Institute for European Environmental Policy
1
Sustainable Development Governance at National, Regional
and Local levels in a Global Context, preparing for Rio
Patrick ten Brink
Senior Fellow and Head of Brussels Office, IEEP
PREPARING FOR THE 2012 RIO SUMMIT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
THE CONTRIBUTION OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN EUROPE
Session 2: Strengthening the Institutional Framework for Sustainable
Development - Reforming Sustainable Development Governance
23 March 2011 - 10.00 am – 5.30 pm
Meeting room VMA 3
Van Maerlant street 2
1040 Brussels
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Structure of the presentation
Governance challenges & responses Risks
Water
Biodiversity
Climate
Deforestation
Progress & Opportunities Stockholm to Rio
Conventions: global framework for national to local action
Subsidy reform: national action with local to global implications
Marine: Fisheries/Coral Reefs
Steps to a Green Economy: multi-level governance
WEF(2011)
Global Risks 2011
(6th Edition)
Governance Challenges: Multiple WEF: Global Risks Landscape 2011
Perception data from WEF Global Risks Survey
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Governance Challenges: Multiple WEF: Global Risks Landscape 2011 Perception data from WEF Global Risks Survey
National, regional & local
risks “variations on a
theme” of the above
Risk interconnections Complexities: Interactions & Synergies
Risk interconnections
WEF(2011)
Global Risks 2011
(6th Edition)
Complexity/synergy
5
Water stress, availability & sanitation
Many poles for action: countries (inc. cooperation), regions, cities, citizens, companies
• Investment in environmental infrastructures, regulation, pricing, innovation.
• Investment in Green infrastructure/natural capital. Rewarding benefits / PES
• Labelling and consumer information et al.
http://www.worldwatercouncil.org/index.php?id=25
1.1 billion people live without clean
drinking water
2.6 billion people lack adequate
sanitation (2002, UNICEF/WHO
JMP 2004)
1.8 million people die every year
from diarrhoeal diseases.
3 900 children die every day from
water borne diseases (WHO
2004)
Tool: Mexico national PSAH framework
with local applications: PES to forest
owners to preserve forest: manage & not
convert forest
Results:
Deforestation rate fell from 1.6 % to 0.6 %.
18.3 thousand hectares of avoided deforestation
Avoided GHG emissions ~ 3.2 million tCO2e
National step forward re MDGs
Hydrological services: Aquifer recharge;
Improved surface water quality, reduce
frequency & damage from flooding`
Munoz 2010); Muñoz-Piña et al. 2008; Muñoz-Piña et al. 2007.
Reduce Deforestation Address Poverty
Governance: measurement, policy
synergies, rewarding benefits provision
Water: National action to facilitate local action
Water: Nation on nation impacts: Consumer
responsibilities
UK external water footprint – Understanding the implications of our consumption
WRAP and WWF (2011) See also OPEN:EU for more on footprints:
http://www.oneplaneteconomynetwork.org/
Local action: San Francisco “meat
free Mondays”; Ghent: Thursdays! For citizens: info, labelling & footprints
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Governance challenge: Biodiversity loss
UNEP (2011)
UNEP Yearbook 2011
Biodiversity loss leads to loss of natural wealth, ecosystem services,
benefits to economy and society/wellbeing (see TEEB (2009,2010,2011) MEA (2005)
TEEB Reports: http://www.teebweb.org/
Summaries (in range of languages) and chapters
TEEB for Policy Makers report
“I believe that the great part of miseries of mankind are brought upon
them by false estimates they have made of the value of things.” Benjamin Franklin, 1706-1790
“There is a renaissance underway, in which people are waking up to the
tremendous values of natural capital and devising ingenious ways of
incorporating these values into major resource decisions.” Gretchen Daily, Stanford University
Contribution to Governance solutions -
Understanding the value of nature
Book announcement: The Economics of Ecosystems and
Biodiversity in National and International Policy Making now
available from Earthscan
Provisioning services • Food, fibre and fuel
• Water provision
• Genetic resources
Regulating Services • Climate /climate change regulation
• Water and waste purification
• Air purification
• Erosion control
• Natural hazards mitigation
• Pollination
• Biological control
Cultural Services • Aesthetics, Landscape value, recreation and
tourism
• Cultural values and inspirational services
Supporting Services • Soil formation
+ Resilience- eg to climate change
Important to appreciate the whole set of eco-
system services & take into account in
decisions – and not only after they have been
lost and oft costly substitutes needed. This is
critical for good governance at all levels.
Governance : Understanding and responding to the value of nature, our “natural capital”
Ecosystem
Valuation Benefits
Annual Value
(2005, CDN $)
Carbon Values 366 million
Air Protection Values 69 million
Watershed Values 409 million
Pollination Values 360 million
Biodiversity Value 98 million
Recreation Value 95 million
Agricultural Land
Value
329 million
Cities understanding the value of their natural assets
Multiple Benefits: at the Urban level – City of Toronto
• Estimating the value of the Greenbelt for the City of Toronto
• The greenbelt around Toronto offers $ 2.7 billion worth of non-market
ecological services with an average value of $ 3, 571 / ha.
→ Implication re: future management of the greater city area ?
Source: Wilson, S. J. (2008)
Map: http://greenbeltalliance.ca/images/Greebelt_2_update.jpg
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Challenges to governance: Climate Change
Avoiding the problem, adapting to what we cannot avoid.
UNFCCC: Multilateral context for national action: shared responsibility, mechanisms
Key: National, regional & city actions – especially in context of insufficient global (or
national) commitment & actions • understanding adaptation needs, investment in adaptation (man made and natural capital), spatial planning
• Mitigation: RES, energy efficiency, ETS, taxes/charges, subsidy reform, innovation, avoided deforestation, restoration
+ labelling, consumer information and consumer choice UNEP (2011)
UNEP Yearbook 2011
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Challenges to governance: deforestation
UNFCCC, UNCBD + bilateral + domestic + private + NGO + peoples
Multiple paths for action, diff. interests & opportunities & costs
Instruments: REDD+, bilateral aid, national commitments, city procurement etc
Stockholm to Rio to Jo’burg to Rio
1972 1992 2002 2012
UN's first major conference
on international
environmental issues
Beginning of modern
political and public
awareness of global
environmental problems
Emergence of
international
environmental law
Led to the creation of UNEP
172 governments &108
heads of state/government
Climate: UNFCCC
Biodiversity: CBD
Desertification: UNCCD
Agenda 21 (Cities et al)
Forest principles
Johannesburg
declaration
Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs)
Global Compact
Restore the world's
depleted fisheries for 2015
Stockholm Conference
United Nations
Conference on the
Human Environment
Rio Summit
United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development
(UNCED) – also known as, Rio
Conference, Earth Summit
WSSD
World Summit on
Sustainable
Development or
Earth Summit 2002
Rio+20 Earth Summit
UN Conference on
Sustainable
Development (UNCSD)
Themes:
a green economy
in the context of
poverty
eradication and
sustainable
development,
an institutional
framework for
sustainable
development.
? 2015
MDGs
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Governance: commitment to Conventions
Rio Rio+20
Issue: awareness: need for national
government commitment
Issue: need for implementation –
national, regional, city, citizen
UNEP (2011)
UNEP Yearbook 2011
Subsidy Reform : Win-win: environment-economy
Subsidies: over $1trillion/year: a mix of “the good, the bad and the ugly”
Opportunities: win-wins, reduce lock-in, progress towards a green economy
Free up money to help with MEAs
TEEB (2009)
Global Fish stocks: an overexploited,
underperforming natural asset at risk of collapse
Half of wild marine fisheries are fully exploited; a further quarter already over-exploited
At risk : $ 80-100 billion income from the sector
est. 27 million jobs
over a billion people rely on fish as their main or sole source of animal protein
Source: adapted from FAO 2005
short term vs long term
Need: reduce pressure on coral reefs, MPAs et al & encourage GHG reductions
@ -450ppm and 2 degrees already accepting major losses
Critical governance issue: MPAs and no-take zones: government spatial
planning/regulation/enforcement, need to factor in local (short term)
acceptability, transition challenges & sustainable financing for MPAs.
Marine: Critical natural asset in danger
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Steps to a sustainable green equitable socio-economy
1972
Past: Global Commitments &
National env. measures
2020 2050 2012
Integration /
mainstreaming
– policy
coherence
Near future:
“walk the talk”
Long term: sustainable,
resource efficient, green,
equitable socio-economy
Medium term:
“Turning the curve”
Decarbonisation Resource Efficiency Resource limits Ecosystem capacity/limits
Absolute Decoupling Risk management Beyond GDP measures Equity Happiness
Solutions: Economic signals/markets;
measurement and assessment; regulation; spatial
planning; greening the supply chain; investments
in innovation & natural capital; labelling and
certification; consumer choice/responsibility &
social norms for a sustainable economy / society.
Commitments
1992
Transition to a
new green
economy
paradigm
Measurement
& transparency
+ve Environmental Policies
Limited integration/mainstreaming
Continued losses of natural capital
Making multilateralism work
+
Differentiated responsibility:
multiple actors, interests,
incentives, opportunities – multi-
level governance
Building consensus &
partnerships
Implementation
New
commitments
Learning from
success & failures
Thank you
Patrick ten Brink
IEEP is an independent, not-for-profit institute dedicated to the analysis, understanding and promotion of policies for a sustainable environment.
www.ieep.eu
The Manual of European Environmental Policy
http://www.europeanenvironmentalpolicy.eu/
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