Regional Office for Africa Newsletter, October 2004 ~ United Nations Environment Programme

8/9/2019 Regional Office for Africa Newsletter, October 2004 ~ United Nations Environment Programme

1/24

ROA N ew sROA N ew sUNEP ROA News is a Newsletter of the Regiona l Office for Africa (ROA) a t UNEP, Na irobi, Kenya

N 7 October 2004

Wangari Maathai,The Voice for the Environment,

Sustainable Development and Peace

Understanding is growing throughout

the world of the close links between

environmental protection and global

security, so it is most fitting that the Nobel

Peace Prize has been awarded this year to

Africas staunchest defender of the

environment, Professor Wangari Maathai,

for her contribution to sustainable

development, democracy and peace.

This award marks the culmination of a

lifelong and passionate fight for the

environment. Professor Wangari Maathai

is a leader whose example should inspire

us all, especially the women and children

of Africa, who shoulder so much of

Africas burden of poverty, conflict and

environmental degradation, and who so

much deserve role models to show them

the way to a better future.

Professor Maathai is just such a role

model. For decades she has been a fearless

opponent of the grabbing of public land

and the destruction of forests, and a

vigorous advocate for democracy and

environmental protection. She founded

the Green Belt Movement in Kenya, which

has planted more than 20 million trees

throughout Africa, and was recognized

with a UNEP Global 500 award in 1987.

In a recent interview for a UNEP

documentary, Professor Maathai said: I

Environmentalist and Human Rights activist Wangari Maathai wins the Nobel Peace Prize for 2004, becoming the firstAfrican woman to be awarded the prestigious prize created in 1901.

C o n t e n t s

love the trees, I love the colour. To me theyrepresent life, and they represent hope. I

think it is the green colour. I tell people I

think heaven is green.

We have a special responsibility to theec o-system of this pla net. In m a king sure

that o ur spe cie s survive we will beensuring the survival of o wn.

Dr. Wangari Maathai

Wangari Maathai: the Voice for Environment, SustainableDevelopment and Peace

1

Tenth Session of the African Ministerial Conference onthe Environment: Facing the Challenges

4

Achievements Over the Past Biennium

6

Sirte Declaration on the Environment for Development

8

Satellite Data To Help African Governments to TrackMajor Environment Change and Map-Out Plans to TackleIncreasing Human Vulnerability

11

UNEP Strengthens Cooperation with Libya in the Areaof Environmental Assessment, Training and InstitutionalCapacity

14

AEO-for-Youth Regional Editorial Meeting

14

UNEP to support the implementation Environmentalprojects in Nigeria under the Third phase of the GlobalEnvironment Facility

15

UNEP/GEF Orientation and Technical Training Sessionon NEPAD: Moving forward with Implementation of theAction Plan on the Environment Initiative of NEPAD

17

Incorporating the Environment in the InternationalConference on the Great Lakes Region

18

DEWA Launches the GEO-4 process in Africa

19

A Multi Stakeholders effort to Rehabilitate the NairobiDam

20

Clean Up the World celebrations in the Region

22

Promoting environmental awareness in schools in SouthAfrican informal settlements

24

This Prize goes alongside the many

accolades Professor Maathai has received

over the years, including the Goldman

Environment Prize and the Sophie Prize,

Prof. Wangar i Maathai and Klaus Toepfer,ED, UNEP


2/24

2 ROA NEWS ISSUE NO. 7

which she received in March 2004 for her

fearless fight for the protection of the

environment, human rights and promo-

tion of democratic governance in Kenya.

Professor Maathai is also a long-standing

jury member of the UNEP Sasakawa

Environment Prize.

In December 2002 Professor Maathai was

elected to Kenyas parliament with an

overwhelming majority and appointed as

Deputy Minister for Environment and

Natural Resources, testament to the respect

she commands from the people of Kenya.

UNEP congratulates Professor Maathai

for being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

By this award, the Nobel Prize Committee

is honouring Professor Maathai and theglobal environment on which we all

depend for a peaceful and secure future.

Statement of the United Nations Environ-

ment Programme regarding the Award of

the Nobel Peace Prize to Professor Wangari

Maathai

UNEP Hosts FirstWomens EnvironmentAssembly

and other high level representatives, just

met at the headquarters of the United

Nations Environment Programme

(UNEP) in Nairobi between 11 and 13

October to express their concerns about

the global environment.

Among the headline speakers was Professor

Wangari Maathai, winner of the 2004 Nobel

Peace Prize. She spoke on the theme A

World in Need of Womens Leadership.

Professor Maathai has been a lifelong

campaigner for democracy, environmental

protection and womens rights. She is

currently Kenyas Deputy Minister for

Environment and Natural Resources.

related health problems and are often in

the front line in terms of poverty,

managing land and waterways, and

sustaining communities.

All of us have a God in us, an d thatGod is the spirit tha t unites all life,everything that is on this pla net.

Dr. Wanga ri Maa thai

If you d ont raise yo ur voice, thenyour environm entalism mea ns nothing.


More than 140 prominent women

environmentalists from 60 countries,

including seven environment ministers

...every time yo u p rovide lead ership

every time you spea k out, you exp ec tyou m ay suffer for wha t you b elieve in.


Under the banner Women As the Voice for

the Environment (WAVE), the first Global

Womens Assembly on the Environment

highlighted the crucial roles women play

in conservation and sustainable develop-

ment. Participants developed a Manifesto

on Women and Environment with

concrete policy recommendations and a

portfolio of specific project ideas.

Discussions during the WAVE meeting

covered a wide range of gender-related

topics, including how women and children

are often the first victims of poverty,

environmental degradation and conflict. A

stark example is provided by the current

situation in the Darfur region of Sudan

where women collecting firewood and

water outside the refugee camps arerepeatedly subject to the threat of rape.

Writing in a special edition of UNEPs

magazine Our Planetdevoted to Women,

Health and Environment, published in

August 2004, the UNEP Executive

Director Klaus Toepfer noted that women

are uniquely vulnerable to environment-

The role of women and their know-howis often undervalued and ignored. All too

often they are treated as second-class

citizens, with fewer rights and lower status

than men, he wrote. It is high time that

national and international policies reflect

gender differences and give far greater

weight to the empowerment of women.

A major focus of the WAVE meeting was

the UN General Assemblys forthcoming

review of the Fourth World Conferenceon Women, which was held in Beijing in

1995 (Beijing +10). It also looked at the

five-year review of the Millennium

Development Goals and the thirteenth

session of the United Nations

Commission on Sustainable Development

(CSD 13).

WAVE is part of an increased emphasis by

UNEP to bring womens voices to the fore-

front of the environmental agenda and en-

hance the involvement of major civil

society groups in environmental manage-

ment and decision making worldwide.

N o b e l P e a c e P r i z e

Prof. Maathai, K. Toepfer and Anna Tibaij uka,ED, UN HABITAT


3/24

ROA NEWS ISSUE NO. 7 3

Statement by Prof. Wangari Maathai, 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, during theopening of the conference of women ministers for the environment and the global

womens assembly on environment: Women As the Voice for the Environment (WAVE)

It is a matter of great sense of pride and gratitude that I should be here at theUnited Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) giving this statement after the

overwhelming glob al reco gnition. It is a pp rop ria te to b e a t this Globa l Wom ens

Assem b ly on Environm ent, a c on ferenc e o f Wom en a s the Voic e o f the Environ ment.

Sinc e ea rly 1970s, these g round s o f UNEP, the Exec utive Direc tors (Ma uric e Strong ,

Mustafa Tolb a a nd now Klaus Toe p fer) a nd their wond erful staff have p rovide d a fertile groun d for us to d evelop

ide a s an d strateg ies on ho w to ma ke the environ m ent a p riority for all citizens a nd g overnm ents, bu t espe c ially

for Africa n Go vernme nts.

The p ath we ha ve traveled tog ether has been m arked with trials an d triump hs but this institution ha s enc oura g ed

and supported us to be brave, persistent and consistent in our pursuit for a holistic approach to achieve

susta ina b le d evelo p ment. At this time , throug h Dr. Toep fer, I wa nt to than k the entire extend ed fam ily of the

United Na tion s, bo th present a nd pa st, a nd its lea de rship h ea d ed by Dr. Kofi Anna n.

Here a t UNEP we ha ve c om e a long wa y sinc e Stoc kho lm 1972. As UNEP continues to g row, evo lve a nd exp and

we know that Africa is growing with her a nd Africa a nd the world values her as a g lob al c entre for the e nvironm ent.

In 1985, on the o c ca sion of the UN c onferenc e o n Wom en Deca de (1975-1985), I sa id in this very ha ll tha t we

had muc h of the informa tion we need ed to m ana ge o ur environm ent sustainab ly and that what we lacked wa sthe will to ta ke a ction. For sure, muc h ha s be en a c hieved sinc e then, and we a re all witnesses to the va riou s

p rog resses ma d e in our pa rt of the world. But we would no t be here d isc ussing the a g end a b efore us, if wha t has

been put in many a pp roved d oc uments has been put into ac tion at the rate and in the numb er we expec ted.

Therefo re, a s we re-visit the o b jec tives we set in Beijing , we sha ll wan t to streng then the stra teg ies tha t will ma ke

wom en no t only the voice, but also eng ag ed de cision-ma kers at a ll levels.

Our reco gnition is an end orsem ent for bo th the role wom en ha ve pla yed but c ould still play to ma ke this world

a m ore p ea ce ful world. The Nob el Pea ce Prize ha s reco g nized work which c an pre-emp t co nflict and wars. In

implementing strategies, which ensure a holistic and sustainable development, by inculcating values of

democratic governance we promote respect for rights and responsibilities, justice and equity. When humanb eing turned their ba ck to these va lues co nflicts ensue. Wom en und erstand these linkag es, pe rhap s be c a use

they a re easy victims when things fall ap a rt.

I wa nt to tha nk yo u for all the supp ort you h ave g iven alo ng the way. Tog ether, we ha ve won. Let us c eleb rate.

Tod a y we stand tall, g rateful that the wo rld rec og nizes our efforts, strug g les, ac hievem ents, p ersistence a nd

c om m itm ent. The roa d a hea d ca n o nly b e b rig hter. Lets g o forth a nd ca rry the torch even hig her. The sky is still

the lim it!

Mo nd ay, 11 Oc tob er 2004

N o b e l P e a c e P r i z e


4/24


5/24


the Conferences recent activities. He noted,among other things, the publication of the

African Environment Outlook report and

its related recent Case Studies on Human

Vulnerability to Environmental Change

along with the Action plan of the

environment initiative of NEPAD the

first such continent-wide initiative in the

world, which he encouraged other regions

to emulate. It goes without saying that

UNEP, which serves as secretariat for

AMCEN is privileged to be associated withthese efforts made possible thanks also to

the contribution to that endeavour made

by Africas development partners, as noted

by Mr. Arcado Ntagazwa, Minister of

Environment of the United Republic of

Tanzania, and President of the Governing

Council of UNEP.

A new dawn is rising for AMCEN, full of

new challenges and promises. Mr. Toepfer

was pleased to announce the launch of a

project on cooperation in capacity-building between UNEP and the Libyan

Arab Jamahiriya. In the same line, Mr.

Toepfer drew attention to the major issues

at stake, particularly the emphasis placed

on multilateral environment agreements,

such as the Convention on Wetlands of

International Significance especially as

Waterfowl Habitat, and the clean fuel

initiative. He also stressed the need for the

Conference to draw synergies from its

association with UNEP, focusing on areaswhere UNEP had a comparative

advantage and looked forward to certaincooperation with the Conference, through

its incoming President.

On assuming the Presidency, the Minister

of Environment of Libya, Dr. Mohamed

Sudani pledged his countrys full support

for AMCEN. Noting that Africa should

take responsibility for its own destiny, he

assured the continent of the deep

commitment of the Libyan Leader, Col.

Muammar Qaddafi, to environmentalcauses, particularly in combating

environmental degradation in Africa as

evidenced by the setting up of the

Environment General Authority of Libya.

Challenges for the tenthsession of AMCEN

There were many challenges facing

AMCEN at its tenth session. It is generally

accepted that the African region offers

significant potential for human, social andeconomic development. It is, however,

facing enormous challenges. Unsustain-

able exploitation and degradation of

forests, soils, wildlife, freshwater and other

natural resources threaten to undermine

the regions economic development

prospects. For example, the continent is

most severely affected by desertification,

which threatens more than 33 per cent of

Africas land area, particularly in the

Sudano-Sahelian region, southern Africaand Mediterranean Africa.

In general, the state of the environment in

Africa is on the decline while social and

economic inequality is increasing.

Globalization is having a net negative effect

on Africa since the region is generally

operating on the margins of the world

economy. Demands for economic growth

have resulted in the over-exploitation of the

continents natural resources leading to a

vicious cycle of poverty in many African

countries. In social terms, poverty is

projected to increase in Africa and HIV/

AIDS and malaria are having a debilitating

effect on the peoples of the region. It is

generally accepted that without sustainable

development Africa cannot solve its

problems.

The Action Plan for the environmentinitiative of NEPAD has therefore been

developed to promote sustainable

development in Africa. In this regard, the

effective implementation of the action plan

is crucial and AMCEN is urged to continue

being mindful of initiatives in Africa and

conditionalities of globalization.

The Sirte Legacy

After months of preparation for the tenth

regular session and the venue shift of thetenth session from the Corinthia hotel in

the Libyan capital city of Tripoli to the

magnificent Ouagadougou Conference

Complex in the Libyan city of Sirte,

participants had to settle quickly in order

to accomplish their charge. In the event

all the set objectives were achieved and the

meeting was considered successful and

productive. The outputs of the tenth

session included the Sirte Declaration,

eight decisions adopted by AMCEN, anindicative work programme for the 2005

to 2006 biennium approved by AMCEN

and the report of the tenth session.

As expected, the main focus of the

discussions of the meeting was on the status

of the environment initiative of the New

Partnership for Africas Development

(NEPAD). The ministers drew attention,

among others, to the importance of training

and capacity building for implementation

of the action plan. They also called formeasures to address the myriad of

environmental problems facing Africa. They

A M C E N

Chart the way towards the implementation of the Environment Initiative of the NEPAD


6/24


drew attention to the need for all

stakeholders to remain focused and to work

within available resources during the

implementation of the action plan. The

tenth session found favour with the call of

the current President of the African Union

that each African country should identify at

least one project,from the eighty-one projects

presented by AMCEN at the Partners

Conference held in Algiers in December 2003,

implement it and report on progress.

The implementation of the environment

initiative of NEPAD is currently under-

way. Since the Partners Conference, imple-

mentation of the capacity building

component of the action plan of the envi-

ronment initiative of NEPAD has been ini-

tiated. This is a new GEF medium sizedproject aimed at (a) developing five sub-

regional action plans; (b) developing a co-

ordinated and strategic approach; and (c)

strengthening the capacity of the African

Regional Economic Communities and the

NEPAD Secretariat to prepare and imple-

Achievements Over the Past BienniumBy Col. Kahinda Otafiire, Minister For Water, Lands And Environment,

Republic Of Uganda And Former President For AMCEN

A M C E N

Under Ugandas stewardship, commendable achievements have been realized

Mr. Sekou Tour, Di rector, UNEP/ ROA and Dr. M. S. Hamouda, Peoples Committee of EnvironmentGeneral Authority, Libya

ment sub-regional NEPAD environmental

action plans and mainstream environmen-

tal issues into their regular activities.

A review meeting on the implementation

of the Action Plan is scheduled for

December 2004, in Dakar, Senegal. It will

be instructive to hear from member States

of AMCEN about the activities they have

undertaken, within the context of the

implementation of the Action Plan, since

the Partners Conference.

Two years ago, the Government of theRepublic of Uganda assumed the presidency

of this important African institution that

aims at promoting the harmonisation and

coordination of Africas environmental

policies. Uganda took over the presidency

of AMCEN when Africa was at a critical

point of advocating for a focused drive to

eradicate poverty from the continent and

also when there were many challenges and

changes taking place.

Africa was in advanced stages of

completing the preparation of the

Environmental Initiative of the New


(NEPAD). The continent was also

preparing to have a firm position on the

environment during the World Summit on

Sustainable Development (WSSD). Africa

was and is still in the process of adapting

itself to meet the challenges that it is faced

with in environmental governance on the

continent including positioning AMCEN

into the African Union institutional

framework.

During the 9th

session of AMCEN that was

held in Kampala in July 2002, Dr.


7/24


Ruhakana Rugunda, the then Minister for

Water, Lands and Environment, as the

incoming President of AMCEN, promised

to consolidate AMCENs achievements,

face the challenges with the courage that is

needed, address the threats and steer the

continent to the attainment of its

objectives in as far as environment and

sustainable development were concerned.

In the last two years AMCEN, under

Ugandas stewardship, has been able to

move forward and make some commend-

able levels of success as measured against

the Kampala Declaration on Environment

and Development of 2002.

To mention but a few of the successes that

this presidency was able to record:

Africa was able to score tremendable

success during the World Summit on

Sustainable Development that was held

in Johannesburg in September 2002.

Africas priorities were well articulated

in the final Johannesburg Plan of Im-

plementation. Our Heads of State and

Governments fully supported Chapter

VIII on Sustainable Development for

Africa. In consultation with the Presi-

dent of Senegal and the President of theAfrican Union, to submit the framework

of the action plan was submitted to the

Johannesburg Summit.

AMCEN also held a successful Special

Session in Maputo in June 2003 where

the Environment Initiative of NEPAD

was endorsed by African the 25

Ministers who attended the Maputo

Special Session.

In consultation with the President of

Senegal, the Environmental Initiative of

NEPAD was submitted to the Summit

of Africas Heads of State and

Government that was held in Durban

in July 2002. The Heads of State and

Government approved the Initiative and

now it is a major component of NEPAD.

A meet ing was he ld in Cairo in

October, 2003 to agree on thematic

program areas of the NEPADEnvironment Initiative in preparation

for the Partnership Conference.

A M C E N

As pledged during the 9th

Session of

AMCEN to put mechanisms for mo-

bilizing resources, a Partnership Con-

ference on the Environment Initiative

of NEPAD was held in Algiers in De-

cember 2003. The primary objective

was to launch a process of engaging

Africas development partners in

policy dialogue and possible mutual

commitments for the implementation

of the Action Plan. Pledges were se-

cured both in funds and in-kind sup-

port for the implementation of the

Action Plan.

During the 9th

Session of AMCEN, the

African Environmental Outlook (AEO)

Report, a publication of the state of the

environment in Africa, was launched byYoweri Museveni, the President of the

Republic of Uganda. By providing up-to-

date information on sustainable develop-

ment in Africa and its sub-regions, the

aim is to encourage the regions various

stakeholders to make informed decisions

and to act individually, collectively and/

or multi-laterally to put Africa on a sus-

tainable development path. Environmen-

tal information is a key factor in building

policy consensus within AMCEN.

During this past biennium, 13 pilot

countries from all the sub-regions of

the continent have participated in

strengthening environmental infor-

mation collection and dissemination

through the Africa Environment

Information Network Initiative.

Enhancing the revitalization of AMCEN

During the inter-session period from

July 2002, several meetings of the

Bureau were held and resulted in

important decisions. These include the

discussion and adoption of the

AMCEN programme of work; the

harmonisation and optimization of

synergies between AMCEN, NEPAD,the African Union and UNEP;

consideration of the revised draft

Constitution of AMCEN and the Trust

Fund, among others.

AMCEN is moving in the right direc-

tion to steer Africa in sound environ-

mental management as a major pillar

for alleviation of poverty and ensur-

ing sustainable development. What

needs to be done is to consolidate the

above achievements of AMCEN bymaintaining the momentum that has

been created. AMCEN also need to

position itself strongly as the beacon

of hope in the African Union in as far

as providing leadership on environ-

ment is concerned.

As a new era starts under the leadership of

Dr. Omar Mohamed Ihmaida Sudani, there

is a need to continue engaging our partners

in development in providing the catalytical

support that will propel our own efforts inensuring that the environment is protected.

The Environmental Initiative of NEPAD

must be implemented and AMCEN, in that

regard, has to play the leading role. AMCEN

should be able to integrate itself in the new

institutional framework of the African

Union by adopting the reformed AMCEN

Constitution.


8/24


U

A M C E N

Sirte Declaration on the Environmentfor Development

We, the African Ministers of Environ-ment, having met in Sirte, Libyan ArabJamahiriya, on 29 and 30 June 2004, at the

tenth session of the African Ministerial

Conference on the Environment,

Noting with satisfaction the contribution

of the African Ministerial Conference

on the Environment in providing

political guidance and leadership for

environmental advocacy in Africa,

Concernedthat many African countries

may not be able to achieve the goalsand targets of the Millennium

Development Goals, in particular the

goals on extreme poverty and hunger,

Also concernedabout increasing environ-

mental threats facing Africa and the

continents vulnerability to global

environmental change, including

climate change and desertification,

which in turn compromise the efforts

of the continent to promote sustain-

able development,

Recognizing adverse effect of conflict on

the environment and particularly the

threat it poses to peace and security

which constitute the basis for the

sound management of the environ-

ment and sustainable development,

Further recognizing the urgent need to

strengthen the capacity of African

countries to cope with the adverse

effects of environmental change andto manage emergencies and disasters,

Recognizing the adverse effects of

conflicts on sustainable development

in Africa,

Also recognizing that Africa has the

highest rate of urbanization in the

world,

Emphasizing the need for global peace

and security, as the basis for stabilityand sound environmental

management,

Welcoming the adoption of the New

Partnership for Africas Developmentas Africas common vision for

achieving sustainable development

and its acceptance by the United

Nations General Assembly as the

framework of international support

for Africa, and in this regard, further

welcoming the endorsement by the

African Union of the action plan for

the environment initiative of the New

Partnership for Africas Development,

Noting the roles of regional, sub-regionaland national bodies in the implemen-

tation of the action plan for the envi-

ronment initiative of the New

Partnership for Africas Development,

Noting also the role of international

organizations, non-governmental

organizations, the private sector and

financial development institutions in

the implementation of the action plan

for the environment initiative of the

New Partnership for AfricasDevelopment,

Noting furtherthe role played by the

Global Environment Facility in

funding the implementation of

environmental programmes and

projects,

Noting with satisfaction the establishment

by the Global Environment Facility of

a pilot programme for adaptation and

the operation-alization of the SpecialClimate Change Fund, in which fund-

ing for adaptation will be a priority,

Notingthe need to revise the existing Con-

stitution of the African Ministerial

Conference on the Environment with

a view to revitalizing the Conference,

Acknowledging the usefulness of the first

report in the African Environment

Outlook series as the first regional

comprehensive report on the state ofAfricas environment and its

contribution to the understanding of

environmental challenges facing the

continent and, in this regard, lookingforward to the preparation of the

second Africa Environment Outlook

report to be launched in July 2006,

Recognizing the weak capacities of

African States to implement the pro-

grammes and projects identified in

the action plan for the environment

initiative of the New Partnership for

Africas Development,

Recalling the United Nations Millen-nium Declaration of September

2000, in which the international

community recognized the special

challenges of Africa and committed

itself to supporting Africa in

achieving sustainable development,

Recalling also recent major United

Nations conferences and summit

meetings, as well as the summit

meetings of the Group of Eight and

the third Tokyo InternationalConference for Africas Develop-

ment, held in October 2003,

Emphasizing the inextricable linkages

between environmental manage-

ment, poverty eradication and

sustainable development,

Emphasizing also that policy, legal and

institutional framework at all levels

are essential for achieving sustainable

development,

Recalling the commitments made at the

Partnership Conference on the

environment initiative of the New


held in Algiers in December 2003,

Notingthe declaration made in Paris on

26 January 2004 by ministers of

environment of six African countries

on the promotion of the use of

biosphere reserves as operationalsites for sustainable development in

combating poverty,


9/24


tial financing for the implementation

of the capacity development pro-

gramme within the context of the en-

vironment initiative of the New

Partnership for Africas Development;

16. To call upon the President of theAfrican Ministerial Conference on

the Environment in collaboration

with the Minister responsible for the

environment in Senegal to convene

an extraordinary meeting of the

Conference in December 2004 to

review the implementation of the

action plan of the environment


Africas Development;

17. To call upon the President of the Afri-can Ministerial Conference on the En-

vironment to forge cooperative links

with the relevant structures of the Af-

rican Union, its secretariat and its ap-

propriate commissions, as well as with

the secretariat of the New Partnership

of Africas Development, with a view

to harmonizing institutional arrange-

ments, taking into account the new

structures of the African Union;

18. To commit ourselves to make everyeffort to integrate the environmental

dimension into national sustainable

development in Africa and to

recognize the peculiar needs of the

poor and marginalized communities;

19. To commit ourselves further to

prioritizing and drawing synergies from

the issues of chemical management, the

strategic approach to international

chemicals management (SAICM) proc-

ess, environmental impact assessment,the phasing out of leaded gasoline, sus-

tainable human settlements, post-con-

flict environment assessment, health

and environment and disaster risk

management highlighted during the

tenth session of the conference;

20. To strengthen further cooperation with

all regional and sub-regional bodies,

including external partners, in the

pursuit of sustainable development;

21. To reaffirm our endorsement of the

Africa Environment Outlook proc-

A M C E N

EP

Noting with satisfaction the establishment of

the African round-table on sustainable

consumption and production and the

Casablanca Statement on Sustainable

Consumption and Production adopted

in Casablanca, Morocco, in May 2004,

Hereby declare our resolve:

1. To implement fully the action plan of

the environment initiative of the New

Partnership for Africas Development;

2. To stress the urgent need to promote

the integration of the environmental

dimension into poverty reduction

strategies;

3. In particular, to implement fully thecapacity development programme of

the action plan of the environment


Africas Development, as well as the 81

priorities projects, including those

selected as part of the African process,

presented to the Partners Conference

in Algiers in December 2003;

4. To request the President of the African

Ministerial Conference on the

Environment to develop a mechanismfor consensus building, through

transboundary projects, in the

management of natural and shared

resources in order to minimize or even

eliminate the risk of internal conflict;

5. To develop sub-regional action plan as

part of capacity building for the

implementation of the environment


Africa Development;

6. To commit ourselves to the promotion

of thematic centres of excellence in

support of capacity-building, data

collection and analyses, and

identification of information gaps and

needs in capacity-building;

7. To forward the capacity development

component of the action plan of the

environment initiative of the New


as Africas input to the work of theHigh-Level Open-Ended Intergovern-

mental Working Group on an Inter-

governmental Strategic Plan for Tech-

nology Support and Capacity-Build-

ing, and Africas specific request for

support in capacity-building;

8. To urge Governments to take

necessary action to ensure that theGeneral Trust Fund of the African

Ministerial Conference on the

Environment is replenished within the

inter-sessional period;

9. To request the President of the Afri-

can Ministerial Conference on the

Environment to mobilize additional

financial resources from bilateral and

multilateral institutions, including the

Global Environment Facility;

10. To call upon the Global Environment

Facility to continue giving high prior-

ity to African countries in allocating

financial resources for the successful

implementation of the action plan to

combat desertification;

11. Further to call upon the donor

community to provide adequate

resources to the special climate change

fund;

12. To urge African members of the Glo-

bal Environmental Facility Council to

advocate, in the Council, support for

the implementation of the capacity

development programme in full

within the context of the implemen-

tation of environment initiative of the

New Partnership for Africas Develop-

ment;

13. To welcome the adoption of the

revised Algiers Convention by theAfrican Union at its second ordinary

summit and to urge all African

countries to take steps to sign and

ratify that Convention;

14. To urge our development partners to

implement the decision of the World

summit on Sustainable Development

to establish a world solidarity fund to

eradicate poverty by providing the

necessary resources to this fund;

15. To await the decision of the Global

Environment Facility to provide par-


10/24


ess as a monitoring and reporting tool

for sustainable environmental man-

agement and to provide a framework

for national, sub-regional and re-

gional integrated environmental as-

sessment and reporting, as well as

strengthening the role of African uni-versities in training in environmen-

tal assessment and reporting;

22. To note with appreciation the

implementation of the Africa

environmental information network

at national, sub-regional and regional

levels, to strengthen access to reliable

environmental data and information

in Africa;

23. To welcome with appreciation thedistribution by the United Nations

Environment Programme of comp-

rehensive Landsat data of each country

and to request the United Nations

Environment Programme to support the

effective use of these datasets;

24. To urge African Governments to

support and attend the international

meeting for the small island developing

States scheduled to be held in Mauritiusfrom 10 to 14 January 2005;

25. To urge African Governments to support

and attend the tenth summit of the

Francophonie, with the theme

sustainable development, scheduled to be

held in Burkina Faso in November 2004;

26. To welcome the courageous decision

of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya to

abandon all programmes which might

lead to the production of weapons ofmass destruction;

27. To give effect to the decisions adopted

by the African Ministerial Conference

on the Environment at its tenth ses-

sion, in Sirte, on 30 June 2004;

28. To mandate the President of the

African Ministerial Conference on

the Environment to submit the

report of the tenth session of the

Conference, including the Sirte

Declaration and its annexes to the

Assembly of the African Union;

29. To pay tribute to the leader of the

Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Colonel

Muammar Qaddafi, his Government

and the Libyan people for the warm

welcome, the hospitality extended to

participants, the excellent facilities

made available and the generous

support given by the Government and

people of Libya to the tenth session

of the African Ministerial Conference

on the Environment, which vastly

contributed to its success.

Decisions of the 10Regular Session of The African Ministerial

Conference on The Environment

African Ministers of the Environment gathered in Sirte, Libya from 29 to 30 June 2004 under the auspices of the African

Ministerial Conference on the Environment at its tenth session have adopted the following decisions:

Decision 1: Implementation of the action plan of the environment initiative of the New Partnership for Africas

Development

Decision 2: The role of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment in the implementation of the action

plan for the environment initiative of the New Partnership for Africas Development

Decision 3:The African Ministerial Conference on the Environment Constitution

Decision 4: Decision on the status and use of the general trust fund for the African Ministerial Conference on the

Environment

Decision 5: Development of a strategic approach to international chemicals management and other chemical and

hazardous waste management

Decision 6: The phase-out of leaded gasoline in sub-Saharan Africa

Decision 7:Decision on the draft Africa strategy for disaster risk reduction

Decision 8: Africas submission to the High Level Open-Ended Inter-governmental Working Group on an

Intergovernmental Strategic Plan for Technology Support and Capacity Building

For more details, please go to www.unep/org/roa/

A M C E N


11/24


Satellite Data To Help African Governments to TrackMajor Environment Change and Map-Out Plans to

Tackle Increasing Human Vulnerability

Angle Luh Sy

More than 17 000 Satellite images documenting environmental change, for example, the rapid shrinking of Lake Chad, thespread of the water hyacinth in Lake Victoria, forests fires, and the destruction of rainforests, are being distributed to eachcountry in Africa. The announcement was made in Sirte by Mr. Klaus Toepfer, the Executive Director of the United NationsEnvironment Programme (UNEP) at the Tenth Session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) in

Libya.

Land Cover Facility of the University of

Maryland.

The cost associated with acquiring and

preparing satellite data for use at national

level can be prohibitive, limiting the

capacity of governments in developing

regions to analyze and respond timely to

environmental change that may

exacerbate human vulnerability in their

countries.

UNEP New Case Studies confirm in-

creased human vulnerability to environ-mental change in Africa.

These satellite images are provided to

African governments at the time when

UNEP also launched a new report: Africa

Environment Outlook Case Studies-

Human Vulnerability to Environmental

Change. The report confirms increased

human vulnerability to environmental

change in Africa.

Over the past 25 years, the environmental

changes in the rangelands of East Africa

has resulted in a rapid decline in

subsistence pastoralism, and a collapse of

traditional subsistence livestock econo-

mies, to the point that few communities

can live on their herds, the new report says.

The Declining livestock numbers,

sedentarization driven by demand for

social amenities, land fragmentation and

inequality for agriculture, parks andforests reserves as well as communal,

inter-communal and Human-Wildlife

conflicts, are singled out as the major

factors that threaten pastoral societies and

drive change. Environmental stress is also

increasing due to the combination of

drought and high livestock numbers, in

some cases.

The AEO Case Studies, Human

Vulnerability to Environmental Change

demonstrates how the changes in land use

patterns have disrupted migratory

pathways and resulted in a loss of grazing

areas, drought refuges and water sources,

causing an increased vulnerability at a

time when governance systems are faced

by changes in the socio-economic and

socio-political context and posing

challenges to natural resource manag-

ement and conflict resolution.

In the dry lands areas of nomadic

pastoralists and sedentary agricultural

UNEP, as part of the Africa Environ-ment Outlook (AEO) process, including

the Africa Environment InformationNetwork (AEIN) will provide each

ministry of environment with a complete

national coverage of satellite images.

These images constitute an important and

valuable source of baseline information to

quantify the present state of their

environment and changes since the early

1970s. Remotely sensed data collected

from satellites provide a unique source of

information for the assessment and

monitoring of changes in theenvironment as well as the early warning

and emerging threats.

According to Mr. Klaus Toepfer, the

Executive Director of UNEP the

distribution of these images is not an end

in itself, but a commitment by UNEP as

part of its support to Africa, to enhance

access to relevant and up-to-date data and

information for effective environmental

assessment and reporting at different

levels from regional to national. It is alsoa commitment to build capacity in the

area of environmental data and

information management as highlighted

in the Africa Environmental Information

Network (AEIN) framework.

These data sets to African governments

and other stakeholders in the region were

made available to UNEP through a

partnership of the United States space

agency, the National Aeronautics andspace Administration (NASA), the US

Geological Survey (USGS) and the Global

A M C E N


12/24


populations in the Darfour, Sudan as well

as Karamoja in Uganda, and the Maasai in

Amboseli, Kenya, where the traditional

systems allowed efficient use of marginal

areas in the past, as people moved their herds

to track green pastures, the loss of mobility

and flexibility in responding to short-term

environmental stresses and shocks is a major

concern. Increasing land degradation,caused by climate variability, patterns of

economic activities, cultural practices

combined with policy failures are making

the people increasingly vulnerable.

In the forest zone of south-eastern

Cameroon, commercial logging, the

practice of slash-and-burn agriculture,

infrastructures and bushfires have lead to

an extensive deforestation, socio-

economic changes and conflicts betweenactors. Although the exploitation of the

forest has had some positive impacts, such

as roads, jobs, trade, revenues from taxes,

it has had some negative impacts for the

communities and especially for the semi

nomadic pygmies, the Baka, who have

become particularly vulnerable to poverty,

social disruption and health problems.

The AEO Case Studies is a complementary

report to the Africa Environment Outlook

report. It examines the interactionbetween the environment and human

livelihoods and identifies serious pressures

on the environment and the people in

different rural systems.

The report, which compiles 12 case stud-

ies, addresses the role of environmental

change in the dynamics of communal

conflicts, droughts, deforestation, and

complex interrelationships between

stakeholders, hasty industrialization andthe impact of these changes on human

vulnerability. It also shows genuine and

national or locally driven interventions to

control environmental degradation, miti-

gate, reduce or halt human vulnerability

and increase coping capacities.

The integration of indigenousknow-ledge of resourcemanagement can make amajor contribution towards

achieving sustainabledevelopment in Africa

UNEPs Executive Director, Mr. Klaus

Toepfer said at the launch in Tripoli: The

importance of self reliance in achieving

sustainable outcomes to development in-

terventions cannot be overstated. Think-

ing in terms of local examples can

underscore the need to shift from exter-

nal development paradigms to those de-

rived from an examination of indigenous

responses to problems. The case studiesillustrate the particular nature of vulner-

ability in the African context, and the

specificity of lessons and recommenda-

tions that they provide.

The challenge presented by the case

studies is to connect the wealth of

resources and abilities found at the local

level, with policymaking at the national,

sub-regional and regional levels to reduce

human vulnerability. It is necessary tounderstand the lives and livelihoods of

people operating in local environment

because this is where the process of

sustainable use must operate. If we fail to

understand environmental sustainability

at this level, these communities will suffer

the brunt of insecurity and poverty and

their problems will become the most

difficult to remedy. The integration of

indigenous knowledge of resource

management in Africa can make a major

contribution towards achieving sustain-able development in the Region he said.

The Case Studies addressing environ-

mental change, human vulnerability and

security provide the basis for this local

understanding. For example, some of the

factors contributing to the predicament of

the Lake Victoria basin, the worlds sec-

ond largest fresh water lake, are the con-

sequences of decisions and policies made

formerly by colonial powers and more re-

cently by global economic structures, inaddition to continuous land degradation

coupled with unchecked pollution.

A M C E N

From 1973 to 2001, the Lake Chad water surface was reduced from about 16,884 sq. km to about 304 sq. km


13/24


This case illustrates how economic, social

and political decisions have unintended

consequences, how globalization can

affect local fishing and farming

communities and how the promotion of

large scale commercial developments,

while achieving some economic successes,

can increase the vulnerability of small,local business and urban residential areas,

cause unemployment and threaten

biodiversity. Local communities,

especially women are loosing control over

the local fishing economy and as a result,

local fishing communities in Kenya,

Uganda and Tanzania suffer malnutrition.

The AEO Case studies also demonstrates

that although the socio-economic

pressures resulting from poor natural

resource management can bring aboutpoverty and increasing vulnerability that

accelerate further environmental

degradation and a greater vulnerability,

the capacity for self-organization infused

by traditional institutions can be pivotal

in reversing environmental degradation.

In Morocco and Kenya, attempts to reverse

rangeland degradation and economic

decline on pastoral communities show that

environmental degradation can be reversed

quite quickly. Interventions based on

partnerships between the communities and

other stakeholders resulted in positive

results in terms of herd production in

Morocco, while through the Il Ngwesi Eco

tourism project in Kenya, the case study

documents an increase in plant and animal

species biodiversity as well as increased

security and basic social services for people

and livestock within a six-year period.

The people living in the western Indian

Ocean islands are continually vulnerable

to the impacts of seasonal tropical storms

and resulting floods. By decisive co-

ordinated action over a sustained period

of time, the Indian Ocean Commission

(IOC) countries have established a coping

strategy, which provides early warning of

cyclones. This has reduces human

vulnerability and increased security from

these major natural environmental

phenomena and their social consequences

by using a satellite based meteorologicalmonitoring, education and social

protection measures.

Malaria presents a continuing major threat

for the health and welfare of the people in

many countries in Africa. Successful control

and eradication has been possible in

Mauritius, as a result of the establishment

of systematic integrated programmes of

intervention involving environmental

programmes, public health screening,

professional and public education, targeted

clinical management and sustained financial

support from the government over a longperiod of time. Malaria, which in 1948

resulted in 1580 deaths among the 48 000

reported cases has now been eradicated by

environmental and public controls. In the

year 2000, only 62 cases were reported in

Mauritius.

The report recommends thatdevelopment be focused onhuman factors

The report strongly recommends the

restoration of the flexibility to resource users

and looks at ways to allow mobility and

examines the use of space within settlement

patterns. Other major recommendations

include the increase of water harvesting and

storage, and improvement of the

monitoring and early warning systems of

local environmental conditions as well as

potential escalating conflicts. The report also

recommends that development be focused

on human factors, livelihood concerns,

and pay attention to cultural values andpractices and use locally available tools,

material and skills.

Both the AEO and AEIN processes are

AMCEN initiatives, which UNEP has been

actively supporting since the first request

in 2000 by African ministers for an Africa

Environment Outlook report. The first

report was launched at the 9th AMCEN

session in 2002 and work on the second

report is advanced. The second report will

be launched at the 11th AMCEN session

in 2006.

The AEO Case Studies, Human Vulnera-

bility to Environmental Change is divided

into two sections: Section one contains six

case studies, which explain how various

types of environmental change impact on

the human population, making them

vulnerable to poverty, food insecurity,

disease and other socio-economic factors.

Section two, also consisting of six case

studies, describes interventions carried out

to reduce environmental degradation and

human vulnerability, and provides lessonsand recommendations for future actions.

The report compiled by UNEP for the

AMCEN has involved ten experts.

The AEO Case Studies, Human Vulner-

ability to Environmental Change is

available at http://www.unep.org/dewa/

africa/products

Or you can access it directly, using the

following URL: http://www.unep.org/dewa/afr ica/products /casetudies /

aeocasetudies1.asp

A M C E N

The integration of indigenous knowledge of resource management can make a major contribution towardssustainable development


14/24


Klaus Toepfer and the EnvironmentGeneral Authority of Libya signed a

memorandum to help the country assessits environment

The Executive Director of the UnitedNations Environment Programme(UNEP), Mr. Klaus Toepfer who was parti-cipating in the 10th Regular Session of theAfrican Ministerial Conference on theEnvironment (AMCEN) held Sirte from 29to 30 June 2004, signed a memo-randumof agreement to strengthen cooperationand assist Libya in tracking environmental

developments in the country.

One of the major areas of cooperation isenvironmental impact Assessment. UNEPwill, in cooperation with local experts,assess the data available and identify thegaps and modalities of addressing thesegaps.

Libya lies within the Desert zone with norivers, depending mainly on groundwater,besides limited rainfall. The majorenvironmental challenges include land

degradation and desertification, airpollution, management of hazardouschemicals waste and pollutants, increased

salinity of the groundwater, pollution ofseas from land-based activities.

UNEP, within its special focus on Africawill also partner with the Government ofLibya to develop a unique annual trainingprogramme that would capture the focalareas of concern in environment andsustainable development issues in Africa.The Training Course will come as a partialresponse to the capacity building needs ofmost of African Governments.

This practical programme aims to provide

an opportunity for decision makers ofpublic administration and key institutionsboth at national and local level requiringan overall competence in environmentalmatters to acquire, in a short time, themultidisciplinary perspective that isnecessary to effect positive environmentaland developmental changes and improvepeoples quality of life.

This is an unprecedented initiative froman African country as Libya has offeredto collaborate with UNEP in

implementing this major environmentaltraining programme, by providing the

financial support.

AEO-for-YouthRegionalEditorial

MeetingBy David Bwakali

B etween 18 and 22 October, 20 African youth will assemble at the UNEP head-

quarters in Gigiri for the premier Africa

Environment Outlook (AEO) for Youth

Regional Editorial Meeting. AEO-for-

Youth is hosted by the Division of EarlyWarning and Assessment (DEWA), Africa

Region.

The Regional Editorial Meeting will be the

culmination of a yearlong process that has

seen AEO-for-Youth spread its roots to 40

African countries. The National Focal

Points (NFPs) of these countries had a

chance to meet in six sub-regional

meetings that prepared sub-regional

drafts. Each of Africas six sub-regions

worked on a different environmentaltheme.

The main purpose of the meeting will be

to prepare the AEO-for-Youth draft

publication. This will be done by merging

the six sub-regional drafts into a

consolidated regional draft. This draft will

be the youth version of the inaugural

Africa Environment Outlook (AEO)

Report. Material from this report will be

juxtaposed with youth contributions toform the youth publication. An Editorial

Board of eight youth from across Africa

was responsible for editorial input into the

earlier drafts and will play a similar role

at the regional meeting.

The eight young men and 12 young ladies

at the regional meeting will be drawn from

10 different African countries. As they

prepare the AEO-for-Youth publication,

they will be seeking to leave a youthful and

lasting mark on Africas environmental

scene.

UNEP Strengthens Cooperationwith Libya in the Area of

Environmental Assessment,

Training and Institutional CapacityALS

S t r a t e g i c C o o p e r a t i o n

Dr. Omar M. Sudani, Environment Secretary of the Peoples Committee, Environment, Libya, Mr. KlausToepfer, ED, UNEP, Mr. Ahmed Djoglaf, Director, UNEP/ GEF, Mrs. Cristina Boelcke, Director, UNEP-DRC


15/24


UNEP to support the implementation ofEnvironmental projects in Nigeria under the Third

phase of the Global Environment FacilitySekou Toure

A Strategic Framework of Cooperation was recently signed between H.E. Col. Bala Mande, Federal Ministerfor Environment of Nigeria and Mr. Klaus Toepfer, the Executive Director of the

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

review committee comprising the

Ministry of Environment of Nigeria and

the Executive Director of UNEP will be

established to review the implementation

of the strategic Framework on an annual

basis.

This memorandum of understanding

comes at a very appropriate time when

Nigeria is faced with quite a number of

environmental challenges:

Uncontrolled logging and tree felling are

the order of the day in many parts of the

southern states of Nigeria and this carries

with it loss of precious biological diversity.

Nigerias wildlife is rapidly declining due

to habitat loss and increased pressure fromhunters, poachers, and bush burning.

Animals that have recently disappeared

from Nigeria include the cheetah, the

pygmy hippopotamus, the giraffe, the

black rhinoceros, and the giant eland.

About 10-12 species of primates,

The agreement titled Strategic Frame-work of Cooperation between Nigeria and

UNEP for the Third Phase of the Global

Environment Facility is geared towards

supporting the implementation of

environmental projects in Nigeria revolving

around the following areas of interventions:

(a) Land Degradation; (b) Biodiversity; (c)Persistent Organic Pollutants; (d)

International Waters; (e) Capacity Building

and (f) Climate Change. UNEP will be

acting in its capacity as an implementing

agency of the GEF to assist in the

implementation of GEF eligible activities

under the aforementioned focal areas.

Under the terms of the MOU, the Federal

Republic of Nigeria is making available a

block fund in co-financing of US$50

million dollars in kind for projects to be

developed and executed. A high-level


Signing the Strategic Framework of Cooperation between UNEP and the Federal Government of N igeria

The ED, UNEP, welcomed by the Governor and the Executive Council members of the Rivers States


16/24


including the white throated guenon

species of primates and sclaters guenous,

are under threat. Also an estimated 484

plant species from 112 families are

threatened with extinction because of

habitat destruction and deforestation.

As far as land degradation is concerned,

most, if not all of Nigerias ecological

niches have witnessed pressure resulting

from uncontrolled socioeconomic

activities leaving a large proportion of theland barren. From ecological and

economic standpoints, soil erosion is

probably the most serious environmental

problem affecting the nations soil and

land resources. It is estimated that over

90% of the total land area of Nigeria is

under severe sheet, rill, and gully erosion,

with the severest gully erosion on 80% of

Nigerias total land area. Sheet erosion

leads to soil impoverishment as nutrients

are washed away, loss of livelihood as

farmlands become wasteland, and

pollution and siltation of available sources

of drinking water. This exacerbates the

increasing menace of rural-urban

migration. The number of active gully

erosion sites is currently estimated over

2,000 spread around the country.

Nigeria has made appreciable efforts in the

management of chemicals through legal

instruments and non-regulatory

mechanisms. But it must be admitted thatnone of these instruments/mechanisms is

specifically targeted at persistent organic

pollutants (POPs), and yet the country has

experienced frequent disasters. The

government now recognizing the risks

posed to human health and the

environment wants to initiate actions such

as strengthening legal mechanisms for a

coordinated management of chemicals in

an environmentally sound manner,

strengthening legal instrument and

enforcement on hazardous waste

treatment and disposal, increasing public

education etc.

Pollution is another major health hazard

with the levels of the gases emitted around

highways and runways sometimes 10 times

higher than permissible levels in Nigeria,

Ghana, Europe, and many other countries.

In order to reduce the levels of these gases

to tolerable ambient limits, it is important

to single out the sources of gaseous

emissions and maintain them at the level

of full compliance by the year 2010.

The Minister of Environment, Col. Bala

Mande in acknowledging the global and

strategic importance of UNEP in world

environmental issues thanked the UNEP

Executive Director for his availability as

well as his commitment in Africa,

especially in Nigeria. He also stressed the

unflauted commitment of President

Olusegun Obasanjo of the Federal

Republic of Nigeria in pioneering a leading

role in Africa to combat environmentalissues that are affecting its c itizens.


The Executive Director, Dr. Klaus Topfer,

on behalf of UNEP expressed his gratitude

to the Federal Republic of Nigeria noting

that Nigeria was the first member country

in the history of UNEP and GEF to ear-

mark a block co-financing of that

magnitude to environmental cause. He

also commended President Obasanjo for

his unwavering support to UNEP, the

leadership role he is playing in spear-

heading the New Partnership for Africas

Development (NEPAD), particularly its

Environment Initiative which is been

supported by UNEP.

Following this agreement, the Minister of

Environment called on all Commissioners

of Environment in the 36 States of the

Federal Republic of Nigeria to submitproject proposals in all the areas of

intervention for possible consideration for

funding under this MOU. He emphasized

the need of the State Commissioners of

maximizing synergies through strategic

dialogue and adopting a comprehensive

approach thus formatting a strong inter-

linkage on environmental issues in

Nigeria.

ED, UNEP and the Governor of River States at a Press Conference at Port Harcourt


17/24


UNEP/ GEF Orientation and Technical Training Sessionon NEPAD: Moving forward with Implementation of the

Action Plan on the Environment Initiative of NEPAD

Estherine Lisinge Fotabong

The objective of the Orientation Session

was twofold: Understanding MEAs and how they can

be implemented in a synergistic manner

in the context of NEPAD

Bringing the relevant s takeholders

together to promote and facilitate

networking and the sharing of

experiences and lessons learnt with

regards to understanding and addressing

the varied issues relating to poverty

eradication, good environmental

management to achieve sustainable

development on the continent.The five day session covered a wide range of

topics including, an overview of the Action

Plan for the Environment Initiative of

NEPAD; the UNEP/GEF Medium size

project on capacity building to develop sub-

regional environmental action plans; UNEP

initiatives on environmental management;

environment programmes of the Regional

Economic Communities; Multilateral

environmental agreements; the GEF as a

financial mechanism; case studies on

synergies in implementing multilateralenvironmental agreements and the AMCEN

Programme of Work for 2004/06.

The intensive training session was

culminated with a field visit to theTungu-Kibiri Community microhydro

power project for a practical view of the

concepts, policy issues and project

development and management issues that

were the subject of discussion all week.

Among the many recommendations from

the workshop, the participants expressed

their appreciation of the orientation and

training workshop and called for more of

such capacity building workshops with

particular focus on areas such as accessand benefit sharing, technology transfer,

project development, designing policies

and legislation and training for trainers.

Next steps for the project include the

convening of two training workshops and five

sub-regional consultative meetings of experts

in 2005. These all as part of the process of

developing the sub-regional environmental

action plans and strengthening the capacity

of national focal points and the sub-regional

institutions to implement the Action Plan for

the Environment Initiative of NEPAD.

The United Nations Environment Pro-gramme (UNEP) with resources provided

by the Global Environment Facility and bi-

lateral donors, Belgium and Norway, is un-

dertaking a major capacity building

programme aimed at assisting African coun-

tries implement the NEPAD environmental

action plan. A key component of this pro-

gramme is developing five sub-regional en-vironmental action plans (SREAPs) that will

enable the sub-regional organizations and

institutions and countries implement the

Action Plan taking into account the priori-

ties of the sub-regions. Providing training

to the sub-regional economic communities

and the national focal points of the various

multilateral environmental conventions and

projects relating to them will assist imple-

mentation.

The UNEP/DGEF, NEPAD-GEF Orient-

ation and Training Session was held at

UNEP, in Nairobi, Kenya from 20- 25

September 2004. The workshop is the first

of a series of training workshops under

the MSP on Development of Sub-

regional environ-mental action plans and

was convened as part of the process to

build capacity aimed at assisting African

countries implement the NEPAD

environmental action plan

The a five day Orientation and training

workshop brought together more than 60

participants representing African govern-

ments, the African regional economic

communities, the African Union, the United

Nations Economic Commission for Africa,

civil society and resource persons. Present

at the official opening of the workshop were

the Representative of the Government of

Kenya, H.E. the High commissioner of

Nigeria, and H.E. the High Commissionerof the Government of Belgium.

N E P A D

Developing sub-regional environmental action plans and the Environment Initiative of the NEPAD


18/24


Incorporating the Environment in the InternationalConference on the Great Lakes Region

Alexander L. Alusa

Peace and security, Democracy and Governance, Economic Development and Regional Integration, Humanitarian andSocial Issues and the related environment aspects will be the focus of the International Conference on the Great Lakes to be

held from 19-20 November in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania and the subsequent Conference scheduled for July 2005.

Participants agreed that the environmentis a victim of conflicts occurring in theGreat Lakes Region; that access toenvironmental resources and mismanage-ment of natural resources may be a causalfactor of conflicts in the region; that unlessenvironment is well managed, it can act asa catalyst, fuel and or perpetuate conflicts;and that environment is a key factor inpromoting cooperation and conflictprevention in the Great Lakes Region.

Issues to be specifically addressed in thecontext of the four themes of the Conferenceinclude, in terms of peace and securityinformation and capacity building,equitable access and sharing of benefits;improvement in environmental resourcemanagement and planning; mitigation and

management of environ-mental impacts ofarmed conflicts; and opportunities by whichenvironmental management can bringabout co-existence and peace.

As far as Democracy and good governanceare concerned, issues to be discussedcomprise lack of policy, institutional andlegal framework for resource manage-ment; land tenure regime; Conventionsand multilateral agreements; trans-boundary resource management, ac-countability compliance and enforcement

and participatory processes.

Regarding economic development andregional integration, the role of regional andinternational markets, transport andcommunication; trade; industrializationand urbanization are issues to be looked at.

Concerning the humanitarian and socialissues, attention will be given to issues suchas gender and women empowerment,education and training; refugees andinternally displaced people, poverty,capacity building; health, disaster manage-ment, public awareness and increased role

of civil society.

The First meeting of the Regional Pre-paratory Committee of the InternationalConference on the Great Lakes Region re-cently took place in Bujumbura, Burundiunder the chairmanship of the Host coun-try, Burundi. The meeting, which wasopened by the Vice President of Burundi,H.E. Alfonse-Marie Kadege, brought to-gether Representatives of core countries Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Repub-lic of Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania andZambia; a number of co-opted countries:Malawi, Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe,Sudan and Central African Republic. Themeeting was also attended by the Groupof friends of the Great Lakes Region, theEuropean Union, Agencies of the UnitedNations System including UNEP, rep-resentatives of Civil Society Organ-

izations, Regional Womens Grouping andYouth.

Participants raised key regional challengesand issues during the meeting and pro-posed main regional principles andorientations. These include inter alia thecontinuing instability and the wars, bothintra-state and inter-state, and their spillover effects from one country to another;the exclusionary policies, including thosebased on ethnicity, discrimination, nota-bly against women; the normalization of

the practice of violence which have ledto massive human rights violations in-cluding war crimes and crimes againsthumanity such as Genocide; and bad gov-ernance practices, lack of citizens partici-pation, concentration of political andeconomic power in the hands of few andthe absence of an enabling political envi-ronment.

The main regional principles proposedevolve around recommitment, ratificationand implementation of fundamental

Human Rights Principles, Protocols andDeclarations, International HumanitarianLaw and other related Internationals

Treaties and Conventions; Harmonizationof regional policies and blocs with theultimate objective to put in place acomprehensive regional arrangementwith visionary, and innovative institut-ional mechanisms to deal with all cross-cutting issues; Human-centered approachand citizens involvement, notably theempowerment of women, to contribute topeace, stability and development; andPromotion of multiculturalism, toleranceand confidence-building, measuresamong all using all available means.

The organization of an internationalconference on the Great Lakes region hasbeen a recurrent idea since at least the early1990s and particularly since the 1994Rwandan genocide. The first concrete step

towards the organization of the conferencehowever was taken when UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan instructed his SpecialRepresentative for the Great Lakes Regionto sound out the views of regional leadersregarding the proposal, which resulted intoa decision by the United Nations GeneralAssembly to convene an InternationalConference which would address the issuesrelated to the reconstruction of the Great

Lakes Region.

In consultation with the SpecialRepresentative of the Secretary General tothe Great Lakes H.E. Ibrahima Fall, it wasagreed that as a cross-cutting theme, theenvironment should be reflected into thefour themes of the Conference. A meetingof stakeholders was organized from 8-9September with the view to identify anddiscuss the major environmental issues tobe incorporated into the Conference andcontribute to, mitigate the impact ofrecent conflicts, prevent future conflictsand stimulate sustainable development

through the use of the regions naturalresources in the one hand, and to have acommon understanding of the keyenvironmental problems in the region.

G r e a t L a k e s


19/24


UNEP

DEWA Launches the GEO-4 process in AfricaCharles Sebukeera

The Global Environment Outlook (GEO) report is

mandated by UNEPs Governing Council and is UNEPs

flagship publication on the state and trends of the global

environment. The first volume in the series, GEO-1 was

launched in 1997, the second (GEO-2000) in 1999 and the

third (GEO-3) in 2002, prior to the World Summit on

Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. The GEO reports

contain a global and regional assessment of key environmental

issues and associated policy responses as well as a forward

looking analysis of environmental challenges.

GEO-4 will be published in 2007; twenty years after the

publication of the Brundtland Commissions report Our

Common Future. The concept for GEO-4 is currently under

development and it was felt that it is extremely important to

receive feedback from policy-makers, the science community,

business, civil society and NGOs on the current plans before

embarking on the preparation of the report. A series of ad hoc

consultations in the various regions have been organized to

seek guidance from key stakeholder groups on how to

strengthen the policy relevance of GEO-4. The meeting for the

Africa region was opened by the Deputy Executive Director of

UNEP who emphasized the need to ensure scientific credibility

of the GEO report series as recommended by the UNEP

governing council. The meeting drew more than 100

participants representing governments, academic and research

institutions, NGO and sub-regional economic groupings. The

meeting discussed a wide range of issues that will help to make

GEO-4 more responsive to user needs in Africa. The key

questions addressed by the participants were:

1. What are the key environmental issues which need moreassessment and analysis in the Africa region?

2. What is seen as the most important cross-cutting issues

from the perspective of environmental sustainability and

development in Africa?

3. What are Africas expectations of GEO-4?

The Director, UNEP Regional Office for Africa, while closing

the meeting reiterated the consultative nature of the GEO

process and the need for African experts and policy makers tobe actively participate in the process to make sure that the

continents environmental issues get onto the global agenda.

The report has catalyzed the production of a family of related

reports, including the Africa Environment Outlook (AEO) and

GEO for Cities which have played a significant role in

influencing regional level policies and programmes such as the

NEPAD environment initiative. The GEO methodology ahs

also been adopted by a number of countries in Africa to

produce their national state of environment reports.

A participative approach

Mr. Shafqat Kakakhel, DED, UNEP, launches the GEO-4 Process in Africa

Governments, Academics and Research Institute address the challenges ofthe region

G E O - 4 P r o c e s s


20/24


A Multi Stakeholders effort to Rehabilitatethe Nairobi Dam

Inauguration of the Nairobi Dam Trust

Henry Ndede

The Nairobi Dam Trust was inaugurated on 22nd

September 2004 at the Nairobi Sailing. The Nairobi Dam Trust Initiativewas launched by His Excellency the Vice President Hon. Moody Awori on 4

thMarch 2004 in Nairobi.

The inauguration was to formallypronounce the Nairobi Dam Trust, and

publicly spell out roles and respons-

ibilities of trustees according to the Trust

Deed. More than 500 people attended

from the private sector, civil society,neighbourhood communities. The

Patron of Friends of Nairobi Dam, Hon.

Raila Odinga and the Minister for

Environment and Natural Resources,

Hon. Kalonzo Musyoka graced the

occasion. Other distinguished guests at

the occasion included Belgian

Ambassador H.E. Frdric Renard, the

French Ambassador, H.E. Hubert

Fournier, and the Nigerian High

Commissioner, H.E. Scott O. E. Omene.

In his address, the Belgium Ambassador,

on behalf of French and Belgium

governments highlighted their

countries contribution to the Nairobi

River Basin Programme and

congratulated UNEP for launching the

programme. The United Nations

Environment Programmes Deputy

Executive Director Mr. Shafqat Kakakhel

promised continuous support to the

Nairobi Dam Trust through the Nairobi

River Basin Programme.

Mr. Wilfred Kiboro, the Chief Executive

Officer of the Nation Media Group was

elected Chairman of the Nairobi Dam

Trust. A model of rehabilitated Nairobi

Dam was displayed by architects

Planning Systems Services. A Japanese

NGO that promotes Enhanced Micro-

organism (EM Kenya) also made a

presentation on how their technologycould contribute to the rehabilitation

effort. EM Kenya will contribute in-kind

Kenya Shillings 35 Million worth of EM

for the treatment of water in the Nairobi

Dam and hasten the bio-degradation of

removed water hyacinth.

Ministries that have been involved with

the Nairobi Dam Initiative include:

Environment and Natural Resources;

Roads and Public Works; Water Resources;

Lands, Settlement and Housing; and Local

Government. Governing agencies such as

the National Environment Management

Authority (NEMA) and the Nairobi City

Council were also present during the

inauguration.

Historical Background of Nairobi Dam

Nairobi Dam was designed as a special

reservoir for additional emergency water

supply to Nairobi City. Its surface area is

356,179 square meters (approximately 36

hectares) with a total water-holding

capacity of about 100,000 cubic meters.

The dam was commissioned in 1953 when

the Citys population was about 10,000

people. Gradually the dam became a

major centre of attraction for water sports,

including fishing, skiing, yachting, picnics,

and other forms of recreation. Nairobi

City Council, and the Nairobi Sailing and

Sub-Aqua Club are the only licensed users

its waters.

Nairobi Dam has not been used for water

sports or recreation since 1998. Inflow of

pollutants from the eroded soil in the

catchment, uncollected solid waste and

domestic sullage from the Kibera informalsettlements have resulted into heavy

pollution of the water body. Invasive

plants species especially the Water

Hyacinth and Parrots Feather have

infested the water body and altered its

aquatic ecology and flow regimes. The

clogging of the water surface withinvasive aquatic plants, and the heavy

sediments from uncollected solid waste

have curtailed all recreational activities

that were once popular at the Nairobi

Dam.

Friends of Nairobi DamAssociation

The vision of the rehabilitation process

is to restore Nairobi Dam into an openwater body of good quality for various uses

by diverse stakeholders. In order to

achieve this vision, Friends of Nairobi

Dam (FoNDa) was founded on 19th

March 2003 during a stakeholders

workshop organized at the Sailing Club.

The Nairobi Dam Trust Initiative was

subsequently launched on 4th March

2004 to oversee formulation of an

institutional structure for the rehabili-

tation and restoration of the dam.

Rehabilitation and Restoration of

Nairobi Dam: FoNDa has beenstructured to implement the rehabili-

tation and restoration programme for

Nairobi Dam under the guidance of the

Nairobi Dam Trust. The main objective

of FoNDa is to restore the capacity and

functions of Nairobi Dam, including

providing an environment that will

enhance biodiversity. A step by step

approach has been identified for therehabilitation process.

N a i r o b i R i v e r P r o j e c t


21/24


N a i r o b i R i v e r P r o j e c t

Hon. Raila Odinga, Patron of Friends of Nairobi Dam, Hon. Kalonzo Musyoka, Minister for Environment, H.E. Frederic Renard, Ambassador of Belgium,Mr. Shafqat Kakakhel, DED, UNEP, graced the inauguration of the Nairobi Dam Trust.


22/24


Clean Up the World celebrations in the RegionThousands ofvolunteers from youth groups, schools, colleges, local businesses and communities around the world joined

hands on Saturday 18 September 2004, to clean up the world.

Clean Up the World embodies the adage

Think globally, Act locally. Its strength is

that it is driven by grassroots, people who

have decided to take responsibility to their

own environment. This year Clean Up the

World and UNEP are placing special

emphasis on the planets seas and oceans as

the marine environment is coming under

increasing pressure from over-fishing, from

climate change, and from the increase in

global population and its waste products.

By working together, we can make the world

a better and safer place to live for our

children and generations to come Klaus

Toepfer, Executive Director UNEP.

Addis Ababa cleans up !

This year over 300 people in Addis Abab

Regional Office for Africa Newsletter, October 2004 ~ United Nations Environment Programme

Documents

Transcript of Regional Office for Africa Newsletter, October 2004 ~ United Nations Environment Programme