MAINSTREAMING MULTILATERAL ENVIRONMENTAL AGREEMENTS IN AFRICA

1. MAINSTREAMING MULTILATERAL ENVIRONMENTAL AGREEMENTS IN AFRICA AFRICAN PARLIAMENTARIAN COLLOQUIUM ON MULTILATERAL ENVIRONMENTAL AGREEMENTS (MEAs) Theme: “MEAs in National and Regional Development” Kampala, 6-9 June 2012

2. Presentation Coverage • Defining mainstreaming and its relevance to MEAs implementation • Rationale for Mainstreaming • The role of MEAs in sustainable development • The role of Parliamentarians in MEAs implementation • Approaches to MEAs mainstreaming • Challenges in mainstreaming MEAs • Some examples and initiatives in Africa • Mainstreaming Outcomes • Conclusions

3. Defining environmental mainstreaming • Environmental mainstreaming has been defined as the informed inclusion of environmental considerations into the decisions of institutions that drive national, local and sectoral development policy, rules, plans, investment and action. • The need for environmental mainstreaming in development policy has been motivated by the realization that: • The economy and society especially in Africa are intimately dependent upon the health of the environment; • A large proportion of the wealth of developing countries and poor people consists of environmental assets;

4. Benefits of environmental mainstreaming • Poor environmental management threatens development and complicates poverty reduction efforts; • Mainstreaming therefore promises to not only minimise risks and problems in the development process; it should also assist in highlighting environmental potentials to enhance sustainable development; • Mainstreaming has the potential to facilitate incorporation of local beliefs, norms and values into national development policy; • Hence it has to be done both at national (such as planning and finance ministries), local (where daily decisions are made) and sectoral levels (government departments, business and other stakeholders organizations).

5. Benefits of mainstreaming • Integrated policy interventions that avoid development vs environment arguments; • More efficient planning of environmental assets and environmental hazard management; • Support technological innovation that is inspired and informed by nature; • Informed debates on policy formulation on big issues • Improve productivity, resilience and adaptability of social and economic systems

6. MEAs and the Environment • Multilateral environmental agreements refer to a number of legally binding international instruments which states use to achieve specific environmental goals. MEAs are therefore primarily environmental instruments. • According to UNEP there are over 500 conventions related to environment; over 320 of these are regional and a majority have been adopted after the 1972 Stockholm Conference on Environment and Development; • It is possible to categorize MEAs into three groups: core environmental conventions; global conventions relevant to the environment, including regional ones; and others restricted by scope and geography; • We are here more concerned with core environmental conventions, though regional environmental conventions applicable to Africa are a key part of this discussion.

7. MEAs and the Environment • In terms of subject matter MEAs may be divided into the following categories: • Biodiversity related conventions such as the CBD and its protocols, and the ITPGRFA, • The atmosphere conventions such as the UNFCCC, the Ozone Convention and the Protocols thereunder, • The land conventions such as the UNCCD, • The chemicals and hazardous wastes conventions such as the Basle, Bamako, Stockholm conventions; and the POPs • Regional seas conventions covering the Mediterranean, Kuwait, West and Central Africa, East Africa

8. MEAs Objectives and Priorities • The three Rio Conventions (UNFCCC, CBD and the UNCCD) are widely considered core sustainable development MEAs; • The rest generally address sustainable utilization of natural resources and the environment or the protection of the environment to ensure its sustainability • MEAs provide a number of advantages for parties that are important for national development. • These include strengthening capacity of parties to meet their obligations through technical and financial support; strengthening scientific basis for decision making; and strengthening international cooperation.

9. MEAs Benefits/Advantages • Protecting public health • Improving governance • International comity and respect, and solidarity • Financial and technical assistance • Facilitating long term economic benefits: sustainable development • Facilitating trade • Facilitating changes in domestic environmental law by elevating the importance of an issue

10. Approaches to MEAs mainstreaming • Greater participation and interaction between environment and development stakeholders. Agenda 21 has provided significant impetus to public and community mobilization • Integrated environment-development policy and associated political will/leadership • Inclusion of environment-development linkages in national and sector plans: the NAPAs, NEAPs, NBSPs and NSSDs have drawn considerably from MEAs processes to inform national actions

11. Approaches to MEAs mainstreaming • Inclusion of environment-development linkages in budgets and fiscal instruments, • Improved domestic and foreign resource mobilization for environmental investments • Sustained behavioral change by individuals, institutions and society in both private and public domain • Production, consumption and waste management in sectors and localities are informed by environmental considerations

12. General principles of environmental mainstreaming • Leadership, focusing on mobilization of political will, engaging with champions • Integration, strengthening the development-environment interface • Focusing on key sectors, especially the economic sectors • Strengthening dialogue and ownership • Subsidiarity – making sure decisions are made at the lowest level where change is expected • Utilize upstream processes, existing analytical/planning processes • Transparency and accountability, information on issues, decisions made and reasons • Environmental sustainability: the process should take into account major environmental processes, potentials, stresses and limits

13. Steps in mainstreaming • Review the political economy and governance framework affecting development and environment • Convene a multi-stakeholders group to steer the mainstreaming process • Identify links between environment and development • Propose desirable environment and development outcomes • Map institutional roles and responsibilities for each of the links and desirable outcomes • Identify entry points for environmental manistreaming in decision making process

14. Overcoming sectoral barriers • A key challenge for mainstreaming is how to create incentives for non environment groups/stakeholders to respond positively • This may require use of language that is not too environment specific and aligning positive arguments to those groups own goals and aspirations. • The following may be used to incentivize various stakeholders:

15. Steps in mainstreaming • Conduct expenditure review and make business case for environmental mainstreaming • Establish or use existing forum for debates and consensus building • Reflect agreed changes in key mainstream policy, plan and budget documentation • Promote key investments in environment-development links • Develop integrated institutional systems and associated capacities • Establish key indicators and criteria and accountability mechanisms to facilitate monitoring and continuous improvement

16. Challenges to MEAs mainstreaming • The prevailing development paradigm which treats environment as an institutional and economic ‘externality’. • Lack of data, information, skills and institutional capacity to address environment-development linkage • Inadequate precedent in environmental mainstreaming to guide policy development • Limited political will to go the extra mile in the development pathway

17. Overcoming sector barriers • Developing a green low carbon • Improving country resilience • Securing environmental foundations for development • Improving cross sector environmental benefits and reducing costs • Focusing on a hybrid outcome, not a one way environment into development outcome • Reversing the downward spiral of environment and poverty • Integrating poor people’s environmental needs; and • Policies for better environmental governance

18. Drivers of environmental mainstreaming • Increasing stakeholders awareness and demands • National policies and legislation • Values of progressive organizations • Donor conditions and initiatives • International commitments • Major environmental events, such as disasters

19. Some mainstreaming examples in Africa • Promoting effective environmental mainstreaming through national learning groups in Tanzania and Zambia • Effective mainstreaming using strategic environmental assessment: greening poverty reduction strategies in Benin • Effective mainstreaming at municipal level: Open space planning; and integrated metropolitan environmental policy: Durban, and Cape Town South Africa respectively • Promoting mainstreaming through overarching policy instruments in Malawi: Environment, natural resources and climate change made policy priorities in the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy – Malawi’s PRSP equivalent

20. Environmental mainstreaming outcomes • Government departments, sector departments and aid agencies assume environmental responsibilities and routinely address environmental issues, by factoring them into their decisions • Environmental departments/agencies focus on coordination, advisory and monitoring functions • There are a number of specific outcomes to be promoted; they include:

21. Mainstreaming outcomes • Participation and democratic process outcomes, expanding space for stakeholder participation and understanding of the importance of environment to the development process: incorporating MEAs such as Principle 10 of Agenda 21 and related • Policy and political outcomes specifying macro-economic, fiscal, social and development policy, constitutions, and statements of national visions incorporate environmental considerations: incorporating MDGs and MEAs such as UNFCCC, CBD

22. Mainstreaming outcomes • Planning outcomes: including environment development linkages in national development and poverty reduction strategies; sector and implementation strategies: taking into account MEAs such as UNFCCC (NAPAs), CBD (NBSAPs); NEAPs and NSSD from UNCED • Budget outcomes: environment and development linkages reflected in national and sector budgets; and fiscal instruments informed by environment-development linkages: incorporating UNFCCC (carbon taxation), Vienna Convention on the Ozone Layer (phase out ozone depleting substances)

23. Mainstreaming outcomes • Institutional and capacity outcomes: • Skills, mandates and resources available for mainstreaming • Finance, planning and environment departments have capacity to integrate environment-development linkages in budget decision making • Systemic links between institutions to facilitate flow of information and ideas • Environment-development criteria are recognized as cross cutting norms for planning and monitoring purposes • Agenda 21, UNFCCC,

24. Investment Outcomes • Investment outcomes including improved domestic and international resource mobilization for environment-development investment; and a coherent set of incentives and disincentives to facilitate behavioural change: Agenda 21, CBD • Behavioural outcomes: environment is considered a normal, accepted and expected part of doing business on part of individuals, institutions and society both in private and public sectors; processes of production, consumption and waste management are informed by environmental considerations; and the media and public interest bodies regularly address environmental issues; Agenda 21, Basle, Bamako and Stockholm Conventions; Montreal Protocol on Ozone Layer etc; and • Overall developmental outcomes: improved productivity and sustainability of use of environmental assets; better management of environmental hazards; better access to environmental and natural resources: UNFCCC, CBD and its Nagoya and Cartagena protocols