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8/9/2019 Regional Office for Africa Newsletter, June 2001 ~ United Nations Environment Programme
1/121
Message from the UNEPExecutive Director
his issue of the ROA news comes out
at an oppo rtune time i n the history of
the environmental movem ent in Africa.TIt is a crucial moment because the first flush of
the preparations for the World Summit on
Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in
2002 is nearing its completion. It is a criticalmoment because we must begin to view the
achievements in our quest for sustainable
development since the Earth Summit in 1992 and
the challenges such an analysis poses as well as
the opportunities it offers. Clearly, there is a need
for well deliberated action in support of social
and political, as well as economic changes -
changes tha t can t rans fo rm a d readed
anticip ation of an e cological disa ster into a
constructive re ality.
This is also an opportune time to ask some
searching questions. How have the ecological
concerns evolved in Africa during the last
decade? What lessons have been lea rnt? D oes
Africa face certain special structural problems
that have not been prope rly addressed? Could
the process of formulating and implementing
environme ntal strategies be improved? What are
the environmental prospects for the next
generation in Africa? And more fund amentally,
does a long-term environmental vision that is
both ach ievable a nd cre dible exist?
The imperative need to move from words to
action does not in any way reduce the
importance of words. Programmes of action -
for sustainable development - can only succeed
if they arise o ut o f consensus. And consensus is
no t easily ach ieved . But I am hop eful that
Governments as wel l as other stakeholders will
take full advantage of Africas preparatory
process for the Joha nne sburg Summit. We must
collectively provide significant support to ensure
the regions perspectives are carefully crafted and
integrated into the s ub regional a nd region al
assessment reports to be prepared by the series
of preparatory meetings planned for the last
quarter o f 2001.
Particular attention must be focused on one key
outpu t of the preparatory process, the Africa n
Common Position, a political statement which
will be the guiding principle for putting Africa
back on the sustaina ble developm ent path.
The m essage rema ins that Africa m ust take a
decisive role in determining its future
development paradigm that wil l p lace
environmental consideration and sustainability
high on the agenda for soc io-economic
development. In this regard, UNEP has taken note
of the initiative of African heads of State led by
the Presidents of South Africa (T. Mbeki), Nigeria
(Gen. Obasanjo), Algeria (A.A. Bouteflika) and
Senega l (Maitre Abd oulaye Wade), toward s
African Recovery in the 21st century. This
initiative, wh ich was di scussed at the last Session
of the OAU in Lusaka, is an enco uraging
development which must be supported, as this is
an initiative conceived, led and spearhead ed by
Africans themselves.
This message was cle arly articu lated by the
United Nations Secretary General during the
recent meeting of the Administrative Coordination
Committee (ACC) in Nairobi. In order to facilitate
the implementation of the plan, UNEP stands
ready to provide the requisite assistance through
the Framework of the African Ministerial
Conference on Environment (AMCEN).
The 21 st Century is of particular significance to
Africa. First, developmen t program s must reflect
the in tersect ion between environment ,
developm ent and poverty reduction . Secondly,
opportunities must be exploited to efficiently
utilize the finite natural resources to the best
advantage of the African eco nomies . Thirdly,
recognition must be given to app arently small but
significant steps at local level towards achieving
sustainable devel opment . Finally, we must avoid
duplication of efforts and wastage of resources.
All partners, including Multilateral Environmental
Convention Secretariats and other UN programs,
are encouraged to w ork closely with UNEP. We
should draw on the o rientations prepared within
the framework of the AMCEN Programme of
Action and GC.21 decisions, especially Decision21/15 on Support to Africa for effective and
efficient implementat ion of sustainable
development programs in Africa.
1
Mr. Klaus Tp fer
8/9/2019 Regional Office for Africa Newsletter, June 2001 ~ United Nations Environment Programme
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T
21ST ME ETING
ImplementationofGoverning Council
decisions
he 21st meeting of the Governing
Counci l of UN E P made many
decisions that touched on Africa.
Implementation of the se decisions is a UNEP
corporate responsibility. However, the
R egional Office for Africa (R OA) has a
particular niche in some of them, but an
overarching interest in all o f them regardless
of the division charged with the principal
responsibility of implementin g them. The
following are the actions proposed to becarried out in collaboration with other
divisions and organizations in implementing
the GC decisions.
The major GC decision is one related to
Support to Africa, namely, GC.21/15.
The key activities by R OA in furtheranc e of
this decision will revolve around regional
consultative process towards the preparation
of a report for the World S ummit on
Sustainable Development (WSS D) in South
Afr ica in 2002. F ive sub-regional
consultative meetings will be held inS eptember 2001, leading to a R egional
Ministerial Conference in October 2001.
The key outputs will be a report on the
activities carried out i n the implementation
in Africa of Agenda 21 since R io Summit
and an Afr ican Common Posi t ion.
Additionally, ROA will address the issue of
capacity building among African negotiators
on issues re la ted to c l imate change ,
biodiversity, desertification, collaboration
with ACOPS in the promotion of the
protection of the African marine
environment, (decision GC.21/13), andwork closely with the Division of
E nvironmenta l Co nvent ion s (D E C) in
strengthening the Nairobi and Abidjan
Convent ion s and Action Plans . Activities
rela ted to Support to Africa will also include
the i mplementatio n o f the AMCEN priority
activities as agreed in Abuja.
Other dec is ions taken for direc t
implementation by Headquarters will be
carried out in close liaison with R O A.
Specifically, the ROA retreat will develop
strategic approaches in collaboration during
the implementation of these decisions inAfrica. Consulta tions in this regard ha ve
begun and will be finalized during the
retreat.
Environmental sustainability is everybodys challenge. But the heaviest
responsibility falls on you w ho have accep ted posi tions of leade rship, whetherin pol itics, business or civil society.
Mr. Kofi Ann an, Un ited Na tions Secretary General to th e 21st Session of the
Governing Council of UNEP.
From left to right - Klaus Tpfer (UNEPExecutive Director), President Daniel T. arap Moi,Mr. David Anderson (President of the 21st Governing Council)
H.E. Mr. Mohamed Valli Moosa (Minister ofEnvironme nt al Affairs & Tourism, So uth Africa)
8/9/2019 Regional Office for Africa Newsletter, June 2001 ~ United Nations Environment Programme
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ABUJA
he primary objective of AMCEN is
to strengthen cooperatio n between
African Governments in econom ic,
The AMCEN Processsince the Eighth Session of Abuja(May 2000 - March 2001)
AM C E N, with three vice-pres idents
(S outh Africa , Moroc co a nd Uganda ) and
a rapporteu r (Cam eroon). The 9 th S ession
o f AMC E N wil l be he ld in K ampala ,
Uganda in 2002. As a general rule, the
Inter-S essional Committee (IS C) is to mee t
onc e a year. The Inte r-Agenc y Tec hnic al
Commi ttee (IATC) meets at the reque st of
the IS C or the AMCE N S ecretariat.
O n the issu e of staffing for the AMC E N
S ecreta riat, the S enior Programme Officer
(S ecretary-AMCE N) has been recruited
and has been on board since 1 April
2001. S he (Ms. R ungano K arimanzira -
Zimbabwe ) is being briefed on the sta tus
of p rogre s s made s ince the AbujaMeeting.
The S ec retary - AMCE N is (1) unde rtaking
the prepa ration of funding proposa ls for
the implementation of the clusters of
AMCE N Medium -Term Pro gramme for
2000 -2004, and (2) proc ee ding with the
mobilization of resources, with AMC E N
member S tates, donors and the private
sec tor , for the replenishment of the
AMCE N Trust . The AMCE N S ecretariat
will also be supporting the preparatory
process for the World S u m m i t o n
S ustainable Development (WS S D), to be
held in J ohannesburg, S outh Africa in
2002, and will be looking for ways to
s u p p o r t t h e i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f
Multilateral Environme ntal Agreem ents in
the region.
technical and scientific activities for the
purpose of ha l t ing and revers ing the
degradation of the African Environment.
The E ighth S ession of AMCE N, held in
Abuja in M ay 2000 , in recognition of the
nee d for Africa n Governm ents to bear the
primary responsibility for the means of
impl ementation of the AMCE N policy and
programme , dec ided to e s tab l i sh
conditions that would allow AMC E N to
succe ed and de velop a stronger identity.
The Abuja S ession adopted decisions on(1) policy and institutional changes (2)
m e d i u m - t e r m p r o g r a m m e a n d ( 3 )
measures to bring about stability and
predictability in the financial base of the
Confe rence to enhance and v i t a l i z e
AMCE N.
The Meeting also structured AMC E N
along (1) a main Conference that meets
every two years, (2) an Inter-Agency
Tec hnical Co mmitte e a nd (3) an Inter-
S ess iona l Mini s te r i a l Commit tee ,
composed of a B ureau representing the
five sub-regions of Africa, that is, North
(Tunisia ), West (Ghan a), Central (Congo),
E ast (Tanzania) and S outhern Afr ica
(Malawi).
F or the period 2000- 2001 , Nigeria chairs
T
AMCE N was restructured in Abuja
as follows:
1. The B ureau - President, three
Vice Presidents and a Rapporteur
elected from the five African
subregions (North, S outh, East,
West and Central Africa). The
fol lowing are the e lec ted
members of the Bureau for the
period 2000-2001: President -
Nigeria: Vice Presidents - South
Afr ica , Morocco, Uganda:
Rap porteur - Cameroon.
2. The Inter-sessional Committee
comprises the B ureau plus the
fol lowing:
Congo, United R epubl ic o f
Tan za nia, Tunis ia, Ma lawi andGhana (also reflecting a
a regional balance).
3 . An Inter Agency Technical
Commitee was established to
serve as a technical arm of the
Inter-sessional Committee that is
responsib le for the development
of key issues for c onsideration by
the AMC E N S ession. The
members are drawn from experts
represented on the Inter-sessional
Committee and representatives
from the f ive subregional
organiza t ions , b odies (E CA,
OAU, AfDB ) and five
representative NGOs from the
five subregions .
ABUJA
8/9/2019 Regional Office for Africa Newsletter, June 2001 ~ United Nations Environment Programme
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REGIONAL OFFICE FOR AFRICA
T
Report of the Meetingbetween UNEP and the
Africa Diplomatic Corps in
relation to the RegionalOffice for Africa
he meeting was held at UN E P
headquarters on 20 th April, 2001
under the cha irmanship of
Mr. S hafqat K akakhel, the Deputy E xecutive
Director.
With regard to the S taffing of the Regional
Office for Africa, Mr. S hafqat K akakhel,
(Deputy Executive Director), informed the
Permanent R epresentatives on the progress
made todate in the recruitment of staff inROA, and in particular of Mr. Sekou Tour
of Cte dIvoire who took office from
1 F ebruary 2001 as the new Director.
Mr. Tour assured the Permanent
Rep resentatives of his full cooperation and
promised to bu ild the necessary supp ort for
the full and effective implementation of
environmental activities in Africa by working
very closely with them in Nairobi. Moreover,
he assured the ADC that he would make
them fully aware of all developments that
will occur in his office to seek their advice
and guidance.
Mr. K akakhel th anked the P ermanent
Rep resentatives for their suppo rt to UNEP
and to the new team of the Regional Office
and assured them that the composition of
the RO A team will be more geographically
and gender balanced as more resources to
hire additional staff is available. He further
assured the Permanent Representatives that
Mr. Tour and his staff were at the disposal
of the Permanent Missions and that
Mr. Tour wi ll atten d the monthly UNEP/
Habitat meetings with the Permanent
Rep resentatives to brief them regularly onthe progress made by R OA. Thereafter,
regular meetings would be convened to
facilitate the communication between the
Permanent R epresentatives an d R O A.
F inally, R OA would publish a quarterly
bull etin (ROANews) to further report on the
progress made in the implementation of
UNEP activities in Africa.
On the Impleme ntat ion o f GC21
Decisions in S upport to Africa, Mr.
K aka khel informed the me eting that Mr.
S ekou Tour and his team are preparing
a work plan to implement all the GC 21decisions focusing on the activities in
Africa . In th is reg ard, R OA is pla nning for
a retreat to review, with the suppo rt of all
UNE Ps Divisions, the status of current
and future activities.
Mr. Kakakhel informed the meeting of the
project proposal that has since received
support from donor governments to assist
the African negotiators to come togethe r and
highl ight the c r i t ica l issues under
considera tion d uring any o f the forthcoming
COPs. Mr. Kakakh el added t hat it remai ned
the prerogat ive of each government ,
however , to a r t icula te the ir na t ional
positions afte r receiving suc h an opportunity
to consult with other players within theregion.
The Director of the Division ofRegional Co-
operation, UNE P, Ms. Cristina B oelcke
indicated that UNE P is finding positive
support to convene these consultative
processes and the cooperation with
Conventions S ecretariats is encouraging.
E fforts are being made to this end and
particularly within the framework of the
preparatory process for the World Summit on
Sustainable Development to be held in 2002
in South Africa. Ms. Boelcke and Mr. Tour
informed the meeting that efforts will continueto be made to improve the participation of
Africa a t all environment related fora .
Mr. Ahmed Djoghlaf, the E xecutive
Coordina tor of UNE P/G E F informed the
meeting of the role that UN EP/GE F is playing
in Africa, particularly in supporting land
degradation/desertification activities within
the L and and Water Initiative. He informed
the meeting that close to two-thirds of UNEP/
GE F funding is allocated to implementing
projects in Africa, and particularly those
rela ted to land, water and biodiversity.
On the Preparations for the World Summit
on Sustainable Development to be held inS outh Africa in 2002, it is reported that
arrangements are unde rway to develop the
Africa report and the Africa common
posi tion . Consultations were planned for
sub-regional meetings leading to a High
Level meeting of Ministers before the end
of the year. A proposal to hold the High
level s egment was made for October 2001.
Several donors had made commitments for
funding.
A brief report on the AMCEN Meeting held
in New York earlier in the year was given.
The main i ssues of discuss ion there were: a)gender and subregional balance in the
recruitment ofR OA staff, b) financial status
of the AMCEN Trust Fund and c) Africas
response to the US position on the Kyoto
Protocol under the UNFCCC.
United Nations Headquarters in Nairobi
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2002 WORLD SUMMIT
Africas Preparatory Processfor the2002 World Summit
on Sustainable Development
launched in Dakar
Ten years after R io, the General
Assembly of the United Nations hasdecided to hold an Earth Summit in
South Africa in 2002 . In the course of the
preparations for this Summit, Africa haslaunched its o wn process.
The main challenge of the 2002 Earth Summit
is to organize an effective and efficient
preparatory event of high political profile and
visibility. High quality and timely preparationwill be essential to the success of the 2002
event. E ffective preparation should start from
a clear set of ideas about the goals and
substantive focus of the 2002 Earth Summit
as well as the prepa ratory process.
It should also be noted that the United Nations
Conference on E nvironment andDevelopment was convened in order to
discuss the central problems that every nationand community faces, i.e., how to cater for
human needs and how to improve the quality
of life of the millions who endure poverty and
face un certainty. Ge ne ral Assembly
resolution 44/228 of 22 December 1989,which convened the United Nat ions
Conference on E nvironment and
Development in 1992, emphasized that the
Conference had to embrace both the
environmental interests of developedcountries and the developmen tal inte rests of
developing countries, and build an effective
br idge between the two . These
conside ration s should, inter-alia, inform and
inspire the ten-year review process in Africa.
It is against this background that the following
key steps have been/are being undertaken for
Africas Preparatory Process for the 2002Summit.
A high-level stakeholders meeting onsustainable development was held at the
United Nations Conference Centre in Addis
Ababa, from 17 to 19 January 2000. Themeeting was convened to set up a preparatory
process for the 2002 Earth S ummit and the
modalities and means to organize Africas
preparations for the S ummit. The Addis
Ababa meeting was attended byrepre sen tatives of OAU, E CA, UNE P, the
African Centre for Meteorological
Applications to Development, the African
Centre of Technology S tudies, the Regional
Trai ning Centre for Agrom eteorology and
Operational Hydrology and their Application ,AMU, Permanent Inter-state Committee on
Drought Control in the Sahel, COME SA, Earth
Council, Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations, IGAD, InternationalCouncil for Local Environmental Initiatives,
L ake Chad B asin Commission, L udewa
Development F oundation, Network for
Environment and Sustainable Development
in Africa, and SADC.
In order to facilitate a broad consultative
process, an ad hoc high-level stakeholders
meeting established the African Forum for the
2002 Earth Summit (which is open-ended,with its thirty members drawn from
representatives of regional economic
integration organizations, civil society, non-
governmental organizations and othe r major
groups for each of the five African sub-
regions). Also, a supporting Expanded Joint
S ecretariat was established to guide,
spearhead and support the overall preparatory
process in the region .
The first meeting of the Expanded J oint
Secretariat of the African Forum was held atthe Headq uarters of the African Development
B ank, Abidjan, Cote dIvoire, 19-21 June2000. The members of the Secretaria t that
participated in it were ADB , AMU, COME SA,
E CCAS , IGAD, OAU, E COWAS , S ADC,
UNE CA and UNE P the sub-regional and
regional preparatory mee tings; mod ality andschedule for the national assessment; resource
mobiliza tion strategy. The meeting, on the
above-mentioned basis, drew up a work plan,
which was to be implemented subject to the
availability of resources.
It is against this background that the Expanded
J oint S ecretariat resolved to convene its
Second Meeting, in Dakar, Senegal, from 12-
13 March 2001. The UNDP Capacity 21graciously agreed to host the meeting and to
additionally cover the costs of several
participants as well as the key resource
person.
The 2002 WS S D was launched and the
meeting chaired by His E xcellency the
President of the Republic ofSenegal, Maitre
Abdoulaye Wade , who was a member of the
Senegalese Delegation to the 1992 R io EarthSummit.
An update of the Preparatory Process was
given by Mr. Ousmane Laye of the UNECA.
Ms. Ndey Isatou Njie of UNDP Capacity 21informed the meeting that UNDP was
assisting 25 African countries in carrying out
their national preparatory processes.
R esources had yet to be raised for the
rem aining 28. Planning for the nationalassessments as well as the guidelines to be
followed were agreed upon.
Each of the sub-regional organizations (AMU,E COWAS/CIL S S , ECCAS , COME SA/IGADand SADC) will lead the process in their
respective sub-regions, and will work closely
with OAU, UNECA, UNEP, UNDP and ADB
in carrying out the assessments. Draft Terms
of R eference were prepared. E ach sub-regional organization wou ld hire a con sultant
to coordinate the prepara tory proce sses, and
the preparation and finalization of the sub-
regional reports in particular; in con sultation
with the Expanded Joint S ecretariat. A leadconsultant, to be located in UNEP/R OA,
would be hired to coordinate the exercise.
Other issues discussed during this meeting
were : R esource Mobilization,Documentation, the Structure of the African
Common Position and Communication.
Mr. Sekou Tour, Direc tor o f UNEP Regio nalOffice for Africa ( ROA) greet ingMr. Abdoulaye Wade, President of Senegal
8/9/2019 Regional Office for Africa Newsletter, June 2001 ~ United Nations Environment Programme
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Global 500 Award
NE P has a number of Awards that
are issued each yea r to indi viduals
and organ izations that demonstrateUa high level of environmental stewardship
towards sustainable development . One of
these Awards, the Global 500 Roll of Hon our
was launched in 1987. This Award is granted
to individuals (Adults and Youths) and
organizati ons for outstanding achievement
in th e protection of the en vironment. TheGlobal Award has grown over the years and
attracted significant internat ional public and
political appeal. S ince its inception 634
individuals and organizations have been
honoured under the adult category.
O ut of the twe lve finalists for the 2001
Globa l 500 Awards unde r the Adult
Category, ROA is pleased to announce that
Dr. Frederick Gikandi of K enya has been
selected. Dr. Gikandi has demonstrated
beyond dou bt through his activities in a land
reclamation project that he is a worthy
candidate for the Award. For the past 13years has, on a volunteer basis, and at a
personal cost of U S $200,000, he has
undertaken activities to reclaim a large and
neglected quarry in K enyas coastal city,
Mombasa. This has saved the surrounding
urban neighbourhoods from the effects of
air pollution from decomposing refuse that
the municipality intended to dump there.
The Indian Oceans coastal and marine
ecosystems wou ld have been p olluted . With
no training in the field of the environment
and sometimes against great odds, Dr.
Gikandi has rehabilitated the quarry byplanting trees and raising environmental
ENVIRONMENTAL AWARDSSteps and Timeframe for Regional
Preparatory Meetings
A UN/ DE SA Africa Round Table ofE minent Persons was held in Cairo
from 25 -27 J une, 2001
____________________________________
Meeting of the Southern African
Region
Date : 3-5 S eptember 200 1
Venue : Ga borone
Lead Institution : SADC
____________________________________
Meeting of the North African
Region
Date : 5-7 September 2001
Venue : Tunis
Lead Institution : AMU
____________________________________
Meeting of the E astern AfricanRegion
Date : 10-12 September 2001
Venue : Djibout i
Lead Institution : IGAD____________________________________
Meeti ng of the Central African
Region
Date : 17-19 September 2001
Venue : L ibreville
Lead Institution : ECCAS
____________________________________
Meeti ng of the West African
Region
Date : 24-26 September 2001
Venue : Abuja
Lead Institution : ECOWAS
____________________________________
High L evel Preparatory Meeting
Date : 15-18 October 2001
Venue : To be advised
Convenor : The Expanded J ointS ecretariat
____________________________________
awareness through a campaign. Ten
different tribesmen have replicated their
home there and it is now an eco-cultural
tourist village nam ed Ngomo ngo. It is
serving as a model for other urban and non-
urban communities, which are affected by
degraded lands.
His work will hopefully be replicated in
many parts of the world to improve the livesof many pe ople.
Under the Global 500 Youth category,
established following the R io Earth Summit,
two organizations have been n omina ted out
of the six finalists and these a re:
1) E vergreen Club of Ghana
F ounded in 1987, as a voluntary
childrens club whos e aim is to beautify
school compounds, E COG is now a
national NGO working with youth
groups and children for environmentalprotec t ion. E COG has been and
contin ues to be involved in a myriad of
activities related to the environment.
ECOG was involved in the preparation
of Ghanas environme ntal plan of action
(1991 and 1994), and organ ized the first
National youth and ChildrensF orum on
E nvironment for the E arth S ummit
(1992). They ha ve been involved in
forest issues and projects and
participated in the Africa R egional
Meeting of the World Commission on
Forests and
Sustainable Development inCameroon and the Youth Forum at the
Dr. Frederick Gikandi Tour ists visit N gomongo Vil lage
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ENVIRONMENTAL AWARDS
International Conference on Climate
Change in The Hague. The organization
also publ ishes Evergreen N ew s, a
newsle t te r on environment and
sustainable development. ECOG won
the National Forestry Week competition
in 1996.
2) K hohlooa Matholoana and L ik o boHerdboys ofL esotho
These are a group of herders in village
communi ties in Thupa-Kubu District of
Lesotho . Their involvement in natural
resource management has come about
as a result of their concern over the
limited supply of forage in grazing
areas in their villages, which has
resulted in poo r livestock yields. They
have carr ied out soi l and waterconservation measures, they keep bees
for honey, they have prepared 7,000
holes to plant trees for fuelwood and
shade, and, to-date, have managed to
plant 1 ,300 seedlings. They bui lt a dam
to water their livestock and for irrigation.
They motivated he rders from 21 villages
to do the same and this has brought
about a togetherne ss that was lacking in
the past; reducing trespassing on pasture-
land, q uarrels over co mmunal grazing
areas, and the burning of village grazing
spaces.
These two organizations have
championed the cause of environmental
protection at national level and thus
deserve the recognitio n of UNEP.
It is the vision of R O A th at Africa
continues to promote the work of UNE P
by supp orting and recognizing efforts by
individuals and organizations towards
sustainable development.
ROA wishes to take this opportunity to
congratulate all the winners of theGlobal 500 Award worldwide and
especially the th ree recipients for 20 01
from Africa.
Reclaiming the quarry
The lush veget ation now growing on t he sit e
LAYING THE F OUNDATIONF OR S USTAINABLE AFRICAN DE VE L OPMENT IN THE 2 1ST CENTUR Y
The choice of Support t o Africa as an area of concentration by UNEP is buil t on an apprec iation of the natural po tential of
the continent, the challenges and opportunities w hich its development process presents and the foundation of p artnerships.
UNEP has focused on the ov erall environmental policy conte xt and empow ered the African governments, the business sector
and grassroots communities to participate in global multilateral negotiations to ensure that the African perspective is taken
into account. Regional and sub-regional dialogue on current and emerging environmental issues has been encouraged. This
has lead to a substantive increase of UNEP projects in Africa and an ongoing reorganization of the Regional Office for Africa.A new senior liaison post has been es tablished in Addis Ababa to liaise with the O rganization of African Unity and the
Eco nomic Comm ission for Africa.
From UNEP Annual Report 2000
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CONNECT WITH THE WO RLD WEB OF LIFE
World Environment Day
orld Environment Day (WED) was
established by the United Nations
General Assembly in 19 72 t o markWthe opening of the S tockholm Conference
on the Human E nvironment. Considered by
many to be the most important event on th e
environmental calenda r, WE D is celebrated
every year on 5 J une in more than 100
countries around the world. It is one of the
principal vehicles through which the United
Nations stimulates worldwid e awareness o f
the environment and enhances politicalattention and action.
WE D is a peoples event with colorful
activities such as street rallies, bicycle
parad es, green conce rts, essays and poster
competitions in schools, tree planting, as
well as recycling and clean-up campaigns.
WE D is also a multi-media event which
inspires tho usands of journalists to write and
report enthusiastically and critically on the
environment. It is a visual event with
television documentaries, photo exhibits,
disp lays and even t websi tes, as well as an
intellectual event for those who organize
and participate in seminars, roundtable
meetings and symposia.
Each yea r, UN EP, selects a ci ty as the main
venue for the international celebrations. This
year, for the first time, this special event took
place in two cities, namely Torino, Italy and
Havana, Cuba. In addition there were
significant links to Hue, Vietnam and
Nairobi, K enya. This year s them e, Connect
with the World Wide Web ofL ife, reflectedthe need to make the connect ion, in
whatever way we can, between ourselves
and al l life on Earth. The four cities all linked
their local activities, using both modern
technology and traditional means.
ROA is also working with the World Space
F ounda t ion and hopes to ea se
communication amongst countries in theregion especially for events such as W ED.
A simple receiver, plus a PC adapter, enables
users to download websites via radio in
remote areas where telephone connections
may be unavailable or problematic. As an
Outfitmade from
scratch cards of
mobile ph ones
by
Garan de Mobidr
The MC for the
Plastic Fantastic
wears a coat
made fromold
denimby
Penny Winter
Bustiermade
frominner tub es
of tyres by
Penny Winter
Kenyasmodel to
the M -Ne t Face
of Africa we aring
a dressmade of
plastic bags byKiko Romeo
Water hyacinth
harvesters
in action
8/9/2019 Regional Office for Africa Newsletter, June 2001 ~ United Nations Environment Programme
9/129
CONNECT WITH THE WORLD WEB OF LIFE
affordable alternative to conventional dial-
up Internet acce ss, this offers great potential
for more effectively disseminating
information i n the African region.
As part of the global celebrations to mark
WE D, UNEPs R egional Office for Africa
(R OA) launched a vigorous community-
based, multi-media campaign to raise public
awareness within the African Region. Most
countries in the region planned and ca rried
out their own national activities andcelebrations. A particular focus however was
on Nairobi, as it was not only one of the
four cities worldwide in which special
celeb rations took place b ut also ho sted the
national event. The media response was
highly encouraging with the event being
prominently featured on bot h the local and
internation al media.
During the week long series of activities to
mark WE D, some ofK enyas top fashion
models, sporting outfits made from recycled
materials took to the ca twalk on the evening
of 4 J une 2001 at the Holiday Inn Hotel,
Nairobi. The main a im of the event entitled
PlasticFan tastic, was to raise awareness,
in a fun and provocative way, on theincome-generating potential for recycling
and reusing waste.
Activities in the city were carried out
throughout the week from 2 - 9 J une with
20 clean up sites involving thousands of
Nairobi residen ts. The main site o f the event
was the Sailing Club next to Nairobi Dam
where teams of participants competed to
remove water hyacinth from the dam. The
aim of this entertaining event was to show
the possibility of manual removal of the plant
as part of an integrated approach to
controlling the water hyacinth infestation. It
also demonstrated that it can be used for
income generating activities. Products, with
a market potential, were on display at the site.
During this week, Na irobians showed their
commitment to the environment and
connection with the World Wide Web of
L ife.
Skirtmade from
banana b ark by
Penny Winter
Trousersmade
fromsackcloth
by Kiko Romeo
Garmentmade
fromstraws and
plastic bags by
Aisha Kasonga
Cocktail dress
made fromsurgical gloves
by Alix Crouz e
Teams of
volunteers
compete t o
harvest wate r
hyacinth at the
Nairobi DamduringWorld
Environment Day
Week
8/9/2019 Regional Office for Africa Newsletter, June 2001 ~ United Nations Environment Programme
10/121 0
BIOGRAPHIES
ROA Staff Profiles
SE K OU TOUR DIR E CTOR
A national of Cte dlvoire, Mr. Sekou Tour
holds a Ph.D. in Civil E ngineering,
specializing in Environmental Engineering
from the University of New Hampshire,
Durham, NH in the USA. He brings abouttwenty years of professional, academic,
administrative p olitical exp erience to UN EP.
He has held several important positions in the
Government of Cte dlvoire. Among others
he was High Commissioner for Hydraulics,
Special Advisor to the State Minister in charge
of Development Planning and Special Advisor
to the Prime Minister. He has provided
extensive technical assistance to the
Government of Cte dIvoire on a wide range
of environmental issues, projects, training,
and on matters related to international
negotiations. Mr. Tour brings also several
years of research and tea ching experience in
the USA (University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati,
Ohio, University of New Hampshire,
Durham, NH) and in Cte dIvoire (Ecole
Nationale Suprieure des Travaux Publics,
now Institut Polytechn ique F lix Houphouet
Boigny, Y amoussoukro, Universit dAbobo
Adjam).
He has conducted several major
environmental related projects
(environmental action plan of Cte dIvoire,
climate change, waste management,hydraulics engineering, water resources),
made more than twenty scientific and
technical publications and is an editor of a
scientific journal and a book.
Mr. Tours international experience includes
contribution to the work of the IPCC, UNEP,
Habitat, the World B ank, the African
Development B ank, regional expertise
development and consultations for several
well established institutions. He is a Member
or Chairman of numerous organizations
involved in environmental management, has
chaired several important African and global
technical environmental gatherings. Mr. Tour
is well known for his advocay role in the
commun ity of NG0s in Africa. Among o thers,
he is the Chairman of the E xecutive
Committee of the B oard of Directors of the
His recent pursuits have included issues
related to lin kages b etween environmental
issues at the scientific level and how this
could inform the various Multilateral
E nvironmental Agreements in exploiting
ident i f ied synergies in the ir
implem entation at various le vels.
R UNGANO P.
K AR IMANZ IRA
AMCE N S E CR E TARY
R ungano K arimanzira is a Zimbabwean
N a t i o n a l w h o h o l d s B S c a n d M S c
degrees in Applied Mathem atics (UK ), a
post graduate Diploma in Meteorology
(Australia) and curren tly reading for an
MB A (University of Zimbabwe, 1999-2001). Ms. K arimanzira served under
the Gove rnment of Z imbabwes
Meteorological De partment from 1980 to
date and rose through the ranks to the
position of Director in November 2000.
Ms. K ar imanzira has served in many
international negotiations pertaining to
the protection of the environment. S he
was Zimba bwes principa l negotiator for
the Agenda 21 Climate Chapter during
the R io preparatory process towards the
E arth S ummit. In addition, she served as
Vice Chairman of the IPCC fro m 198 8 to1992 also serving as the co-chair of the
sub-group on F orestry, Agriculture and
Other Human Activities. S he organized
and hosted the IPCC E ighth S ession in
Harare. S he was elected to the B ureau
of the INC from its tenth session and
served as the rappo rteur of the CO P1 of
the UN F CCC. S he was the spec ia l
advisor to the President of the UNF CCC
during COP2 and the inter-sess ional
period (1996-1997).
Ms. K arimanzira has contributed to thebroader understanding of climate and its
impacts particularly in Africa. In that regard
she has contributed a lot through her
publications in many national, regional
and international bulletins.
F rom 1998-1999, she was appointed to
serve on the United Nat ions IDND R
S cientific and Tec hnic al Committee that
prepared th e future direction o f thi s process
beyond the decade (1989-1999) towards
sus ta inable management of na tura l
disasters for all nations.
Ms. K ar imanziras contr ibut ion and
advocacy in the area of environmental
protection has therefore been registered
at international, regional and national
levels.
Network for Environment and Sustainable
Development in Africa (NE SDA).
AL EXANDE R L ICHINAAL USADE PUTY DIR E CTOR
Mr. Alusa, a national of K enya, holds a
Bac helor ofScience degree in Mathematics
from O regon S tate University, USA and a n
MS c. degree in Atmospheric S c ience
(Cloud and Prec ipit ation Physics) from the
S tate University of New York in Albany,
N. Y ., USA.
He c omes to the Regional Office for Africa
from UNE Ps Division of E nvironmental
Conventions where he was Chief of theAtmosphere Unit responsible for
Atmosphere related Conventions - the
Montrea l Protocol , Cl imate and
Desertification Conventio ns. His work has
centred on Climate Impacts Assessment
an d R esponse S t ra tegies to reduce
vulnerability.
B efore joining UNEP in 1989, Mr. Alusa
had he ld sen ior pos i t ions in the
Government ofK enya, first as Director of
Meteorological Services, then as Deputy
Permanent S ecretary in the Ministries of
Transpor t and Communica t ions , and
E nvironment and Natural R esources. He
was for many years K eny a Gove rnments
principa l del egate to various organ s of the
World Meteorologica l Organiza t ion
(WMO) and was a member of the Executive
Counc il of WMO , Vice President of the
WMO Commiss ion for Atmospher ic
S ciences, and a member of the WMO
Working Group on Cloud Physics and
Weather Mod ifica tion . He has been
K enyas delegate to UNE P Governing
Council in the past.
Mr. Alusa has publis hed extensively in the
field of meteorology and e nvironment an d
received the WMO Research Award for
Young Scien tists in 19 78 for hi s paper titled
The R ole of Drop B r eakup in the
Deve lopment of R a indrop- S iz e
Distributions.
His international experience has included
representing UNEP in negotiations of the
Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee
for the Climate Convention, and later in
the various meetings of the S ubsidiary
B odies and Conferences of the Parties ofthe ratified Climate Convention, WMO
Congress and E xecutive Councils, and
Commission for Sustain able De velopment.
He has been UNE Ps Task Manager for
Chapte r 9 of Agenda 21 on Atmosphere.
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REGIONAL OFFICE FOR AFRICA
HAME D HAIDARAPROGRAMMEDE VE LOPME NT OFF ICE R
A national of Mauritania , Mr. Hamed Haidara
has recent ly joined the Regional O ffice on 1
February 2001, coming from UNEPs Division
of Regional Cooperation where he was in
charge of the Divisions coordination activities
in the Africa and West Asia Regions. Mr.
Haidaras assignment to ROA is in line with
the Executive Directors efforts to further
strengthen the office . He will be dealing with
programme and project development, follow-
up/reporting as well as contributing the
resource mobilization efforts for R O As
activities.
While working with UNEP from 1992 to
present, Mr. Haidara held several positions
dealing with technical cooperation, resource
mobilization, and programme coordination.
He has also previously worked with the United
Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS)
where he was in charge of the International
Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
projects in Rwanda, Burundi, Comoros and
Lesotho. Prior to working with UNEP, Mr.
Haidara worked for several years at the field
and senior levels on environmental
management - particularly forestry and
desertification control - with the Ministry of
E nvironment and R ural Development of
Mauritania. He is the past Chairman of the
Mauritania National Committee on the United
Nations Conference on Environment and
Development (UNCED) that prepared his
countrys report for the 1992 R io Summit.
Mr. Haidara holds a Master ofScience degree
in agricultural and resource economics with
additional training in forestry and
development studies.
J R MY BOUBI B AZY R E GIONAL NE TWORKCOORDINATOR ,
ODSONE T/ AF (OzoneOfficers Network for
Africa)
Mr. J rmy B oubi B azy a national of
B urkina- F aso holds a B S c degree in
Environmental Engineering from University of
Savoie (Chambry, France) and a MSc degree
in Environmental Engineering from University
ofJussieu (Paris7, France). He also acquired
a post-graduate certificate in Environmental
Management from the Internat ional Academ yfor the E nvironment (Geneva, Switzerland).
Mr. B azy joined UN E P OzonAction
Programme in 1996 and was posted to the
R eg iona l O ffice for Africa as a regional
coordinator for the ODS Officers Network for
the Africa region in 19 96 (ODSONET/AF ).
B efore joining UNE P Mr. B azy held the
position of Director of Pollution and Nuisance
Control in the Ministry ofEnvironment of
Burkina-Faso. He also held the function o f
ODS Officer for his country. He played an
active role in the development of a national
policy for pollution control and sanitation,
and was the national coordinator for
preparation of the Country Programme of
Burkina-Faso for the implementation of the
Montreal Protoc ol. Among other functions,
he was the secretary of the committee that
prepared the Environmental Code ofBurkina-
Faso (law).
Mr. Bazy was a key member of delegation
ofBurkina-Faso in th e negotiations prior andduring the Earth Summit (UNCED) held in R io
in 1992 and actively participated in the
preparation of the African Position on
sustainable development. He participated in
various meetings of parties to the Montreal
Protocol and represented the African
countries in the Implementation Committee
of the Protoc ol in 1994 and 1 995 .
His activities as Regional Network Coordinator
in UNEP include facilitating exchange of
experience among Ozone Officers in the Africa
region through the organization of regular
meetings of the network and other regionaland subregional workshops on the phase-out
of Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) and
also through the internet (E -forum for Ozone
Officers). He facilitates bilateral consultations
between O DS Officers and Implementing
Agencies of the Montreal Protocol (UN EP/
DTIE , UNDP, UNIDO and the World Bank).
On a daily basis, he assists in the
implementation of UN E P OzonAction
Programme in Africa and advises African
countries on the implementation of their
country programmes for ODS phase-out
under the Montreal Protocol.
VAL ER IE ANN FR ASE RL EAK E Y COOR DINATORNAIROBI R IVE R B ASINPROJ E CT
A native S cot, Valerie Ann F raser Leakey has
been a citizen ofK enya for the last thirty years.
In the early years she was involved in teach ing
and research in o ral tradition at the University
of Nairobi, set up a travel business with the
sole purpose of visiting other parts of Africa
and taught at a loca l school.
Later her work took her to Oldu vai Gorge near
Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania, to assist with a
project funded by the National Geographic
Society. After that she lived with her husband
in a remote part ofK enya, near Lake Natron,
where she helped to establish a ho rticultural
farm based on an ancient Sonjo irrigation
system. It was here tha t they brought up the ir
first daughter, born in 1974. Their other
daughters were born in 1978 and 19 83.
Over a period of time she was involved in
voluntary work with the schools and
communities in Lan gata, Nairob i. This wa s
to stand her in good stead for the work to
follow. A graduate ofEdinburgh University
with an MA in Psychology and Philosophy
and a teaching qualification from Moray
House College ofE ducation, Edinburgh,
Valerie Leakey combined her interest in the
community and environment with her
education training. This enabled her to work
in the following areas over a period of almost
ten years:- on the Public F orum on theE nvironment (O E D, UNE P); on training
workshops (R esearch and Training Division
UNCHS); on developing a programme for
the dissemination of environmental and
health materials (Environmental Education
and Training Unit, E ETU, UNEP); on initiating
and coordinating the Outreach Project with
Television Trust for the E nvironment (TVE ),
World Wildlife F und (WWF ), New York
University; and the Information and Public
Affa irs Division ( IPA, UNEP) fol lowed by an
interim period working in the same division
on World E nvironme nt Day (WED).
In the mid-nineties, a growing interest in micro-
enterprise led to the e stablishment of income-
generating projects advocating the eco-friendly
use of forest and wetland products training
many local artisans to establish their own
bu sinesses using natural African raw materials.
Valerie Leakeys current responsibilities as a
Programme Officer with the R egional Office
for Africa, UNE P focus on developing a
strategy and action plan whereby UN EP can
provide technical assistance to the
Government ofKen ya to support sustainablemanagement of the Nairobi R iver Basin. Areas
being tackled are pollution, waste
management, urban greening, communi ty
participation, public awareness and
legislation. She has been working on Phase
One of the Nairobi R iver Basin Project and
public awareness events, such as World
Environment Day and Clean up the World,
for the past two years. As coordinator of the
project for 200I-2, she is working on Phase
Two, involving a section of the Mtoine /Ngong
R iver and the Nairobi Dam. This will include
public awareness activities, education
programmes, dissemination of information,waste management projects, demonstration
of methodologies to address water pollution
and creating income -generating
opportunities in the informal urban
settlements a long that part of the river basin.
8/9/2019 Regional Office for Africa Newsletter, June 2001 ~ United Nations Environment Programme
12/12
THE NAIROBI DAM INITIATIVE
TheNairobi River Basin
Project
n February 2001, Phase II of the
Nairobi River Basin Project was
laun ched by UNEPs Regional Offic eI
for Africa under the Project Title of The Nairobi
Dam Initiative.
Phase I, which ended in 2000, included a
situation assessment demon strating alarming
levels of pollution throughout Nairobis
r ivers. This puts enormous stress on the
a qua t i c e c osys t e m s a nd ha s d i r e c timpl ication s for the health and wellbeing of
the residen ts of Nairobi as well as for all the
commun ities do wn stream of the Nairo bi and
Athi river basins to which this water system
flows.
The Gove rnment ofK enya , realizing the
magnitude of the problem facing it due
t o u n c o n t r o l l e d s e t t l e m e n t s w h i c h
continue to exist and expand along the
r i v e r s , t h e u n a b a t e d d u m p i n g o f
unwanted substances (liquid and solids)
into the rivers and the weakness in law
enforce ment agencies to curb the above,
has embarked on va r ious ou t reach
campa igning s t r a teg ie s to c rea te
awarene ss on environmenta l degrada tion
of the river b asin. At polic y level, K enya
has ena cted sectoral legislation inc luding
the adoption of the 199 9 E nvironmental
Management and Coordination Act.
U N E P, in turn, promo ted the N airobi
Initiative, started in April 1999 with the
a im of address ing problems such as
pol lut ion, waste management , urban
greening , communi ty pa r t i c ipa t ion ,public awareness and legislation. This
initiative evolved into the Nairobi R iver
B asin Project, focusing on the above
elem ents as they rela te to the m ain rivers
compr i s ing the Na i rob i R iver B asin
(Nairobi, Ngong/Motoine and Mathare
R ivers).
Phase I of the project involved not only a
situation assessment of pollution bu t also t he
development of community outreach and
education programmes to enable capacity
building amongst stakeholders. Sustainable
manageme nt of the ri ver basin was add ressed
through edu cation p rogrammes, de veloping
an Environmental Management InformationSystem (EMIS) and promoting awareness of
ava ilable legal mechanisms.
Specifically, the outputs of Ph ase I includ ed:
A database wi th socio-economic and
environmental information on the Nairobi
River Basin
Environmental Management Information
System (EMIS) fo r computerizedmapping
An alysis and assessment o f po llution levels
at 24 sampling po ints throu ghou t the river
basin
A review of p ollution co ntrol legislation
ident i fy ing pol icy gaps in relat ion to
sustainable management of the N airob i
rivers
A report on previous experiences from
commu nity activities in the riv er basin
Ou t r e a c h a n d e d u c a t i o n a i d s f o r
community ca pacity b uilding
Repor t s on s takeholder s workshop,
repo rting w orksho p, and edu cation and
training wo rksho p
Promotional p ackage includ ing b roch ures,
posters, new sletters, etc. as well as an
enhanced CD
Profile of a River photographic exhibition Wid e media coverage of the project ,
espe cially p ublicity even ts such as parades,
clean-u ps, spo rting even ts, competitions,
concerts, exhibitions
Work has now begun on Phase II of the
proj ect The Nairob i Dam Ini tiative. This
focuses on a section of the river basin
upstream of Nairobi Dam on the Motoine/
N g o n g R iver, the Dam itself, and
downstream to the confluence with the Athi
R iver. The aim of this phase is not only to
address the problem o f pollut ion in Nairobis
rivers but to put in place community
education and information programmes to
enable capaci ty bui lding amongst
stakeholders.
Six project components are proposed with the
main aims of showing the value of proper
sanitation and waste management practices,
demonstrating the utility of wetlands systems in
improving the quality of impacted water
systems, and promoting community
involvement in safeguarding and monitoring the
river basin as a vital resou rce.
The objectives of Phase II are, firstly, to
improve the health and wellbeing of the
residents of the Na irobi R iver Basin , and in
particular in the Motoine/Ngong R iver area,by increasing the avail ability and qualit y of
the water supply entering and emanating
from the Nairobi Dam to the communities
downstream. F urthermore, the value of
proper sanitation and waste management
prac t ices wil l be demonstra ted in a
community pilot project upstream of the
Nairobi Dam, while other demonstration
projects aim to show the potential of
artificially con structed w etlands for reusing
water and improvin g the quality of polluted
water systems. Promo ting commun ity
involvement and providing training in
safeguarding and monitoring the Nairobirivers as a vital resource remains key to th e
success of this phase.
Fundi ng for Phase II has been secured from
donor agencies including the GE F S mall
Grants Programme (UNDP), the B elgian
Government, the French Government and
other agencies. On the 11 and 12 of April
2001, representa t ives of the B e lgian
Government visited proposed project sites
with Valerie Leakey, the Project Coordinator.
The third and final phase of the Nairobi RiverBasin Project is scheduled to begin in 2003.
Replicating successful strategies identified
through the dem onstration an d pilot projects of
Phase II on a larger scale, this p ha se will cover
the entire river basin area and, it is hoped , inspire
similar p rojects throughout Africa an d the world .
Further information and details may be obtained
from the project website, www.unep.org/ROA/
Nairobi_River, or from the Regional Office for
Africa, U NEP.
UNEP, RegionalO
ffice for AfricaHYPERLINK h ttp ://www.unep.org http://www.unep.orgTel: 254 2 6 2 42 85 Fax: 254 2 62 39 28Email: HYPERLINK mailto :ROA.Information.Officer@ unep.org ROA.Information.Officer@ unep.org
A sect ion of the Nairobi River