ICAO | International Civil Aviation Organization |
| IFC | International Finance Corporation |
| IIED | International Institute for Environment and Development |
| Les | Lesotho (on Tables in text) |
| Mal | Malawi on (Tables in text) |
| Moz | Mozambique (on Tables in text) |
| Nam | Namibia (on Tables in text) |
| NATCAP | National Technical Cooperation and Assistance Programme |
| NCS | National Conservation Strategy |
| NEAP | National Environmental Action Plan |
| NEPRU | Namibian Economic Policy Research Union |
| NGO | Non-Governmental Organization |
| NORAD | Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation |
| OUA | Organization of African Unity |
| ODA | Official Development Assistance |
| OECD | Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development |
| PTA | Preferential Trade Area for Eastern and Southern Africa |
| RSA | Republic of South Africa (on Tables in text) |
| SACCAR | Southern African Centre for Cooperation in Agricultural Research |
| SACU | Southern Africa Customs Union |
| SADC | Southern African Development Community |
| SAP | Structural Adjustment Programme |
| SARCCUS | Southern African Regional Commission for the Conservation and Utilization of Soil |
| SARD | Southern African Research and Documentation Centre |
| SASREG | Southern African Sub-Regional Environment Group |
| SATCC | Southern Affrican Transport and Communications Commission |
| SIDA | Swedish International Development Authority |
| Swa | Swaziland (on Tables in text) |
| Tan | Tanzania (on Tables in text) |
| UN | United Nations |
| UNCED | United Nations Conference on Trade and Development |
| UNCSD | United Nations Commission for Sustainable Development |
| UNHCR | United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees |
| UNIFEM | United Nations Development Fund for Women |
| USAID | U.S. Agency for International Development |
| WCED | World Commission on Environment and Development |
| WFP | World Food Programme |
| WB/IBRD | International Bank for Reconstruction and Development |
| WRI | World Resources Institute |
| ZACPLAN | Zambezi River System Action Plan |
| Zam | Zambia (on Tables in text) |
| Zim | Zimbabwe (on Tables in text) |
% = per cent
Monetary figures are in US dollars
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"We must not forget the majority of people and countries in the SADC Region and the world are poor. If the poor sometimes behave in a way that degrades the environment it is not because they chose to do so. They only do so when they have no other choices... The Earth Summit and Agenda 21 must expand the development choices and opportunities for the majority of poor people, communities and countries... The Earth Summit and Agenda 21 must provide a new basis for a newdeal for the majority of poor people and countries in order to secure and sustain our common future".
Sustaining Our Common Future, page 32 SADCC Report to the 1992 Earth Summit.
After a decade of largely unsustainable development in southern Africa the livelihoods and lives of many people and the economic prospects of most countries continue to be threatened by environmental degradation. Most SADC countries now face a formidable series of critical demographic, social, economic, agricultural, energy, technological, and institutional transitions in order to move toward development that is economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable.
However, the commitment to build a new Southern African Development Community (SADC) plus the membership of the new majority-led South Africa provide a new basis and more opportunities for the SADC countries to better manage their multiple transitions and together move toward sustainable development.
Agenda 21, the global action plan for environment and development adopted at the 1992 Earth Summit, provides a new integrated policy framework for national and regional action for moving toward sustainable development within and among SADC countries.
In the SADC region as elsewhere, unsustainable development has been and remains largely driven by economic and sectoral policies which are too narrowly conceived and focused and particularly neglect the adverse impacts on the poor majority and the environment. Conventional "react-and-cure" responses simply cannot keep up with the escalating pace and scale of environmental degradation. Moreover, none of the national environmental and resource management agencies in the SADC region have enough staff or funds to address all of the problems effectively.
To break away from unsustainable to sustainable development in the SADC region, environmental concerns need to be increasingly incorporated as an integral part of the development policies and decision-making of the major economic and sectoral Ministries. Agenda 21 contains many recommendations for integrating environment and development in all major sectors, and proposes a broad range and mix of regulatory measures and economic incentives to ensure that national development becomes ecologically and economically sustainable.
Agenda 21 sets 38 main policy goals to be tackled through 131 priority programmes with a combined total of over 2,500 recommendations for national and international action. Part 2 and Annex 2 of this report contains a summary of some of the most relevant Agenda 21 goals, priority programmes and recommendations for action for some key SADC policy sectors.
Some of the key policy issues and goals in Agenda 21 are not explicitly reflected in the present SADC structure. While the mandates of several SADC sector groups could be extended to cover some of the missing key issues (e.g. biodiversity), new SADC institutional arrangements need to be considered for other key issues such as health and human settlements.
Agenda 21 unfortunately does not provide "a new basis for a new deal for the majority of poor people and countries". Alleviating the poverty of the 128 million people in the region remains the overriding goal and priority. A third crucial element must be added to "environment and development" to make Agenda 21 more applicable and operational in the SADC region. The critical missing link is equality.
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| Throughout the SADC region the poverty of the poor majority
remains the main cause and consequence of environmental
degradation which in turn undermines the possibilities for future
economic growth. But the poor are not the problem The
National development and international aid policies which fail to
reach, involve and benefit the poor majority are the problem.
As presented in part 3 of the report, policy changes to achieve
greater equity for sustainable development are needed in national
economic, agricultural, land tenure, human settlements, and health
policies as well as even wildlife and park policies.
Significant changes are also needed in the international trade, aid
and leading policies of developed countries and multilateral
financial institutions.
Equity-led growth for sustainable development
The crucial starting point for sustainable development is equity-led growth within and among SADC countries. Growth strategies which fail to improve the lives and livelihoods of the poor majority are not socially or politically sustainable. Growth strategies which degrade the environment and resources base needed for future development are not ecologically o even economically sustainable. Growth strategies which are not economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable, however spectacular the short term results may be, are not and should not be called development.
Accelerated economic growth is nevertheless needed throughout the SADC region. Without growth, greater equity will be difficult to achieve as there will be few or no benefits to share. Without growth, poverty-driven environmental degradation will continue to escalate. Without growth there will be no additional financial resources for tackling the already large backlog of environmental degradation.
Economic growth is not at issue. At issue is the kind and content of that growth. Future growth in the SADC region must become more equitable, less polluting and more efficient in the use of energy and natural resources. National and international equity-led growth strategies are needed for sustainable development to provide "a new basis for a new deal for the majority of poor people and countries in order to secure and sustain our common future."
New goals and agenda for sustainable development
Equity-led growth strategies which put and keep the focus of development on the poor majority of people and countries are needed to accelerate the tradition toward sustainable development in the SADC region. By shifting the focus to people rather than projects, equity-led growth shares many of the goals and attributes of the sustainable human development approach pioneered by UNDP as development for the people and by the people. The three overall goals for sustainable development in the SADC region are:
* To accelerate economic growth with greater equity and self-reliance; * To improve the health, income and living conditions of the poor majority; * To ensure equitable and sustainable use of the environment and natural resources for the benefit of present and future generations. These three goals constitute one agenda for action. None are achievable without the other two. However, these goals are not achievable without significant changes in international trade and debt policies. Without more equitable international economic arrangements, most developing countries in and outside the SADC region have limited scope and little hope for achieving economic, social and environmental sustainability.
Integrating EIA3 in decision-making
Throughout the SADC region the largely separate policies and programmes for economic reform, social progress and environmental improvement must be increasingly integrated in a single agenda and strategy for sustainable development. The new agenda needs to be anchored and reinforced by incorporating impact assessments as an integral part of decision- making in at least three key respects:
* Assessing the likely environmental impacts of economic policies and activities; * Assessing the likely economic impacts of environmental policies and measures; * Assessing the likely equity impacts of both economic and environmental policies.
Although the integration in all key policy sectors of economic, environmental and equity impact assessments (EIA3) will not make decision-making easier, it will improve the chances of making better decisions by compelling decision-makers to assess and defend their choices in terms of economic, social and environmental sustainability.
Although there are few absolutes in public policy, at least one should prevail in the SADC region. If an EIA3 review of a proposed policy or programme indicates that it will not lead to at least some improvement in the living conditions and prospects of the poor majority, then a sustainable alternative must be found that does.
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Over the last decade the ELMS programme gradually expanded on a incremental basis without a comprehensive SADC policy or integrated strategic framework. A new regional policy and strategy for environmental management and sustainable development is now both necessary and timely. However, a new SADC policy and strategy for environment and resource management cannot be separate. The new SADC policy must be developed and implemented as an integral part of a larger SADC agenda and strategy for equity-led growth and sustainable development in and among the countries of the SADC region.
Main environmental policy goals and issues
The main goals for a regional environment policy and strategy are:
* To protect and improve health, environment and livelihoods of the people in souther Africa with priority to the poor majority; * To preserve the natural heritage, biodiversity and life supporting ecosystems in southern Africa; * To support regional economic development on an equitable and sustainable basis for the benefit of present and future generations.
Three complementary but more functional goals are:
* To strengthen the analytical, decision-making, legal, institutional and technological capacities for achieving sustainable development in southern Africa; * To increase public information, education and participation on environment and development issues in southern Africa; * To expand regional integration and global cooperation on environmental and natural resources management for sustainable development.
The key policy issues, objectives and programme areas for an indicative SADC Environment and Sustainable Development Programme are summarized in Table 4.1. It contains over 20 key programme areas to be coordinated by ELMS directly as the led agency plus more than 20 others to be coordinated by other SADC units. ELMS would have the lead responsibility for coordinating the overall programme. To complement and reinforce the larger SADC goals and agenda for equity-led growth and sustainable development, assessments of the economic, environmental and equity impacts (EIA3) would be carried out before and during the implementation of any major activities in the programme.
Strategic priorities for action
The key programme areas and activities in the SADC Environment and Sustainable Development Programme are presented in Table 4.2 according to five strategic categories.
* Assessing environmental conditions, trends and progress made and needed for sustainable development * Reducing significant threats to human health, ecosystems and future development * Breaking away from unsustainable to sustainable development for the benefit of present and future generations * Managing shared natural resources on an equitable and sustainable basis * Accelerating regional integration and capacity building for sustainable development
A significant strengthening of existing institutional arrangements will be required to carry out the new SADC Environment and Sustainable Development Programme.
(a) Committee of Ministers of Environment: A SADC Committee of Ministers of Environment should be established. This Committee would meet at least once a year to discuss key environmental policy issues and to assess progress made and needed in implementing the programme; and would report directly to the SADC Council of Ministers.
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(b) Technical Committees: There should be three ELMS technical committees - for Land Management, Environment Management and Water Resources Management - whose main functions would include the review and approval of regional policies, plans, priorities and project workplans as well as the monitoring and assessment of the progress made and needed in implementing the programme. The Technical committees would meet at least once a year, and report to the Committee of Ministers of Environment.
(c) SADC-ELMS Coordination Unit: The Coordination Unit should be strengthened to coordinate the formulation and implementation of regional environment policies and strategies, and the Environment and Sustainable Development Programme. As anticipated in the SADC Treaty, the regional programme staff should become fully international in status and character.
(d) Intersectoral coordination and cooperation: Coordination and cooperation among the different SADC sectors and policy areas need to be strengthened by creating, for example, special inter-Ministerial task forces in member countries. At the regional level, intersectoral cooperation and implementation must increasingly become the rule rather than the exception, especially in the Environment and Sustainable Development Programme.
(e) Use of experts and consultants: Experts from the SADC region should be used whenever possible and paid competitive rates. Foreign experts should not be used unless a clear case is made that the necessary expertise is unavailable in the SADC region. A regional environment training strategy should be prepared as a top priority, including a 10-year plan for building a regional network of specialized training centres.
(f) Participation of the business community and NGOs: Experts and representatives from the business community and relevant NGOs should be invited to participate in all meetings, including intergovernmental meetings though without the right to vote. They should also be involved in the planning and implementation of projects where they have special expertise.
As the only significant increase in development aid will likely be in the number of new conditions put on it, SADC countries need to set and increasingly finance their own priority programmes for environmental management and sustainable development in the region.
However, the reallocation of financial or staff resources from national to regional programmes can only be justified if there are clear net benefits for the contributing countries. Regional projects should be adopted only if they serve the mutual interests and yield net benefits for the participating countries. Funding for the SADC Environment and Sustainable Development Programme should include the following measures:
* Programme workplans and budgets should increasingly be based on the availability of local resources from SADC members through, for example, assessed contributions, voluntary contributions, staff secondments and services-in-kind. * Other funding options include cost-recovery or basic user charges for particular regional services, special regional levis on benefits derived from regional programmes and new regional funding mechanisms for special regional projects. * Although external aid is needed to launch the new programme, SADC members should finance at least the core staff and programme support costs of the regional secretariat. External funds should be used largely to accelerate implementation so that local resources can be released and redirected to other priority issues.
The inevitably rising financial contributions by SADC members should be regarded not as subsidies but as investments in an increasingly integrated development community. A SADC investment plan should be prepared for gradually replacing external aid with local funds. Within a decade the SADC Environment and Sustainable Development Programme should be a truly independent, regionally interdependent and locally financed programme.
The abbreviation of "SoutHern AfRican Environment and Sustainable Development Programme" as the "SHARED Programme" underlines the shred responsibility and commitment of SADC countries to share information and expertise on shared environmental problems and natural resources for achieving sustainable development and securing their future.
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1. The Multiple Challenges in SADC Countries
After several decades of often marginal economic growth, increasing poverty and escalating environmental degradation, SADC countries face a formidable series of critical transitions in order to move from largely unsustainable development toard development that is economically,socially and environmentally sustainable. Critical transitions include:
A demographic transition toward an optimal size and distribution of population and economic activity in relation to the environment and natural resource base;
A social transition toward a more equitable sharing of development opportunities and benefits with priority to the poor majority;
A gender transition toward expanded rights and participation of women in the development process;
An economic transition toward equity-led growth with priority to the poor and to protecting the environment and natural resources needed for future development;
An agricultural transition toward better and sustainable use of land for greater food production and productivity with priority to household and regional food security;
An energy transition toward more efficient use of and less polluting sources of energy with priority to the accelerated development of renewable sources and affordable alternatives to fuelwood for the poor majority;
A technological transition toward accelerated industrial development with priority to technologies that produce less waste and are more energy and resources efficient;
An institutional transition toward new national and regional institutional arrangements with priority to integrating economic, equity and environmental imperatives in planning and decision-making within and among different Ministries and countries;
A governance transition toward greater public accountability and participation with priority to new sustainable development partnerships among governments, industry and NGOs;
A capacity building transition toward greater public accountability and participation with priority to accelerated development and use of local know how, technology and expertise;
A development budget transition from aid dependence to self reliance;
A peace and security transition after decades of conflict toward a new era of regional cooperation and integration with priority to the peaceful settlement of disputes and equity-led growth for sustainable development.
Each of these transitions share at least four characteristics:
* All are interrelated. None of the transitions can be achieved in isolation. * All are crucial for moving toward development that is economically, socially and environmentally sustainable.
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| Malnourished kids under 5 yrs (000's) | ||||||||||||||
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| Land area (000 Km3) | ||||||||||||||
| Population density (km2) | ||||||||||||||
| Arable land (% total land) |
| Forest area (% total land) | ||||||||||||||
| Fuelwood
production (% change) | ||||||||||||||
| Water (000 m3 per capita) | ||||||||||||||
| Water use (000m3 per c.) | ||||||||||||||
| Water: Domestic use (%) | ||||||||||||||
| Water: Industrial use (%) | ||||||||||||||
| Water: Agricultural use (%) | ||||||||||||||
| Protected areas (number) | ||||||||||||||
| Protected areas (000 hectares) | ||||||||||||||
| Protected areas (% total land) |
Notes: "Africa" refers to Sub-Sahara Africa. Bold figures are from the 1983 World Development Report. The concluding entries on water and protected areas (IUCN categories I-V) are from the World Resources Report 1994-95. All other figures are from the Human Development Report 1994 except for the italised figures in the column from South Africa: those figures are for 1993 and were provided by their Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. Other figures in italics are for years other than those indicated. The dots (...) indicate data not available.
* The common priority is to improve the health, lives and livelihoods of the poor majority.
* The pace and scale of change as well as the opportunities for success will be far greater with expanded regional cooperation and integration.
2. From Coordination to Integration
The new SADC provides a new basis and more opportunities for member countries to better manage their multiple transitions and together move toward sustainable development both nationally and regionally. For virtually every sector, and especially for environment and natural resources management, the new SADC is both timely and necessary. A recent major study on "Economic Integration in Southern Africa" bluntly concluded that "regional cooperation is not an optional extra; it is a matter of survival." (ADB, 1993).
The commitment by Heads of State and Government at their 1992 Summit to move from regional coordination (SADCC) to integration and a new Southern African Development Community (SADC) included the adoption of new principles and goals directly related to many central issues for the different but interrelated transitions. The guiding principles in the 1992 SADC Treaty include such crucial prerequisites for sustainable development as "solidarity, peace and security'; "human rights, democracy and the rule of law"; "equity, balance and mutual benefit"; and the "peaceful settlement of disputes". Relevant objectives in the SADC Treaty include:
". . . to achieve development and economic growth, alleviate poverty, enhance the standard and quality of life of the peoples of Southern Africa and support the socially disadvantaged through regional integration";
"... to promote and defend peace and security";
"... to promote self-sustaining development";
"... to achieve sustainable utilization of natural resources and effective protection of the environment";
". . . to encourage the peoples of the Region to take initiatives to develop economic, social and cultural ties and participate fully in the implementation of SADC programmes and projects";
"... to create appropriate institutions and mechanisms for the mobilization of requisite resources for the implementation of the programmes and operations of SADC";
"... to promote the development of human resources";
"... to promote the development, transfer and mastery of technology";
". . . to improve economic management and performance through regional cooperation".
The 1992 SADC Treaty commitment to integration and a new regional community also reflects the cultural and environmental realities that many peoples as well as wildlife, natural resources and ecological zones have always transcended national boundaries in the region. The Zambezi River, for example, is a life-supporting umbilical cord linking eight SADC countries. The regional management and sustainable use of shared resources represent a major challenge and opportunity for the new SADC.
3. Building on Success
During the 1980's the SADC countries established the best record in Africa for regional cooperation on economic and environmental issues. SADC's decentralized network of regional coordinating units for key policy areas is unparalleled in Africa and elsewhere. In other regions the concentration of the decision-making and management capacity in one or a few countries makes their regional institutions seem distant and aloof for many people.
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In SADC, every member country hosts one or more regional units, usually for key policy areas where they have a special concern and competence. As a result the regional staff live and work closer to the people they serve and to the problems they must resolve. Every country has a direct stake and share in regional institutions. For host countries it often becomes a matter of some national pride to ensure 'their' regional programmes succeed.
The countries of Southen Africa have or share many other stregths on which to build the new SADC. Two countries, Botswana and South Africa, have the highest GNP per capita in Africa. Half the SADC members had higher GDP growth during the 1980's than most other African countries. Other key indicators of improved health and social progress in the region such as life expectancy at birth are higher than the average in Africa.
Notable achievements include the setting up regional research and training institutions and networks on sustainable land use and agricultural production. For example, the Southern African Centre for Cooperation in Agricultural Research and Training (SACCAR) links and supports over 20 specialized national and regional research institutes on key crops (e.g. sorghum, millet, groundnut), agroforestry and plant genetic resources generally. The Southern African Regional Commission for the Conservation and Utilization of the Soil (SARCCUS) has facilitated the regional exchange of agriculture-related technical and scientific information, expertise and know-how for over 20 years.
Concerned countries have also prepared and started implementing joint regional programmes for managing shared natural resources such as water (e.g. the Zambezi Action Plan) and for tackling major threats such as desertification (e.g. the Kalahari-Namib Action Plan).
Since the 1992 Earth Summit many SADC members prepared new national plans and strategies for conservation, environmental improvement and Agenda 21 follow-up (see Table 1.2). All SADC countries already have environment Ministries or special boards to take and guide national action.
Internationally, SADC members took an active part in preparing the regional Annex for Africa to the global Convention on Desertification and the African Common Position for the Biodiversity Convention. SADC members also play a leading role in the work of the African Ministerial Conference on Environment (AMCEN). The Environment Ministers from Zimbabwe and Botswana are the current Chairman and Vice-Chairman of AMCEN.
The commitment to regional integration presents new opportunities for transforming some existing weaknesses into strengths, especially on the sustainable use of natural resources. For example, national food security remains a top priority in all SADC countries. Yet the previously justified preoccupation with national food security has also been a source of environmental degradation in many countries by stimulating agricultural expansion into marginal areas with vulnerable soils as well as the over exploitation or inappropriate use of limited arable land for strategically important crops.
Some of these problems can be reduced or avoided by refocussing national strategies on regional and household food security. At the outset of the transition toward regional food security many countries will be understandably reluctant to become dependent on others for strategically important crops. For this and other reasons it is politically necessary as well as mutually beneficial to simultaneously expand regional integration in other areas of strategic national importance such as energy, water resources and trade. The SADC countries are already ecologically interdependent. To accelerate their transition toward sustainable development it is in their mutual self-interests to become more economically interdependent and regionally independent.
Although several major policy areas must still be added, the existing institutional network and regional programmes already provide a solid foundation on which to build the new SADC. Key areas of public policy and concern which need to be added include human health, waste management, technological research and development, air and noise pollution (especially transboundary air pollution), and the management of demographic change, particularly human settlements planning, water supply and sanitation.
The 1992 SADC Treaty recognizes the need for new institutions. Several studies and a series of community building workshops have already been launched. The recent membership of South Africa provides further reason and an opportunity to reassess and strengthen the present SADC institutional framework.
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| 01 Biodiversity | |||||||||||
| 02 Coastal/Marine Resources | |||||||||||
| 03 Drought/Desertification | |||||||||||
| 04 Energy | |||||||||||
| 05 Environmental Education | |||||||||||
| 06 E.I.A. | |||||||||||
| 07 Fisheries | |||||||||||
| 08 Food Security | |||||||||||
| 09 Forests | |||||||||||
| 10 Land/Soils | |||||||||||
| 11 Minerals | |||||||||||
| 12 National Conservation Strategy | |||||||||||
| 13 National Development Plan | |||||||||||
| 14 National Environment Action Plan | |||||||||||
| 15 National Green Plan/Agenda 21 | |||||||||||
| 16 Protected Areas/Parks | |||||||||||
| 17 Sanitation | |||||||||||
| 18 Tourism | |||||||||||
| 19 Toxic Wastes | |||||||||||
| 20 Transportation | |||||||||||
| 21 Urban Development | |||||||||||
| 22 Waste Management | D | ||||||||||
| 23 Water Resources | |||||||||||
| 24 Wetlands | |||||||||||
| 25 Wildlife | |||||||||||
| Sources: 1994 SADC/ELMS Questionnaire and information provided during the ELMS missions. This chart will be updated as new information becomes available. | |||||||||||
4. Accelerating Growth with Greater Equity
Accelerating economic growth and development is needed throughout the SADC region. For example, on a GNP per capita basis two SADC members are ranked lowest in the world. Eight of the eleven SADC members are among the 40 least developed countries in the world. In the early 1990's SADC countries received on average at least twice as much bilateral aid on a per capita basis and as a percentage of GNP than most African countries.
Even in areas where SADC countries have largely performed better than most other African countries, that is still not good enough especially if one is among those without reasonable access to safe water, sanitation or health services. As the poor majority of people generally suffer first and most, the lack of adequate growth is politically unsustainable.
These are only some of the many compelling reasons why renewed economic growth is imperative throughout the region. But renewed efforts on environmental protection and improvement are also imperative. When other arguments fail in the still persistent environment versus development debate, environmentalists are frequently accused of being anti-growth. But economic growth itself is not really the issue. What is at issue is the kind and content of that growth.
The top priority is to ensure the opportunities and benefits of economic growth are distributed more equitably, with the larger share to the poor majority and especially the women and children who are the majority in the poor majority. Without economic growth, however, there will be few benefits to share. Without equity-led growth, poverty and the associated environmental degradation will increase. As stated in the most current and comprehensive report on the "State of the Environment in Southern Africa":
While economic growth is necessary to improve incomes, it is also critical that poverty be alleviated; in other words, fairer distribution of wealth is also needed. Unless poverty is reduced, population growth and pressures on resources will continue to increase.... (p.6)
The poor majority are at least the majority in the SADC region. Nearly half or more of the people in the region are not just poor but are absolutely poor. While the analysis did not include the two poorest countries in the region and world, the same report points out that:
Information on numbers of people in absolute poverty (those unable to meet essential needs) is difficult to get but statistics are available for Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia and South Africa. For those five countries the figures range from 49 to 78 per cent.... (p.6)
The kind and content of growth must also change. Economic growth must become more energy and resource efficient and produce less wastes and harmful pollutants. That will significantly reduce and help avoid further environmental degradation. However, after several decades of largely unsustainable development, SADC countries already face a huge backlog of environmental degradation. Sustainable economic growth is needed to generate the additional resources to finance the environmental restoration and improvement measures needed to tackle that backlog.
More equitable and ecologically sustainable growth is needed. Neither can be achieved without the other. In many SADC members a 'vicious cycle' is already dominant: widespread poverty is a major driving force for environmental degradation; escalating environmental degradation is a major cause of widespread poverty; and their increasingly lethal interaction jeopardizes future economic growth prospects throughout the region. The final section of the overview in the 1994 report on the "State of the Environment in Southern Africa" concludes that:
Poverty and environmental degradation are linked in a vicious circle in which people cannot afford to take proper care of the environment. A degraded environment produces less, so people become more vulnerable. As population increases, the next generation must spread the limited resources even thinner.... (p.17)
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Fuelwood is one of many examples of poverty-driven environmental degradation in the region. As repeatedly emphasized in the 1994 "State of the Environment in Southern Africa" report, the poor urban and rural majority rely almost entirely on fuelwood for cooking and heating, creating a demand and situation that is unsustainable. The fuelwood issue is critical because it is linked to so many other environmental problems. Rising fuelwood demand, for example, is a contributing cause of deforestation resulting in habitat destruction and declining biodiversity. It is also a contributing cause of land degradation and erosion which in turn leads to the siltation of rivers with adverse impacts on freshwater and coastal ecosystems as well as hydropower generation. The dependence of the poor majority on fuelwood is a significant health threat and cause of respiratory problems, especially among children. But the poor majority are not the problem. They cannot be blame when they have no other reasonable choices. The problem is the lack of affordable energy alternatives to fuelwood.
The regional environment and development situation must be assessed in a global context. As shown in Table 1.3, most SADC members are predominantly exporters of primary agricultural, mineral, forest and fish products. Four SADC members are among the world's most severely indebted countries which means that either of two key ratios is above critical levels: the present value of debt service to GNP (80%) or the present value of debt service to exports (220%). That crippling debt burden, combined with generally unfavorable terms of trade and declining or stagnating aid flows, meant there was a major outflow to banks, multilateral financial institutions and countries largely in Europe and North America. That situation is economically unsustainable and also a major driving force behind social and environmental unsustainability in SADC countries.
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| Low Income Middle Income | |||||
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| Exporter of non fuel primary products |
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| Exporter of fuels (mainly oil) | |||||
| Exporter of services | |||||
| Diversified exporter | |||||
| Note: Severely indebted means
either of two key ratios is above critical levels: present value of
debt service to GNP (80%) and
present value of debt service to exports (220%). Moderately
indebted means either of two key ratios exceeds 60% of, but
does
not reach, the critical levels.
Source: World Development Report 1993, pp. 326-329.
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Accelerated growth with greater equity is clearly needed in the region and globally, with priority to the poorest countries for major reductions or cancellations of debts, fairer terms of trade and increased development aid by OECD countries to at least the 0.7% of GNP target set over 20 years ago and preferably to the 1% of GNP attained by some Nordic countries.
5. Managing the Environment and Resource Base
After decades of unsustainable development largely driven by increasing population, industrialization and urbanization, the lives and livelihoods of many people and communities throughout the SADC region are threatened by environmental degradation. Escalating deforestation, soil degradation, declining biological diversity and over exploitation of wild-life, fisheries and rangelands undermine the development prospects for present and future generations in many SADC countries.
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In a detailed analytical review in 1993 by SADC/ELMS of major national plans and studies such as national conservation strategies and country reports to the 1992 Earth Summit (SADC, 1993b, pp.21-45), the following key environmental issues were cited as priority concerns by five of more SADC countries:
* Population growth pressures on the resource base * Rangeland degradation * Soil erosion * Water and air pollution, especially from agrochemicals * Deforestation * Declining biodiversity
In the 1993 review the following national priorities for environmental action were also cited by five of more SADC countries:
* Expand education on rangeland management, forestry and biodiversity * Strengthen water resources planning and management * Establish databases on biodiversity * Increase afforestation, fuelwood plantations and tree planting programmes * Strengthen pollution control standards and measures * Improve rangeland management
A recurring concern throughout the SADC region is the need for more and better state of the environment monitoring, information and reporting. The first comprehensive regional study is the 1994 "State of the Environment in Southern Africa" done by SARDC in collaboration with the IUCN and SADC. It includes the following concerns and priorities:
Environmental quality: "Systematic monitoring of environmental quality is lacking above a basic level of testing drinking water. Some municipalities monitor a few substances in local air and water but this is largely ad hoc." (p.15)
Industrial pollution: "Surveys of industrialized areas of Botswana in 1991 and Zimbabwe in 1992 revealed that many firms did not know whether the waste they produced was toxic, or even what was in the waste.... the most poisonous waste often makes its way into drinking water, air and land. Legislation to prevent such pollution is often in place but governments cannot afford the personnel and analytical equipment to enforce it." (p. 15)
Food security: "... current data is insufficient to assess the land's capacity to support future growth in food production." (p.10)
Agrochemicals: "Agricultural chemical use is monitored in a few countries. Several compounds which are banned or strictly controlled for reasons of toxicity in most developed countries are freely available to the commercial and small scale farming sectors in this region as well as for household use." (p.15)
Fisheries: "There is insufficient information to assess the maximum sustainable inland and marine fishyield, a requisite for proper management, so it is not clear whether fish demand can be met from existing resources." (p.11)
In the "Regional Overview" (pp. 1-20) of the 1994 "State of the Environment in Southern Africa" report, the main findings on key issues include:
Population growth: Regional population growth averages 3% annually. At this rate the region's population will double by the year 2018. The population growth rates vary among SADC countries from 2.2% to 3.8% annually but are stable or decreasing in six of the 11 countries. The "increasing population is multiplying the effects of all environmental problems in the region." (p.1)
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Urbanization: The "percentage moving to cities is higher than the birth rate in most of the region" (p.7). As shown in Table 1.1, urban population growth in the SADC region is double the overall population growth rate. A third of the people in the region live in cities already. By the year 2000 that is expected to rise to over 40%. The fastest urbanizing countries are Botswana, Mozambique and Tanzania.
Land degradation: "About 20 percent of southern African soils needs some degree of rehabilitation, and the degradation and loss of productivity is continuing. Most of the degradation is caused by overgrazing.... Poverty compounds the problem because farmers can't afford to fertilize, leading to less vigorous plant growth which leaves soil more exposed to eroding rainfall and runoff.... A 1990 FAO study showed that soil in the region is being 'mined' for its essential nutrients." (p.9)
Fisheries: "Fish protein is in high demand but projections indicate that production will have to increase by 550,000 tones by the turn of the century to meet the increasing demands of the growing population. Several marine areas such as the Angolan and Namibian coasts have suffered from overfishing and there is localized overfishing inland as well." (p.11)
Water use: "Inadequate supply of water which is needed for domestic, industrial and agricultural use, and flushing away of wastes, could be a limiting factor on development in southern Africa.... About 60 percent of the total amount of water used in the region - almost 20 cubic kilometers of water in 1993 is used for irrigation.... (p.11)
Water pollution: "Pollution from sewage is a growing problem as urbanization increases.... Agricultural pollution by farm chemicals, particularly pesticides, contaminates drinking water. Improper irrigation has made freshwater rivers salty in some areas. Industrial pollution, subject to little enforcement or monitoring, effectively decreases the amount of fresh water by making supplies unfit for use." (p.12)
Energy: "Competition for water for hydroelectric power has already created tensions in some areas and is becoming an issue for some Zambezi River states.... The southern African region has very large coal reserves.... These could provide fuel for electricity generation, although the environmental cost of mining and burning coal is high. Already this is causing localized pollution in Zimbabwe and large scale air pollution is evident in South Africa's eastern Transvaal.... Renewable energy... has received disproportionately little research and development funds.... The potential for energy conservation in the urban and industrial sectors is high but does not seem to be a significant policy focus" (p. 12-14)
Fuelwood: "... the majority of people still rely on wood, charcoal and coal for most energy needs.... per capita fuelwood consumption in the SADC region is among the highest in the world. The fuelwood demand in the region is seen as unsustainable.... Fuelwood burning contributes to deforestation and pollution.... Another serious health problem is respiratory damage caused by smoke from heating and cooking fires.... this smoke, breathed every day by a majority of southern African residents, produces serious health effects, especially among children." (pp. 12-15)
Biodiversity: "The demand for land, water, food and energy has reduced the wild plant and animal life in southern Africa.... Wildlife, including fish, has been overexploited for food and commercial gain.... commercial poaching, with its targeted species, is threatening some with extinction...." (p.14)
The two most important resources are land and water. In the SADC region only 7.6% of the land is arable. The productivity of that limited arable land, and of the less fertile and vulnerable rangelands covering 41% of the SADC region, must be protected and improved to feed the fast growing regional population. Water is needed to support that food production and for industrial and household use. Without adequate access to clean water, people and especially children get sick and die sooner and more often of dehydration or waterborne diseases than from lack of food. Agricultural production and water resources are both crucial to support regional industrial and energy development.
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6. Fast-Tracking Environmental Cooperation
After citing the management of scarce water resources in a short list of key regional initiatives, the major ADB study in 1993 on "Economic Integration in Southern Africa" concluded that:
Action can proceed in one area as fast as circumstances allow without the pace of progress necessarily depending on what happens in other areas. A 'multi-speed' approach to coordination across different sectors is entirely possible and, indeed, desirable. (p.3)
While generally applicable this conclusion certainly needs to be restated with respect to environmental management issues in the SADC region. For many key environment and development issues such as affordable options to fuelwood for the poor majority, regional and household food security, transboundary acid deposition and cleaner production technologies, a fast-track approach is needed now.
Fast-tracking regional cooperation on environmental issues in and across different sectors simultaneously is possible, desirable and, indeed, imperative. For many countries the economic and environmental costs of postponing action will likely be far greater than the costs of taking joint action. For most SADC members, any significant delays will likely mean they must later face much higher environmental damage costs and, for shared water resources and energy, lost economic opportunity costs.
To help set and guide a fast-paced and multi-track regional agenda, there is fortunately a new and comprehensive policy framework for action. Agenda 21, the global action plan for environment and development adopted at the 1992 Earth Summit plus the associated "African Common Position on Environment and Development" (ECA, 1991b) and "African Strategies for the Implementation of Agenda 21" (ECA, 1993), provide a new framework and basis for accelerated national and regional action for moving toward sustainable development within and among the SADC countries.
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All SADC countries actively participated in the negotiations before and at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) and Earth Summit. All 11 SADC members produced an UNCED national report. SADC countries also contributed to a special regional report for UNCED on "Sustaining Our Common Future" (SADCC, 1991m).
At the Earth Summit the SADC members joined 156 other countries in adopting Agenda 21 which integrated environment and development issues in a new policy framework and action plan for moving toward sustainable development at the national, regional and global levels. Although remarkably comprehensive, Agenda 21 is also extraordinarily long. With a total of nearly 500 pages in three volumes (A/CONF. 151/26, Vol. 1-3), Agenda 21 sets 38 main policy goals to be tackled through 131 priority programmes with a combined total of over 2,500 recommendations for action.
Relevant highlights of Agenda 21 for SADC countries and the main SADC policy sectors are briefly presented below and in the Annex. All excerpts are from the "Agenda 21 Summary for Decision-Makers" (Munro, 1993). The excerpts briefly state the main substantive intent of each recommendation. However, for policy and decision-making purposes the detailed recommendations in the official UNCED report should be read. To facilitate this the relevant paragraph number in the official report is cited for each recommendation.
1. Integrating Environment and Development
Agenda 21 repeatedly emphasizes the crucial importance of strengthening environment and resource management policies and agencies. In some key areas there is a lack of effective policies (e.g. marine fisheries, water and sanitation in slums) or a lack of effective implementation and enforcement of existing policies (e.g. industrial pollution control, agrochemicals). Some policies also lack the public involvement and support needed for effective implementation, especially among local communities (e.g. wildlife and parks management).
However, the crucial feature of Agenda 21 is the persistent message that changes in the policies and programmes of major economic and sectoral agencies are equally and often more important for achieving sustainable development. The cumulative pressures driving unsustainable development in the SADC region include increasing population, industrialization and urbanization. As noted in the opening paragraph of this report, a series of major and simultaneous transitions are needed in a wide range of sectors and policy areas to move toward development that is economically, socially and environmentally sustainable.
Throughout Africa two of the most decisive challenges confronting governments are the interlinked problems of widespread poverty and environmental degradation. A major cause of both is policy failure. For poverty it is the failure of national development and external aid policies and programmes to reach and expand the choices of the poor majority of people. For environment it is the failure of economic, agricultural, energy, industrial and other sectoral policies to take fully into account their often adverse impacts on the environment and natural resource base needed for future development.
The most important achievement of the 1992 Earth Summit was to shift the macro-policy focus from 'environment or development' to environment and development'. In industrial countries the standard 'react-and-cure' environmental agenda of the 1970's focussed largely on pollution and resource depletion problems. However, the usually belated and predominantly 'end-of-pipe' solutions in the standard environment agenda proved both expensive and inadequate.
In the 1980's the focus gradually moved upstream with increasing emphasis on 'anticipate-and-prevent' strategies. With the Brundtland report in the late 1980's and Rio Conference in the early 1990's, the process moved fully upstream and focussed attention and action on the real policy sources of unsustainable development. In the SADC region as elsewhere, unsustainable development has been and remains largely driven by economic and sectoral policies which are too narrowly conceived and focussed and particularly neglect their adverse impacts on the poor majority and the environment.
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Key economic and sectoral policy areas and the associated environmental problems in the SADC region are highlighted in Table 2.1. While showing in summary form some of the main links between key policy areas and major environmental concerns, Table 2.1 still does not include some of the most important issues. It does not reflect, for example, the rising and often conflicting demands for limited resources in the SADC region such as the competing agricultural, urban, industrial and hydroelectric demands on water or the competing agricultural, urban, industrial, forestry, parks and wildlife demands on land.
None of the national environment and resource management agencies in SADC countries have enough staff or funds to address all of these problems effectively. Moreover, given the general financial constraints and cutbacks in government budgets throughout the SADC region, none are likely to receive the major budget increases needed now or in the near future. The corresponding SADC regional programmes (e.g. ELMS, Wildlife, Forestry, Fisheries and Marine Resources, etc.) face similar constraints. Both the national and regional authorities are confronted by more and tougher problems yet are somehow expected to do far more with less resources in tackling simultaneously the following three major challenges:
(a) To deal with the already large backlog of environmental damage and degradation caused by previous unsustainable development (e.g. degraded soils, polluted water bodies, depleted fisheries, deforested watersheds, endangered habitats and species, etc.);
(b) To tackle chronic and newly emerging problems which pose serious threats to human health and ecosystems (e.g. waste management, desertification, hazardous chemicals, transboundary air pollution and acidification of soils, etc.);
(c) To assess and address future threats to human health and welfare which can only be avoided if action is taken soon (e.g. local and global climate change, declining genetic resources, etc.).
The national and regional environment programmes and agencies in the SADC region cannot cope with such an overloaded agenda. The only chance for breaking away from unsustainable to sustainable development in the SADC region is to incorporate many of the chronic, emerging and future environmental concerns as an integral part of the development policies and decision-making of the major economic and sectoral Ministries.
To support the integration of environment and development and assess progress, environmental standards and laws need to be strengthened and enforced; economic incentives need to be used more widely; and present development indicators and accounting systems need to be adapted to better measure progress made and needed toward sustainable development.
The relevant priority programmes in Agenda 21 contain over 80 recommendations for action in these areas. An indicative list follows. The number of the relevant paragraph in the UNCED report (A/CONF. 151/26) appears in brackets after each entry.
A. Integrate environment and development in policies, plans and management Integrate economic, social and environmental issues in government decision-making (8.4a) Adopt a policy framework incorporating long term and cross-sectoral approaches (8.4b) Make development decision-makers accountable for environmental impacts (8.4e) Assess economic, social and environmental costs and benefits of projects (8.5b) Move from narrow sectoral approaches to cross-sectoral cooperation (8.12)
B. Provide an effective legal and regulatory framework Review and strengthen the effectiveness of environmental laws and regulations (8.17) Establish procedures for legal redress and remedies for environmental harm (8.18) Ensure equal access to legal redress and remedies for environmental harm (8.18) Improve institutional capacity for monitoring and enforcement of compliance (8.21c) Establish regional training centres and databases on environmental law (8.26)
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Agricultural development
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| Industrial development & mining |
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| Energy
development & use |
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| Forestry |
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| Tourism |
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| Transport |
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| Human settlements development |
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D. Establish systems for integrated environment and economic accounting Develop and standardize environmental and economic accounting methods (8.43b) Provide training on integrated environmental and economic accounting (8.43c) Develop sustainable development indicators for planning and decision-making (8.44a) Improve capacity to collect, analyze and integrate environmental and economic data (8.49) Train decision-makers in effective use of new environmental and economic information (8.54)
An integrated environment and development approach is more effective and also less costly for governments in the short and longer term. Although additional funds are needed to deal with the backlog of environmental degradation, the focus of the new agenda is on changing policies to avoid future environmental problems.
Governments can serve industrial development and environmental goals in ways that do not increase expenditure by, for example, changing tax policies to allow accelerated depreciation allowances and tax writeoffs for corporate investments in pollution control and cleaner production technologies. Policy changes can actually reduce government expenditure by abolishing agricultural, energy and other subsidies which encourage the over exploitation or inefficient use of resources. Other policy measures such as effluent charges, user charges, product charges and administrative fees even provide additional revenue while measures such as deposit-refund schemes for potentially polluting products can be largely self-financing and budget neutral.
In sum, under the new Agenda 21 for environment and development governments can use a much broader range and mix of regulatory measures and economic incentives to ensure that national development becomes both ecologically and economically sustainable. The priority areas in Agenda 21 contain many specific recommendations on the kind of changes needed in existing policies and programmes at the national and international levels. These have significant implications for the existing SADC structure and regional programmes.
2. Implications of Agenda 21 for Key SADC Sectors
As indicated in the SADC/ELMS survey results in Table 2.2, the national implementation of Agenda 21 is considered "inadequate" by experts in most SADC countries. Although over two years have now elapsed since the 1992 Earth Summit, the integration of environment in the policies, plans and programmes of the major economic and sectoral Ministries is also still considered "inadequate" in the majority of SADC countries.
At the regional level the representatives of the same Ministries set the priorities and programmes for the corresponding SADC policy sectors. It is therefore not surprising that regional implementation of Agenda 21 also remains inadequate, especially the integration of environment and development in key SADC sector policies and programmes.
Agenda 21 nevertheless remains a pioneering report with significant implications and many innovative proposals of direct relevance to regional priorities and programmes for moving toward sustainable development in the SADC region. A summary is included in the Annex of relevant Agenda 21 goals, priority programmes and recommendations for action for key SADC policy sectors. Although the SADC Food, Agriculture and Natural resources (FANR) group of policy areas and sectors are particularly important for environment and natural resources management, other key SADC sectors such as energy, Transport and Communications, and industry and Trade also have relevant responsibilities. As the summary in the Annex is indicative rather than comprehensive, a maximum of only three of the most relevant Agenda 21 recommendations are cited for each priority programme.
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| Environmental Assessment | |||||
| Environmental monitoring State-of-environment reporting by government State-of-environment reporting by NGOs Environmental impact assessments by Government Environmental impact assessments by industry |
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| Public Awareness and Action | |||||
| Environmental awareness among the public Environmental awareness in industry Environmental action by NGOs |
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| Environmental Law | |||||
| Scope of environmental legislation Enforcement of environmental laws |
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| Environmental Cooperation | |||||
| Governmental inter-Ministerial cooperation on
environment Government-industry cooperation on environment Government-NGO cooperation on environment |
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| Integration of Environment and Development | Excellent | ||||
| Use of economic incentives in
environmental policy Integration of environment in economic planning Integration of environment in sectoral policies Integration of environment in govt decision-making Integration of environment in industry decision-making Integration of environment in school curricula |
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| Implementation of Agenda 21 | |||||
| National implementation of Agenda 21 | |||||
Sources: Replies to the 1994 SADC/ELMS questionnaire and information provided during ELMS missions.
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The following summary provides an overview of the main Agenda 21 goals for key SADC sectors and the number of relevant priority programmes and recommendations for each |