African Case Study

Venue: East and West Africa
When: Early 2003

National and regional case studies in ten African countries with the aim of assessing the implementation of MEAs; identification of constraints in the management of these MEAs; and propose solutions towards effective implementation of MEAs.

Background

Over the past 50 years, numerous multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) have been established. As a result, some agreements support and strengthen the aims of others, while others possess objectives that overlap and contradict one another. The call for better coordination and harmonization between MEAs during negotiation and implementation stages is increasing. In response to these identified needs, the United Nations University (UNU) launched the Inter-linkages Initiative with the aim of promoting a more integrated approach towards sustainable development through efficiency and coherence among MEAs.

The outputs of the UNU initiative include:

• Applied research and case studies;
• Policy dialogues and workshops;
• Capacity development activities;
• Information management and virtual networking;
• Process consulting and policy design.

Activities are implemented based on the willingness of national governments to participate and in partnership with governmental, intergovernmental, regional, and sub-regional organizations, MEA secretariats, NGOs and academic institutions.

Linking National and Regional Levels

Since 1997, the UNU has been engaged in research on the inter-linkages among multilateral environmental agreements. When we first started the initiative, like most of the other institutions engaged in this topic (like UNEP, UNDP and the World Bank), we have focussed at the international level – looking at the linkages between the conventions in five areas – institutional, financial, scientific mechanisms, information harmonization, and issue management. Since then, numerous other initiatives have been initiated both between convention secretariats and within institutions like UNEP, most prominently spearheaded by the Environment Ministers Forum looking at International Environmental Governance and the UNEP Division on Environmental Conventions.

Most recently, the focus has been on the clustering of the conventions, with the IEG in the recent decision in September 2001, asked UNEP to conduct a case study on the clustering of the chemical conventions, Basel and the Montreal Protocol.

Since a year ago however, we have noted through a UNU review of the implementation of the Rio Conventions and their inter-linkages in the ESCAP region, that the biggest challenges to environmental governance, particularly with regards to these MEAs, is at the national and regional level.

This means that while efforts to enhance synergies at the global level must continue, challenges and opportunities for enhanced coordination at the regional and national levels also need to be addressed. Implementing global MEAs often requires regional frameworks and cooperative action plans between neighboring countries. National governments might know best which issues they prioritize and which of these should be linked. Therefore, opportunities for regional coordination should be kept in mind, when addressing issues at national levels.

In order to determine these local challenges, the UNU undertook a series national and regional case studies in the Asia and the Pacific regions with the cooperation of the Association of Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN) Secretariat, and the South Pacific Regional Environment Program (SPREP). These studies are now almost complete and reports are to be made available during the run up to the Johannesburg Summit.

These case studies gave us a glimpse of the realities and challenges in the implementation of various Sustainable Development issues on the ground, particularly to the critical and urgent need for capacity development in most countries. We believe that these case studies are not only extremely important for the future development planning for countries, but also for the planning of global governance structures such as a future World Environment Organization (WEO).

Knowing the importance that the Johannesburg Summit will provide us in focussing our attention on Africa, we are now proposing to conduct a similar study in the region through the assistance of several partners, of which we hope that the Norwegian Foreign Ministry and NORAD would be within them. Apart from Africa, we are also interested in conducting these case studies in Europe (both West and East) and Central Asia.

Case Study Framework

The case study’s framework approach will consist of three parts; the first two phases will be conducted within two weeks per country:

1. The design phase will be organized by the respective government and facilitated by the UNU. Its goal is to identify priority issues at the national level, together with important stakeholders (government agencies, academic institutions, NGOs).
2. The assessment phase, where the specific status related to scientific, institutional, or political conditions (as necessary) are determined through in-depth interviews and data gathering. The design phase would provide a narrower focus to the assessment.
3. In the implementation and review phase, policy- and implementation-related rec-ommendations will be made for the national, regional and international level. The findings presented in a country report are disseminated to the national government and relevant stakeholders.

The objectives of the case studies are to:

• Improve national policy making processes with regard to MEA management.
• Enhance national systems and mechanisms necessary to manage MEAs.
• Strengthen national institutional capacity for negotiation, ratification, and implementation of MEAs.
• Promote networking and self-reliance through national and regional workshops for stakeholders.
• Enable countries to identify and respond independently to their needs trough follow-up on trainings and capacity development.

African Case Studies

The year 2002 is marked by the World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg. At least for the time to the summit and its follow-ups, the world’s focus will be on sustainable development and environmental policies and governance, especially in Africa. Environmental governance requires global frameworks and institutions, but also coordinated efforts at national and regional levels as well as insights into advantages and constraints that hinder or assist implementation of policies. Therefore, conducting regional and national studies on inter-linkages is an opportunity not only to contribute to national or regional frameworks for sustainable development but at the same time presenting results of the project for the WSSD follow-ups.

Each region to be studied will include 5 national case studies. For East Africa, this could possibly be, inter alia, Kenya, Ethiopia and Tanzania, for West Africa probably Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal. These and other countries in the two regions will be selected according to their willingness to participate and their signature of, or ratification to, specific MEAs. A set of national case studies would identify opportunities and constraints at the national levels and at the same time offer the chance of comparing similarities that could then be addressed on a regional level with the aim of fostering regional policy making and cooperation.

Case studies have been recognized as the best means to provide concrete examples of how inter-linkages principles may be operationalized at the policy as well as executive level. The lack or weaknesses of national policies, legal and institutional arrangements and human resource capabilities might prove to be obstacles to effective negotiation, ratification and implementation of MEAs.

The overall goal of the project is to strengthen national governance structures and promote regional cooperation in the negotiation, ratification, and implementation of MEAs by identifying inter-linkages and synergies both between MEAs as well as between different national institutions involved in their implementation. The studies will cover policy priorities, strategy and planning, institutional and legal frameworks, financing, scientific mechanisms, capacity building, information and data, communications, networking, outreach, and stakeholder participation.

Regional and National Cooperation Partners

For each set of case studies, a regional organization concerned with environmental policy will serve as a focal point to contact and coordinate with the national governments and agencies to be involved, to assure a synchronized approach within a region and to improve the prospects of regionally harmonized follow-ups.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, is an ideal organization to join efforts with on a regional level. It not only comprises huge knowledge and experience in the areas of policy coordination and environmental governance, but also has extensive cooperation programs through its sub-regional centres. National partner organizations in the countries should therefore be identified together with UNECA.

UNEP in Nairobi, Kenya, with its intense contacts to convention secretariats could also serve as an important facilitator organization to links activities with on a regional level, especially for the intended follow-up phase, which comprises training and workshops series.

Synergies with Existing Guidelines and Programs

Through its objective and principles detailed above and its double fold strategy of national case studies on inter-linkages between MEAs within a regional setting, the UNU initiative is coherent especially with OECD/DAC’s “Policy Guidance on Mainstreaming the Global Environment Conventions into Development Co-operation”.

Several national and regional case studies in the ASEAN and the Pacific regions have been carried out by the UNU, in cooperation with a vast number of research institutes and eminent persons worldwide in the area of inter-linkages among MEAs. The case studies in Africa will incorporate lessons learned from Asian and Pacific countries.

For more information about this project please contact Jerry Velasquez (jerry@geic.or.jp)