Environmental Framework at CIDA

1. Environmental Framework at CIDA June 5th 2010

2. CIDA’s Mandate • Manage Canada's support and resources effectively and accountably to achieve meaningful, sustainable results, and engage in policy development in Canada and internationally, enabling Canada's effort to realize its development objectives. • To fulfill this mandate, CIDA requires that environment is included in all its initiatives as a cross-cutting theme.

3. CIDA and the Environment CIDA recognizes that: • Environmental sustainability remains underfunded in many countries today • There is a fundamental interdependence between the world's environment and the objectives of human development • Environmental problems and quality of life are closely linked to each other • Impact of environmental degradation threatens the achievement of all the Millennium Development Goals • The poor are particularly vulnerable and the least able to adapt to the effects of the changing climate

4. Environmental Integration • CIDA assesses all of its development assistance activities for potential risks and opportunities with respect to environmental sustainability • CIDA works with its partner countries to ensure that they have the capacity to do the same • CIDA emphasizes the point that the environment is both a programming priority and an issue that needs to be integrated in all Agency plans, policies, programs, and activities • CIDA is committed to working with its partners to ensure that initiatives are planned, implemented, and monitored in a socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable manner

5. Poverty-Environment Linkages CIDA recognise the interrelatedness of poverty and the environment, and views environmental quality as a key factor for achieving sustainable development. • Democratic Governance: • the environment offers a unique opening for building democratic practices. • Good governance and public engagement relative to environment and natural resources can avoid conflict and the degradation of the ecosystems. • Education: • Education drives changes in attitude and behaviours. • Educated people are better equipped to become involved in the community and to seek better environmental policies or government accountability.

6. Poverty-Environment Linkages • Gender Equality: • Women’s survival depends on access to and control of natural resources. • Although women’s dependence on natural resources in developing countries has been recognized internationally, women’s interests and participation in decision-making and management are still not equal with men’s. • Health: • Development initiatives often support unsustainable health care projects. • Reducing exposure to adverse environmental conditions and promoting behavioural change have to be part of development solutions. • Private Sector Development: • We can strengthen the private sector development by integrating environmental considerations. • The important functions played by the environment must be adequately addressed in economic markets, business activities, government policies and land management practices.

7. Environmental Framework at CIDA

8. CIDA’s Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS) • SDS provides the direction to sustainable development results through four core objectives: • support equitable economic development • support social development, with particular emphasis on people living in poverty • support environment and natural resources management • support progress in democratic governance and human rights • These objectives are mutually reinforcing and crucial to sustainability • SDS focuses on best practices in international development that are leading to sustainable development results

9. CIDA’s Policy for Environmental Sustainability • Policy for environmental sustainability requires CIDA: • to integrate environmental considerations into its decision-making and activities • to work with its partners and developing countries at improving their capacity to promote environmentally sustainable development • To help countries achieve environmental sustainability in development, CIDA pursues the following objectives: • Increase capacities of developing countries to plan and implement development policies, programs and activities that are environmentally sustainable • Strengthen the capability of developing countries to contribute to the resolution of global and regional environmental problems, while meeting their development objectives • Integrate environmental considerations more effectively into the activities the Agency and its partners carry out

10. The Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA) • Complements CIDA's Policy for Environmental Sustainability by providing the legislative underpinning for the environmental assessment of projects • Makes explicit the interdependence between economic development and environmental health as essential conditions for sustainable development • Requires an environmental assessment (EA) of initiatives that include any proposed construction, operation, modification, decommissioning, abandonment or undertaking in relation to physical work, unless the activities are specified in the CEAA’s Exclusion List Regulations or in emergency situations

11. Environmental Assessment Whenever the CEAA applies, CIDA has a legal obligation to prohibit financial support to a proposed project if it is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects which cannot be justified in the circumstances. This is ensured through Environmental Assessment that aims to : • examine the environmental effects of proposed projects • make a decision regarding the significance of those environmental effects • define an initiative’s environmental dimensions • identify measures needed to prevent the project from causing ecological damage and generate social costs

12. Cabinet Directive on Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) • Consistent with the government’s strong commitment to sustainable development, ministers expect that policy, plan and program proposals will consider, as appropriate, potential environmental effects • More specifically, ministers expect an SEA of a policy, plan or program proposal to be conducted when the following two conditions are met: • The proposal is submitted to a minister or cabinet for approval; and • Implementation of the proposal may result in important environmental effects, either positive or negative • The SEA contributes to the development of policies, plans and programs on an equal basis with economic and social analysis • The environmental considerations should be fully integrated into the analysis of each of the options developed for consideration, and the decision should incorporate the results of the SEA

13. Multilateral Environmental Agreements • Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants:protects human health from chemicals that remain in the environment for long periods of time, become widely distributed geographically and accumulate in the fatty tissues of humans and wildlife (came into force on May 17, 2004) • Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal: aims to protect human health and the environment against the adverse effects resulting from the generation, management, transboundary movements and disposal of hazardous and other wastes (came into force in 1992) • Rotterdam Convention on Prior Informed Consent: promotes shared responsibility and cooperative efforts in the international trade of certain hazardous chemicals to protect human health and the environment from potential harm (came into force on February 24, 2004)

14. Multilateral Environmental Agreements • United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC): recognizes that the climate system is a shared resource and sets an overall framework for intergovernmental efforts to tackle the challenge posed by climate change (entered into force on 21 March 1994). • Convention on Biological Diversity: encourages actions that will lead to a sustainable future through achievement of three main goals: conservation of biodiversity; sustainable use of its components; fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources (entered into force on December 29, 1993) • Convention to Combat Desertification: combats desertification and mitigates the effects of drought through effective action at all levels with a view to contributing to the achievement of sustainable development in affected areas (entered into force on December 26,1996)

15. Millennium Development Goals MDGs present concrete, numerical benchmarks for tackling extreme poverty in its many dimensions. They provide a framework for the entire international community to work together towards a common end – making sure that human development reaches everyone, everywhere. The following eight MDGs break down into 21 quantifiable targets that are measured by 60 indicators: • Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger • Achieve universal primary education • Promote gender equality and empower women • Reduce child mortality • Improve maternal health • Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases • Ensure environmental sustainability • Develop a global partnership for development

16. Canadian Partnership Branch (CPB) • Responsible for ensuring that its partners understand and incorporate CIDA’s environmental requirements into their programs, projects, and organizational management • All CPB programming decisions ensure that environmental benefits of partners’ programming are optimized, and potential adverse environmental effects are minimized or eliminated • This is achieved by requiring CPB’s partners: • to conduct an initial environmental analysis of their proposed initiative • to conduct any additional environmental assessment where warranted • to include in their RBM framework adequate results statements and corresponding indicators to monitor and follow-up on important environmental effects associated with their programming.

17. Responsibilities of Partners • According to subsection 54-2 of the CEAA, CPB is entitle to delegate the responsibility to their partners to determine applicability of CEAA to their programs. In this case the partner is required to: • carry out the assessment as early as practicable in the planning stages of the project • demonstrate institutional environmental capacity that is commensurate with the environmental relevance of their proposed activities • develop and maintain Environmental Management System that reflects the nature and scope of the organization’s programming as it relates to environmental sustainability

18. Environmental decision-making • Anchor themselves on three entities: • businesses • government • civil society at large • Facilitating interaction between them, and focussing on sustainable use of earth's resources, has been key challenges • Important to make sure that decisions makers have: • The right information • At the right level • At the right time • Decision making should be done in four steps: • Defining the problem • Finding the information • Processing the knowledge • Taking the decision Simple decisions and choices taken by individuals on a daily basis cumulatively have a global impact

19. Environmental Management System

20. Environmental Management System (EMS) • EMS is a tool used to translate environmental commitments into practice. It provides a framework for implementation of an organization’s environmental policy and environmental action plan as well as document, communicate and evaluate its environmental performance. • An EMS is a continual cycle of planning, implementing, reviewing and improving the environmental performance of an organisation. • The whole system functions with a view to continuously improve the environmental performance of an organisation.

21. Environmental Management System Reasons for implementing an EMS Reduce impact on the environment Become a socially responsible organization Align with CIDA recommendations Respond to sustainable development values Challenges Organisational support Perceived cost and need for additional resources Administration associated with an EMS New tasks of monitoring environmental impacts

22. Environmental Management System Factors Contributing to Success • Organizational commitment • A home-grown, simple and appropriate approach: EMS must fit with your organization, and not the other way around • View environmental management as an opportunity • Take the time to do it properly • Experience with the general management system approach • Open and honest communication about environmental issues

23. Elements of EMS: Environmental Policy • EMS is based upon a documented and clearly communicated environmental policy that: • Serves as a driver for improving the organization’s environmental performance • Sets out the organization’s environmental commitment • Is appropriate for the size and complexity of the organization • Include a senior management commitment to continual improvement • Is concise (1-2 pages)

24. Elements of EMS: Environmental Review • The initial environmental review is a systematic evaluation of the various aspects of organization’s activities under environmental criteria. • It provides a basis for a sound environmental action programme with clear objectives and targets and may include an examination of: • significant environmental impacts associated with activities • legal and regulatory requirements relevant to the organisation • All existing practices and procedures concerning environmental management • evaluation of the results of previous and on-going projects

25. Elements of EMS: Objectives and Targets • Environmental objectives derive from the environmental policy and initial environmental review • An environmental target is the precise performance requirement, quantified over a period of time, for achieving the objective. • Objectives and targets of an EMS have to be described, communicated and regularly up-dated; they must reflect the organization's environmental policy and may include commitments such as: • Reduce waste and the consumption of resources • Minimise environmental impact of projects and programs • Promote environmental awareness amongst employees, partners and the external community connected to your organisation

26. Elements of EMS: Structure, Responsibilities and Training Management System Structure • Plan: identify aspects, laws, objectives and targets and programs • Do: assign responsibilities, train people, communicate, control procedures, control activities, prepare for emergencies • Check: monitor, evaluate compliance, respond to failures, keep records, audit yourself • Act: review • The organization should ensure that it is equipped with sufficient personnel and other resources to meet the objectives and targets of its EMS. • The EMS should establish procedures to ensure that all personnel (including employees, on-site service providers, and contractors) whose job responsibilities affect the ability to achieve the EMS objectives and targets, have been trained and are capable of carrying out these responsibilities.

27. Elements of EMS: Measurement and Evaluation • The level of details and complexity of the EMS, the extent of documentation and the resources devoted to it will be dependent on the size of an organization and the nature of its activities. • The organization has the freedom and flexibility to define its boundaries and may choose to implement international standards (like the ISO 14000) with respect to the entire organization, or to specific operating units or activities of the organization. • The underlying philosophy is that whatever the organization's activity, the requirements of an effective EMS are the same. • Fulfilling these requirements demands objective evidence which can be audited to demonstrate that the environmental management system is operating effectively in conformity to the standard.

28. Environmental Management System: Audit and review • The specification is based on the concept that the organization will periodically review and evaluate its environmental management system in order to identify opportunities for improvements and their implementation. • The EMS should require periodic, documented and objective auditing of the organization’s performance in achieving these objectives and targets and on how well the EMS assists the organization in achieving those objectives and targets. The goal of the review should be to allow management to bring about overall improvements.

29. Environmental Management System • Resources: • The International Network for Environment Management (online and offline tools) • AGA KHAN Foundation Canada: Policy on Environmental Sustainability • CARE: Climate Vulnerability and Capacity Analysis Handbook • International Centre for Municipal Development: Tools to support environmental sustainability • The Pacific Institute: The External Value Environmental Management System Voluntary Guidance • The International NGO Network on ISO: holds a lot of ISO documents concerning management of Drinking Water Systems and wastewater System, Sustainable Reporting Guidelines

30. Environmental Resources Available at CIDA Environment handbook for community development initiatives 2005 • Outlines the environmental requirements for small-scale community development initiatives funded by CIDA. • Recognizes the specific challenges of incorporating environmental considerations into community development initiatives • Environmental tools presented recognize the interrelatedness of poverty end environment, and consider the environment to include both biophysical and socio-economic aspects. • Aim is not only to prevent environmental damage, but also to enhance environmental benefits.

31. Environmental Resources Available at CIDA Additional resources, a companion to the Handbook 2005 • Help integrate environmental concerns into small-scale community development initiatives funded by CIDA • Do not provide an exhaustive account of approaches and situation. • Adapted to the specific circumstances in which it will be used • Includes examples of: • EA • Participatory Appraisal Techniques (tool sheets) • Environmental Follow-Up and Monitoring • Tools for the Identification of Environmental Effects • Appropriate Mitigation Measures • Guidelines for Specific Sectors of Activity

32. Environmental Resources Available at CIDA Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of Policy, Plan and Program Proposals: CIDA Handbook • Intended for those who may be involved in the development of a policy, plan or program proposal • Guides partners through the Agency’s SEA process • Developed to complement existing decision making structures and approval processes