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National Implementation of Agenda 21
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Information Provided by the Government of SWAZILAND to the
United Nations Department for Policy Coordination and
Sustainable Development
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This country profile has been provided by:
Name of Ministry/Office: Swaziland Environment Authority Date: March 26, 1997 Submitted by: Mailing address: Telephone: Telefax: E-mail:
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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| ACRONYMS | ||
| OVERVIEW | ||
| FACT SHEET (No information) | ||
| AGENDA 21 CHAPTERS | ||
| 2. | International cooperation to accelerate sustainable development in developing countries and related domestic policies (No information) | |
| 3. | Combating poverty (No information) | |
| 4. | Changing consumption patterns (No information) | |
| 5. | Demographic dynamics and sustainability (No information) | |
| 6. | Protecting and promoting human health (No information) | |
| 7. | Promoting sustainable human settlement development (No information) | |
| 8. | Integrating environment and development in decision-making | |
| 9. | Protection of the atmosphere (No information) | |
| 10. | Integrated approach to the planning and management of land resources (No information) | |
| 11. | Combating deforestation (No information) | |
| 12. | Managing fragile ecosystems: combating desertification and drought (No information) | |
| 13. | Managing fragile ecosystems: sustainable mountain development (No information) | |
| 14. | Promoting sustainable agriculture and rural development (No information) | |
| 15. | Conservation of biological diversity (No information) | |
| 16. | Environmentally sound management of biotechnology (No information) | |
| 17. | Protection of the oceans, all kinds of seas, including enclosed and semi-enclosed seas, and coastal areas and the protection, rational use and development of their living resources (No information) | |
| 18. | Protection of the quality and supply of freshwater resources: application of integrated approaches to the development, management and use of water resources (No information) | |
| 19. | Environmentally sound management of toxic chemicals, including prevention of illegal international traffic in toxic and dangerous products (No information) | |
| 20. | Environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes, including prevention of illegal international traffic in hazardous wastes (No information) | |
| 21. | Environmentally sound management of solid wastes and sewage-related issues (No information) | |
| 22. | Safe and environmentally sound management of radioactive wastes (No information) | |
| 23-32 | Major groups (No information) | |
| 33. | Financial resources and mechanisms | |
| 34. | Transfer of environmentally sound technology, cooperation and capacity-building (No information) | |
| 35. | Science for sustainable development (No information) | |
| 36. | Promoting education, public awareness and training | |
| 37. | National mechanisms and international cooperation for capacity-building in developing countries | |
| 38. | International institutional arrangements (No information) | |
| 39. | International legal instruments and mechanisms | |
| 40. | Information for decision-making (No information) | |
| 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) |
Swaziland is a small, landlocked country of 17,364 square kilometers bounded to the East by Mozambique and otherwise surrounded by South Africa.
Geographically, Swaziland is unique. Despite its small area, the country is divided into four distinct physiographic regions from west to east. The Highveld, to the west, comprises mountains with numerous rivers, waterfalls and gorges. The climate is temperate with warm, wet summers and cool to cold dry winters. The Middleveld incorporates fertile soils and valleys with views of the Highveld and Lowveld. The warm climate is ideal for growing various crops and much of the agricultural activity is found in this region. The Lowveld is sub-tropical and is where two of the country's major crops, sugar and citrus, thrive. The Lubombo Escarpment is mountainous and is the dividing line between Swaziland and Mozambique. The climate is sub-tropical with mixed farming being the major activity. The population of Swaziland is approximately 8,000,000 people, with an agricultural based economy.
Like most developing countries, Swaziland has been faced with the dilemma of having to accommodate great environmental changes to provide for its growing population needs. The country's development programme lacks the direction and long-term planning policies that incorporates environmental impact assessment (EIA). Such development includes clearing of large tracts of land for agriculture, removal of wildlife and human beings to marginal lands, excavation of landscape for road networks and mining activities, and the establishment of processing factories without comprehensive waste management plans.
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1. Name of Key National Sustainable Development Coordination Mechanism(s)/Council(s).
Contact point (Name, Title, Office):
Telephone: Fax: e-mail:
Mailing address:
2. Membership/Composition/Chairperson: 2a. List of ministries and agencies involved:
2b. Names of para-statal bodies and institutions involved, as well as participating of academic and private sector bodies:
2c. Names of non-governmental organizations involved:
3. Mandate role of above mechanism/council:
4. If available, attach a diagram (organization chart) showing national coordination structure and linkages between ministries:
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AGENDA 21 CHAPTER 8: INTEGRATING ENVIRONMENT AND
DEVELOPMENT IN DECISION-MAKING
The Department of the Environment is under the Ministry of Tourism,
Environment and Communications. The
Department of the Environment acts as the Secretariat of the body
dealing with environmental issues known as the
Swaziland Environment Authority (SEA). The SEA was established
through an Act of Parliament in November 1992.
Presently, environmental legislation is catered over several
ministries and government departments. However, the
Swaziland Environment Act, 1992, supersedes all other environmental
legislation in the country. The main function of the
Authority is to coordinate the government's effort to incorporate
environmental factors into Swaziland's development
process. In addition to this crucial role, the Authority has wide
ranging responsibilities to:
5. Implement and enforce mechanisms to ensure that environmental
consideration is taken into account in the
authorization and management of development.
The setting up of the Authority is probably the most significant
achievement for the Government of Swaziland as it has
laid down a firm foundation for coordination and overseeing the
implementation of environmental programmes.
As a new organization, the Authority has still to establish various
mechanisms, legislation and partnership agreements with
other bodies before it can fully address much of its mandate.
However, major achievements to date include:
5. Coordination and Preparation of the National Environmental
Action Plan (NEAP);
6. Conducting Environmental Awareness campaigns throughout
Swaziland.
The formulation process for environmental legislation should be the
responsibility of everybody. However, it is a known
fact that the involvement of everybody has problems and is at times
counter-productive. In Swaziland, the SEA, other
government agencies having environmental laws under their
jurisdiction, the Ministries of Economic Planning and
Development and Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, are
responsible for the effective implementation of
environmental legislation. This does not, in any way, preclude the
participation of the broader cross-section of the
population. Public participation effectively allows people to have
a say in future policies that will affect them and to
attain a sense of ownership, which is an important ingredient for
the success of environmental programmes. Ideally, the
approval of programmes or its analysis rests entirely on the
decision-making authority of government. If the authorizing
agency encounters problems or is in doubt about analysis, then the
issue at hand is forwarded to SEA for further
classification and analysis. This is where the involvement of the
public is considered or whether the proponent has to
provide more information to allow analysis and projects to
continue.
NATIONAL PRIORITY:
STATUS REPORT:
1. Coordinate all environmental issues in the country;
2. Monitor environmental quality;
3. Set environmental standards;
4. Develop environmental policies;
1. Drafting and gazetting of environmental audit assessment and
review regulations as contained in Legal Notice
No. 58 of 1996;
2. Review of the first EIA statements prepared under the new
Regulations;
3. Ratification and participation in a number of environmental
conventions, i.e. (Please refer to Chapter 39).
-- Convention on Biodiversity ratified in 1994;
-- Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone
layer, ratified in 1992;
-- Convention to Combat Desertification, ratified in 1996;
-- Framework Convention on Climate Change, ratified in
1996;
-- Convention on Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, ratified in
1996;
4. Preparation of an Environmental Issues Paper;
1. Decision-Making Structure (please also refer to the fact
sheet): No information
2. Capacity-Building/Technology Issues: No information
3. Major Groups: No information
4. Finance: No information
5. Regional/International Cooperation: No information
AGENDA 21 CHAPTER 33: FINANCIAL RESOURCES
AND MECHANISMS
Financial resources and mechanisms are also covered under each
sectoral chapter of Agenda 21 where
relevant. This summary highlights broader national financial
policies, domestic and external
(including ODA)
Due to a lack of national capacity to review EIAs, major
development projects have had an adverse effect on the
environment. Many of the environmental costs have been
externalised to the people of Swaziland instead of being
internalised by the developers.
CHANGES IN NATIONAL BUDGET TO ADDRESS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT:
No information
NEW ECONOMIC INSTRUMENTS: No information
ELIMINATION OF ENVIRONMENTALLY UNFRIENDLY SUBSIDIES: No
information
NATIONAL PRIORITY:
STATUS REPORT:
| ODA policy issues
Donor country. Receipient
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| ODA funding provided or received (Total US$million) | ||||||
| Net flow of external capital from all sources as % of GDP | ||||||
| Other data
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AGENDA 21 CHAPTER 36: PROMOTING EDUCATION,
PUBLIC AWARENESS AND TRAINING
a) Reorientation of education towards sustainable
development
As one of the African countries that participated in the United
Nations Conference on Human Environment in Stockholm
in 1972, Swaziland subscribes to the promotion of environmental
training, education and, in general, creating public
awareness among the masses. The main players in this endeavor are
the Ministry of Education for formal programmes,
curriculum development and teacher training, the National
Environmental Education Programme (NEEP) for non-formal
programmes and various extension services from other ministries and
non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Under the formal sector of environmental education, the National
Curriculum Centre (NCC) of the Ministry of Education
has embarked on developing curricula for the pre-primary and
primary levels. At the primary level, there is a separate
unit called "Exploring and Protecting the Environment." At the
secondary level, the NCC has developed an integrated
course known as "Development Studies" which specifically targets
environmental education.
The Teacher Training College level has designed its Diploma
programme to integrate environmental education,
particularly in Science, Social Studies and Agriculture. The
University of Swaziland (UNISWA) offers several
programmes with environmental relevance in the Departments of
Agriculture, Home Economics, Science and Geography.
The Chemistry Department has embarked on developing a programme in
Environmental Chemistry whereas the
Geography Department has been renamed the Department of Geography,
Environmental Science and Planning. The name
change has been the introduction of diversification and wider
coverage of geographic and environmental training. There
are three options with a common first year and specialization in
Geography Education, Environmental Science, and Urban
and Regional Planning for the other three years.
b) Increasing public awareness
Among other achievements, the Swaziland Environment Authority (SEA)
is conducting Environmental Awareness
campaigns throughout Swaziland.
There is limited coverage of environmental issues by the media
except for a few workshops, seminars, clean-up
campaigns for environmental education and awareness. However, one
of the local daily newspapers, the Times of
Swaziland, has a supplement once a week on nature conservation
(particularly on animals found in game and nature
reserves). This is quite plausible and a step in the right
direction, but a bit of diversification on the environmental issues
would create an all-round awareness. The ideal situation would be
that each of the media houses in the country should
have a specific programme or page supplement on a regular basis to
sensitize the wider population on environmental
issues and inculcate the environmental ethic.
c) Promoting training
Realising the lack of awareness in environmental issues within the
country, a National Environmental Education
Programme (NEEP) was initiated by the Miliwane Trust in 1975. The
programme was to develop a "Conservation Ethic"
for Swaziland which would influence the conservation of nature
resources and promote an appreciation of the natural
environment. Progress has been minimal; however, two people have
been identified and are due for further training as an
addition to the two who are already running the programme. NEEP is
under the auspices of the Swaziland National Trust
commission (SNTC), a parastatal body entrusted, among other things,
with creating an environmental education
programme. Because of the shortage of personnel and equipment,
NEEP is still in its early stages of growth and has
much work ahead before it fulfils its objectives. NEEP has been
actively involved in promoting environmental education
througout the country, at various levels and in different ways.
This has been through an outreach programme which
includes school visits, field courses, radio programmes, national
campaigns and special presentations. This programme
was further strengthened beginning April 1994 when a programme
supported and founded by IUCN and the European
community took over.
Presently, they are working in partnership with clean and Beautiful
Swaziland Forum which campaigns for national
public awareness promotion to cleaner environments and the proper
utilisation of available resources. NEEP is also in
partnership with other organizations in a recycling programme
(cans) and the Draft Anti-Litter Bill.
There are a number of NGOs involved in environmental education,
including Yonge Nawe, Coordinating Assembly of NGOs,
Africa Co-operation Action Trust (ACAT), Emanti Esive, to name a
few. Their major thrust is in creating and spreading
environmental awareness, education, promotion of community
participation, initiating, raising and administering funds for
conservation projects, etc. Yonge Nawe is quite popular,
especially in schools with their Youth Conservation Clubs. They
are
changing their strategy of late by forming Adult Conservation Clubs
to encourage and support the youth and mobilise other
adults.
FINANCING AND COST EVALUATION OF THE LABOUR ACTIVITIES: No
information
NATIONAL PRIORITY:
STATUS REPORT:
ROLE OF MAJOR GROUPS:
| Latest 199- | ||||
| Adult literacy rate (%) Male | ||||
| Adult literacy rate (%) Female | ||||
| % of primary school children reaching grade 5 (1986-97) | ||||
| Mean number of years of schooling | ||||
| % of GNP spent on education | ||||
| Females per 100 males in secondary school | ||||
| Women per 100 men in the labour force | ||||
| Other data | ||||
AGENDA 21 CHAPTER 37: NATIONAL MECHANISMS
AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION FOR
CAPACITY-BUILDING IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
National capacity building is also covered under sectoral
chapters.
Donors: You may wish to describe here how Agenda 21 has
influenced your ODA policies in this area.
Developing countries: You may wish to describe any new
national mechanisms for capacity building - and any
changes in technical cooperation.
The Government is currently following a "zero policy growth," which
has had adverse effects on the staffing of the
Department of Environment. It is anticipated, however, that this
situation will soon be rectified, particularly if the
country is to make any meaningful progress in environmental
management. There is also a lack of national capacity to
review EIAs. Consequently, major development projects have had an
adverse effect on the environment. Many of the
environmental costs have been externalised to the people of
Swaziland instead of being internalised by the developers.
Swaziland is still lagging behind in the management of its
resources. The Government has to review its priorities if the
country is to achieve any proress in this field. Although the
Swaziland Environment Authority is a relatively new body, it
has a wide range of responsibilities under its portfolio. Even
with its current constraints regarding the size of its
Secretariat, the Authority has approached its work enthusiastically
and has made every effort to prioritize its
responsibilities in order to give direction to its Secretariat.
NATIONAL PRIORITY:
STATUS REPORT ON NATIONAL ENDOGENOUS CAPACITY
BUILDING:
AGENDA 21 CHAPTER 39: INTERNATIONAL LEGAL
INSTRUMENTS AND MECHANISMS
| Ch. 39: International Legal Instruments are covered
under the relevant sectoral chapters. This is a listing of major
agreements/conventions (not already covered) entered into and
relevant to Agenda 21:
The Government of Swaziland has ratified the following relevant
international agreements since 1992:
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Copyright © United Nations
Department of Economic and Social Affairs
Comments and suggestions: esa@un.org
1 November 1997