Regional Office for Africa Newsletter, October 2002 ~ United Nations Environment Programme

8/9/2019 Regional Office for Africa Newsletter, October 2002 ~ United Nations Environment Programme

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

N 4 O c tob er 2002

C o n t e n t s

30 Years UNEP: Environment for Development: People Planet Prosperity

World Summit on SustainableDevelopment (WSSD)

taking into account the InternationalOrganisation for Standardisation (ISO)standards and the Global Reporting Initiativein which UNEP has been involved, he said.

Mr. Tpfer also welcomed world leadersendorsement of the NEPAD, the sustainabledevelopment initiative for Africa, and theirsupport to regenerate agriculture and fish-eries and t o implement food security strat-

egies on the Continent by 2005.

Today we have a new realism as a result of globalisation. So the action plan,agreed here in Johannesburg, is less visionary and more work-man like reflecting perhaps the feeling among many nations that they no longer want to promise the

Earth and fail. That they would rather step forward than run too fast,

At various moments during these negotiations we were facing a much weakerprospect for the environment and thus forsustainable development. I am satisfied thatwhat has been delivered is a st ep forward.While there will be disappointment thatnations failed to agree global time tablesand ta rgets for boosting the level of renew-able energy, it has been agreed that there

is a need for regional and national targetsfor renewable energy. We als o have a com-mitment to halve the number of people with-out access to sanitation.

Mr. Klaus Tpfer, who during the summithas been a special advisor to UN Secret ary-Genera l Kofi Annan, said one very posit iveoutcome was the new partnership betweengovernments, civil society, indust ry and theUnited Nations (UN) in areas such as cor-porate responsibility and environmentalstandards.

This mus t be welcomed. The developmentof a 10-year framework with programmesin support of sust ainable consumption andproduction patterns, based on science-based approaches and life cycle analysis,and has been agreed. We now also have aninitiative to encourage industry to improve

their social and environmental performance,

Mr. Klaus Tpfer, the executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme at the close of the World Summit on Sustainable development

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Focus: WSSD: The Executive Directors views Putting words into action Sustainable development for Africa

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Africa charts its development course inpartnership with UNEP

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AMCEN-9: The Kampala Declaration onthe Environment for Development

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Africa Environment Outlook: Briefpresentation

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NEPAD: Key preparatory process andsteps

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Environment in the structures of the AfricanUnion

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Industry : The Rotterdam Convention inAfrica

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Ozone: Phase out ODS in Africa: State of the art

Protection of the Ozone Layer throughSustainable Farming

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The Nairobi River Basin project: Fresh funds for cleaner and healthier

Nairobi Rivers An important milestone


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2 RO A N EW S ISSUE N O. 4

WSSD: Putting words into action

year 2015. The European Union had an-nounced the Water for Life initiative tha tsought to engage partners to meet waterand sanitat ion goals, pr imarily in Africa andCentral Asia. The US announced 970 mil-lion dollars in investments over the nextthree years on water and sani ta t ionprojects. The UN had received 21 otherwater and s anitation initiatives with at least20 million dollars in extra resources.

Agriculture

In this domain, the Global EnvironmentFacility would consider inclusion of theConvention to Combat desertification and

drought as a focal area for funding. Thesummit also pledged to develop food secu-rity st rategies in Africa by 2005. Besides,the heads of state and government took noteof the US initiative that consisted in invest-ing 90 million dollars in the promotion of asustainable agriculture by 2003. For thatpurpose, the UN received 17 partnershipsubmissions with a t leas t 2 million dollarsin additional resources.

Chemicals

Mr. Klaus Tpfer, the Execut ive Director of the United Nations Environment Pro-gramme said there had been important

Outlines the outcomes of the World Summit on Sustainable Development and the benefit for Africa

W S S D F o c u s

The World Summit on SustainableDevelopment, probably the largestUN conference ever, is over. This

Summit was about responsibility, as st atedby the UN Secretary Genera l in his addres s: Responsibility for each other, but espe-cially for the poor, the vulnerable and theoppressed Responsibility for our planet ,whose bounty is the very basis for humanwell-being and progress and most of all, re-sponsibility for the future, for our children,and their children.

More than 100 world leaders have deliber-ated for ten days on how to put words intoaction, ten years after Rio. At the conclu-sion of this groundbreaking gather ing, whatwould stand as the Johannesburg legacy tothe world and especially to Africa?

Despite controversial issues a nd the disap-pointment expressed by many among thecivil society that the summit did not pro-

duce an Action Plan that will provide a clearroad map for how to achieve sustainabledevelopment, a Political Declaration wasadopted. This Declaration is meant t o out-line world leaders commitments to sus tain-able development and the Plan of implementation of the WSSD. It sketchestheir vision of future of the planet and, inmany ways, is the guiding document for thesocial and economic development, and theprotection of the environment of the world

for the next decade.

World leaders and s takeholders in Johannes-burg made clear achievements on water andsanita tion, health, agriculture and biologicaldiversity, energy among all issues discussed.

Water and sanitation

The summit has moved the internationalcommunity to take action on an essentialelement in the fight to reduce poverty. Gov-

ernments have committed themselves tohalve the number of people without accessto clean water and proper sanitat ion by the

Poor or non-existent sanitation kills 6,000 people a day including many children

World leaders at WSSD accepted the need to boost renewable energy to combat climate change


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ROA N EW S ISSUE N O. 4 3

agreements in the area of chemicals. Gov-ernments have accepted the need for a new,internat ional, approach for the managementof chemicals and the harmonisation of la-belling and classification of chemicals,which will be operat ional by 2008. Govern-

ments also committed, by 2020, to produceand use chemicals in such a way that theydo not adversely affect human health. Theyalso agreed to step up internat ional co-op-eration in a bid to reduce the atmosphericpollution and facilitate developing coun-tries access to alternative chemicals notharmful to the environment and manshealth. Summit leaders also pledged to im-prove developing countries access to envi-ronmentally sound alternatives to ozonedepleting chemicals by 2010.

Health

The US said it would spend 2.3 billion dol-lars through 2003 on health, some of whichhad been earmarked earlier for the GlobalFund. The UN had received 16 partnershipsubmissions for health projects with 3 mil-lion dollars in resources.

Energy

The worlds nine major energy companies hadsigned a range of agreements with the UN tofacilitate technical co-operation for sustain-able projects in developing countries. TheEuropean Union has announced a 700-mil-lion dollar partnership initiative on energy,while the US promised to invest up to 43million dollars toward energy in 2003. TheSouth African energy utility Eskom said it

would engage in a partnership to extendmodern energy services to neighbouringcountries, while the UN received 32 partner-ship submissions for energy projects with atleast 26 million dollars in resources.

Biodiversity

Governments have decided to reverse thetrends of losses of biological diversity by2010 and reverse the t rend in terms of deg-

radation of natural resources. A decisionto cease destructive fishing practices re-store fisheries to their maximum sustain-

able yields by 2015 and establish marineprotected areas and networks by 2012, wasgood news said Mr. Tpfer. The conserva-tion of fishing resources in order to makethem benefit t he mankind was also part of the preoccupations of the conference. Someinitiatives were expected from 2004 to-

wards the setting up of a Global Plan of Action designed to protect the marine en-vironment from the terrestrial sources of pollution.

Mr. Tpfer also pointed to the action planfor small island states where governmentshave agreed to reduce and prevent wast e andpollution by undertaking, before 2004,initiatives aimed at implementing the GlobalPlan of Action for the Protection of theMarine Environment from Land BasedActivities (GPA).

Regarding trade , wealthy countriescommitted themselves to start negotiatingfairer trade and aid deals with developingcountries.

South African Pres ident Thabo Mbeki, hostof the World Summit urged the UN to de-

velop mechanisms t o quickly implement theSummits action plan. He said for Africa,issues agreed upon are matt ers of life and

death adding that, African leaders can-not be seen t o fail to implement what theyendorsed. Although African countrieslacked the resources to implement the pro-grammes as vigorously as they would wantto, partnership initiatives from the Summitwould be helpful on some issues.

The Africa Ministerial Conference organ-ised several important events including apanel discussion attended by MatreAbdoulaye Wade, Pres ident of Senegal andPresident Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed Tayaof Mauritania. A major Heads of State eventwas also organised on the African Processon the protection and management of Coastal and Marine Environment in SubSaharan Africa.

At the end of the day, the World Summit onSustainable Development can be considereda solid foundation for future actions to helpprotect the planet. I think we have achievedsuccess and I am satisfied with the results...The summit has put sustainable develop-ment firmly on the world agenda, said UNSecretary-General Kofi Annan. I t had laid asolid foundation for the future and it was

now up to governments and their citizensto ensure t hat t he commitments made wereput into action, he said.

W S S D F o c u s

UNEP launched a report predicting massive destruction of Great Ape habitats in Africa over the next 30 years


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Sustainable development for Africa

An important lesson of this Summit is the desire expressedby the international community to focus more on imple-mentation to achieve the goals of susta inable development.

Since the United Na-tions Conference onEnvironment andDevelopment, sus -tainable develop-

ment has remainedelusive for many Af-rican countries. Pov-erty remains a majorchallenge and mostcountries on the con-tinent have not ben-efited fully from theopportunities of globalisat ion, fur-ther exacerbatingthe continentsmarginalisation. Africas efforts to achieve sustainable devel-opment have been hindered by conflicts, insufficient invest-ment, limited market access opportunities and supply sideconstraints, unsustainable debt burdens, the impact of HIV/ AIDS etc.

The World Summit on Sustainable Development has decidedto reinvigorate the commitment of international community toaddress these special challenges and give effect to a new vi-

sion based on concrete actions for the implementation of Agenda 21 in Africa.

Chapter VIII of the Plan of Implementation adopted by the Sum-mit highlights the priority areas of focus for the continent. Theinternational community pledges its support to the full imple-mentation of NEPAD through financing, technical and institu-tional co-operat ion and human and institutional capacity buildingat the regional, sub-regional, and national levels, consistent withnational policies, programmes. It also pledges support to otherexisting development frameworks that are owned and driven na-

tionally by African countries and that embody poverty reduc tionstrategies.

The chapter called Sustainable Development for Africa also setsspecific targets. The Plan of Implementation calls for supportto African countries to regenerate agriculture and fisheries

and implement foodsecurity strat egies,within the context of national povertyeradication pro-grammes, by 2005. It

also calls to signifi-cantly improve sus-tainable agriculturalproductivity and foodsecurity in Africa inaccordance with theagreed MillenniumDevelopment Goals.

The Plan of Imple-mentation empha-sised the need to:

provide financial and technical support for Africas effortsto implement the Convention to Combat Desert ificat ion atthe nat ional level and promote bett er land and waters hedmanagement practices;

Mobilise financial and other support to develop andstrengthen health systems;

Deal effectively with natural disasters and conflicts, in-cluding their humanitarian and environmental impacts;

Promote integrated water resources development and ef-

fective management of water resources across all usesand the protection of water quality and aquatic ecosys-tems;

Achieve sound management of chemicals with particularfocus on hazardous chemicals and waste;

Bridge the digital divide and create digital opportunity interms of access infrastructure and technology transfer andapplication t hrough integrat ed initiatives for Africa;

Support Africas efforts to attain sustainable tourism thatcontributes to social, economic and infrastructuredevelopment.

Highlights the prospects for Africa in the light of The Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development

U N E P i n A f r i c a

Environmental degradation increases poverty. A healthy environment is vital for economic growth


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Africa charts its development courseIn partnership with UNEP

The new organisation is expected to achievegreater unity among African countries , ac-celerate political and socio-economic inte-gration of the region, formulate and promoteAfrican common positions on issues of in-teres t to the region and to the internationalcommunity. For the first time in the hist oryof Africa, a strong and more focused re-

gional political, social and economic inte-grat ion entity has been agreed upon. A clearvision and programme has emerged as cen-tral pieces to support and deliver what ismost needed for Africa, economic and so-cial development.

The leadership of the region is judiciouslytaking advantage of all the instrumentsavailable to achieve its goals . African coun-tries, with the involvement of all the

stakeholders a re tak ing concrete steps to-wards designing, directing and implement-ing their policies and programmesconsistent with their needs and circum-stances. While developing NEPAD, consult-ing amongst themselves for theest ablishment of the AU and mobilising theinterna tional communitys support, they are

wisely integrating important iss ues s uch asenvironment in the constitutional dispen-sat ion. They are also seeking technical ex-pertise available in the appropriateinstitutions to address these critical issues .

UNEP has secured a leading role in thepreparation of the NEPAD documentsadopted at the Lusaka Summit and providedlogistical, technical and financial resourcesfor the full development of the environmen-

Africa is at an importan t turning point,marked by many encouraging trendsand developments. The constitut ion act of the African Union has come into force inDurban-South Africa, paving the way for thetransition to the African Union. The launch-ing of the New Partners hip for Africas De-velopment (NEPAD) reinforces Africas

resolution to chart its development course.

The decision by the Heads of State t o makethe New Partnership for Africas Develop-ment a programme of the African Unionopen a new era in the development processof the continent. This would ensure theirownership of the programme as an impor-tant ingredient, which st imulates commit-ment, inspires confidence and enhances theprospects of active implementation.

Projects the role of UNEP in the context of new and emerging initiatives in Africa (African Union,

NEPAD and the post-WSSD)


From left to r ight: Mr. Skou Tour, Director, UNEP/ ROA ; Mrs Messeret Tilaye, Embassy of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia; Mr. Klaus Tpfer, Executive Driector, UNEP; H.E. Ambassador Murad Mussa, Permanent Representative of Ethiopia at UNEP; Mrs Beverly Miller, Secretar y, Governing Council, UNEP; and Mr Alex Alusa, Deputy Director, UNEP/ ROA.


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tal initiative, endorsed by the African Min-isterial Conference on the Environment

(AMCEN), at its 9th

Session held in Kam-pala from 1-5 2002.

N ew stra tegic direction for UN EPin Africa

The confluence of African leadership, thestrong expression of support by the inter-national community (EU, G8-June 2002 inKananas kis, Canada) and the commitmentof the United Nations provides fresh mo-

mentum for Africas development. There isindeed an opportunity to be seized by allstakeholders. The new context requires anew orientation. How does the United Na-tions Environment Programme (UNEP) po-sition itself in this line?

The launch of the African Union, the worldwide recognition of the NEPAD as a soundframework for the development of Africaand the outcomes of the 9the Session of

AMCEN must be valued and integrated inthe strategies of UNEP.

Africa has enjoyed substantive support fromUNEP in the past. This preference for the

Region has been translated into the articu-lation of major programmes as well as aspecial at tention by the Executive Directorin fundraising for act ivities in Africa. In thecontext of the several ongoing initiativesin the continent, UNEP has engaged itself in ensuring that it continues to play a sig-nificant role in the region in line with itsmandate, particularly in response to itsgoverning council which has chosen Africato be one of the pr iority focus of its act ions.

Partnership at political level

Considering the new developments at thepolitical level, UNEP must and will continueto devote energy and resources to provid-ing the best available service.

On a short term, UNEP will continue to sup-port the NEPAD by ensuring that the envi-ronment initiative is completed and, later,

implemented. Our immediate activity istherefore to facilitate the harmonisation of

the ongoing processes to finalise the ActionPlan of the NEPAD, within the framework agreed by the Steering Committee, namelythe holding of the thematic workshops andremaining sub-regional consultat ions.

On the medium and long term, UNEP willremain engaged in the implementation of the NEPAD through facilitat ing the integra-tion of the priorities identified by the envi-ronment initiative of the NEPAD andAMCEN into the intervention focus of in-st itutions and organisations working in Af-rica. UNEP will continue soliciting supportfor these priorities from multilateral as wellas bilateral part ners . One of the focuses willbe to facilitate t he harmonisation of the Ac-tion Plan of the NEPAD and the AMCENpriority programme to bring coherence inthe work in the region.

In addit ion, UNEP must look into modalitiesof assisting the work of relevant Commit-tees of the African Union, particularly the


UNEP contributes in raising awareness on current and emerging environmental issues in Africa


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Committee on Indus try, Science and Technology, Energy, Natura lResources and Environment as t his committee will be taking onsignificant role on matters of environmental policy formulationand implementa tion in Africa. In t his regard, UNEP could providerelevant environmental information, early warning of emergingenvironmental problems and facilitate the exchange of informa-

tion between countries in the region.

The launch of the African Union and the NEPAD also occur in acontext where there is general agreement on the need for increasedrole of sub-regional economic communities. The first Summit of the African Union in Durban articulated the importance of sub-regional and regional integration and the decision of Heads of sta te t o make the s ub-regional economic communities the ess en-tial t ool for the implementat ion of the vision of the African Unionand the NEPAD.

UNEP has collaborated with the sub-regional economic communi-ties in t he past . In t he development and implementation of theseprogrammes, special effort should be made to collaborate withinstitut ions such as the African Development Bank, the World Bank


and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. UNEPshould build on the previous collaboration and engage these insti-tutions more. Specific agreements could lead to joint program-ming of activities.

At program ma tic level

The new and emerging initiatives in Africa encompass, to someextent, existing issues , though with new emphasis, which UNEPwill continue to address. In this regard, UNEP has to continueplaying an important role in the r egion, encouraging nations andtheir citizen to co-operate in caring for the environment and achiev-ing their development goals without compromising the ability of future genera tions t o achieve t heirs. This implies tha t UNEP, atthe programmatic level, should reposition itself, and take a two-pronged approach in handling the act ivities and iss ues of a spe-cial importance to Africa: Ensure that Africas priorities are wellformulated and improve the delivery of its programme of work.

UNEP will carry out its African Programme in a different polit icaland economic environment. Therefore, the strategy will have a

component that ensures that UNEPs activities a re in t he line withpriorities of the continent as it is being transformed by the newinitiatives coming out a of a change in political and economicdirection. These new developments offer a range of opportunitiesfor UNEP to consolidate its presence and role in Africa. The newstrategy will foster stronger collaboration with institutions forregional integration. This st rategy will even be more critical, inthe post WSSD era. UNEP will have to as sess its role in all theseinitiatives and catalyse specific activities. The Regional Officefor Africa will drive UNEPs effort to facilita te the achievement of these objectives by strengthening links with governments and

regional political groupings, est ablishing stronger t ies with sub-regional economic communities and reinforcing the environmentpillar of sust ainable development.

UNEP is developing rainwater harvesting systems for women in developing countries

UNEP is partner in the International Coral Reef Action Network. It aims to boost the health of reefs in East Africa and globally


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A New Strategic vision for AMCEN

lenges of the first Africa Environment Out-look report launched on 4 July 2002,

Noting also with satisfaction the positiverole played by regional, sub-regional andnational bodies in promoting sus tainable de-velopment in Africa, part icularly during the

consultative process in preparat ion for theWorld Summit on Sustainable Development,

Further noting the role played by interna-tional organisations, non-governmental or-ganisat ions, the private sector and financialdevelopment institut ions in promoting sus -tainable development in Africa,

Bearing in mind the fact that success inachieving global sustainable development

will ultimately depend upon developmentand implementation of sound and cost-ef-fective national response policies and meas-ures, good environmental governance,effective participation by civil society andcollection and exchange of quality data a ndinformation on the environment for use bynational decision makers ,

Noting with concern that there are limitedfinancial r esources to implement fully theprogramme of work of the African Minist e-

rial Conference on the Environment for2000-2004,

Noting also the lack of adequate capacityfor the African countries t o implement mul-tilateral environmental agreements rel-evant to Africa particularly the Africanannex of the United Nations Convention toCombat Desertification in those countriesExperiencing Serious Drought and/orDesertification, particularly in Africa,

Recalling the United Nations MillenniumDeclarat ion adopted on 18 September 2000in which the international community com-mitted itself to supporting Africa in achiev-ing sustainable development andenvironmental protection,

Recalling also the commitments made bythe international community in Doha, in

December 2001, and at the United NationsConference on Finance and Developmentheld in Monterrey in March 2002,

Recalling also the commitments made atthe G8 summit held in Kananaskis , Canada,in June 2002, aimed at supporting the NewPartnership for Africas Development,

Noting that the World Summit on Sustain-able Development will be held in Africa, pro-

viding a unique opportunity to forge a newpartner ship between Africa and its part ners,based on Chapter 8 of the Johannesburg Planof Action on New Partnership for AfricasDevelopment as well as t he shared vision tomake the World Summit on Sus tainable De-velopment a summit of implementat ion andconcrete action, particularly in the areas of water and sanitat ion; energy; agriculture andfood secur ity; land development; biodiversityand education,

KAMPALA DECLARATION ON THE ENVIRONMENT FOR DEVELOPMENT

Deeply concerned that Africa is the onlycontinent in the world where poverty is pro-

jected to rise during the twenty-first cen-tury with far-reaching implications for itsenvironment and African people due to thevulnerability of the continent, in par ticularthe leas t developed countries, to global en-vironmental changes including climatechange and desertification,

Deeply concerned also about the increas-ing environmental thr eats facing the Afri-can continent and their adverse social,cultural and economic impacts,

Noting with concern the increasing numberand frequency of emergency and crisis s itu-ations in African countries, particularly incountries which continue to be devastatedby natural disasters such as volcanic erup-tions and extreme weather phenomena such

as floods and droughts, threatening economicand food security and political stability,

Welcoming the establishment of the Afri-can Union,

Welcoming the adoption in 2001 of the NewPartnership for Africas Development as acommon African vision and agreed plat formto address the challenges facing Africa witha view to achieving sustainable develop-

ment for the benefit of present and futuregenerations,

Noting with satisfaction the significantprogress that the African Minister ial Con-ference on the Environment has achievedsince its inception in 1985 as the politicalbody for environmental advocacy and lead-ership in the r egion,

Acknowledging the contribution towardsaddressing African environmental chal-

A M C E N - 9

Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, Minister for Water, Land and Environment, Uganda, President of AMCEN


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Emphasising the inextricable linkages be-tween environmental management, povertyeradication and development.

Emphasising a lso that an integrated, demo-cratic institutional framework at the local,

national, regional and internat ional level isessential for achieving sustainable devel-opment,

We, the African Ministers of Environment,having met in Kampala on 4 and 5 July 2002,at t he ninth s ession of the African Ministe-rial Conference on the Environment, guidedby:

(a) The st rat egic vision of Mr. YoweriKaguta Museveni, President of the Re-public of Uganda, on the environmentalchallenges facing Africa and, in part icu-lar, on issues related to poverty eradi-cation and its relation to trade, energyand water presented on 4 July 2002 atthe opening of the meeting;

(b) The vision of Mr. Abdoulaye Wade,President of the Republic of Senegal,

as outlined in his address to the meet-ing on 5 July 2002 on the contributionof the environment to the achievementof the objectives of the New Partnershipfor Africas Development, submitted inhis capacity as t he designated Head of State co-ordinating the environmentcomponent of NEPAD

Hereby decide:

1. To fully implement the outstanding ac-tivities contained in the African Minister ialConference on the Environment programmeof work, 2000 2004;

2. To urge Governments to take the ac-tion necessary to ensure that the GeneralTrus t Fund for the African Ministerial Con-ference on the Environment is replenishedwithin the inter-sessional period and re-quest the P resident of the African Ministe-rial Conference on the Environment tomobilise additional financial resources from

bilateral and multilateral institutions in-cluding the Global Environment Facility;

3. To welcome the expected decision of the second Global Environment Facility As-sembly to designate land degradation anddesertification as separate focal areas andcalls upon the Global Environment Facility

to give high priority to African count ries inallocating financial resources for success-ful implementation of the action plan tocombat desert ification;

4. To call upon the P resident of the Afri-can Minister ial Conference on the Environ-ment in close consultation with all therelevant ministries to convene an urgent re-gional meeting of the Conference with theparticipation of the business sector, civil

society, non-governmental organisationsand the international community with aview to forging strategic partnerships forpreparation and implementation of policiesand programmes of the African MinisterialConference on the Environment;

5. To call upon the Pres ident of the Afri-can Minister ial Conference on the Environ-ment as a matter of urgency, to forgeco-operative links with the secretariat of thefuture African Union and its relevant com-missions as well as the secretariat of the

New Partners hip for Africas Development,with a view to harmonising institutionalarrangements taking into account the out-come of the African Union summit held inDurban in July 2002;

6. To commit our governments to the im-plementat ion of multilateral environmental

agreements, including the harmonisation of policies and institutional arrangements inaccordance with the outcome of the inter-governmental environmental governanceprocess, as adopted at the special sessionof the Governing Council of the United Na-tions Environment Programme, held inCartagena in February 2002;

7. To commit ourselves to make every ef-fort to integrate environmental concerns

into nat ional pursuits of economic develop-ment in Africa, while not neglecting thepriorities of the continent for sustainablesocial, economic and human development,particularly for the benefit of poor andmarginalised communities;

8. To strengthen co-operat ion with all re-gional and sub-regional bodies, includingexternal partners, in the pursuit of sust ain-able human, social and economic develop-ment in harmony with the environment;

A M C E N - 9

2002 is the International Year of Eco Tourism. The Tourist Industry in A frica relies heavily on healthy populations of charismatic creatures like rhino


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1 0 RO A N EW S ISSUE N O. 4

9. To transmit to the African Union the decision taken by theAfrican Ministerial Conference on the Environment at its ninthses sion on the revised Algiers Convention as contained in decision5 of Annex I to the declaration;

10. To endorse the Framework of the Action Plan for the Envi-

ronmental Initiative of the New Partnership for Africas Develop-ment including its annex on capacity-building and the relateddecision as contained in annex I to the declara tion;

11. To request that the action plan of the environmental initia-tive of the New Partnership for Africas Development define for-est ecosystems as one of the major areas of intervention and toinclude an operational framework for harnessing data, informa-tion and knowledge for sus tainable development as a basis of na-tional, sub-regional and regional integrated environmentalassessment and reporting;

12 . To endorse the Africa Environment Outlook process as a moni-toring and reporting t ool for sus tainable environmental manage-ment and to provide a framework for national and sub-regionalintegrated environmental assessment and reporting;

13. To endorse the proposal for the establishment of a compre-hensive environmenta l information network to promote access andharmonisation of data in the African region and act as a basis for

tracking environmental changes using quantita tive indicators fo-cusing on national needs;

14. To endorse also the common African position on the WorldSummit on Sustainable Development as adopted by the ministe-rial preparat ory conference held in October 2001 in Nairobi, Kenya;

15. To endorse also the common African position on the WorldSummit on Sustainable Development including its appendix onelements t o guide negotiations a t t he World Summit on Sust ain-able Development as contained in decision 1 of the at tached an-nex I of the declarat ion;

16. To mandate the African repres entat ive of the Friends of theChair of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, underthe leadership of African Ministerial Conference on the Environ-ment, to further elaborate the common African position on the World

Summit on Sustainable Development and to make recommendat ionson the implementation of the Johannesburg Plan of Action of rel-evance to Africa, to the next meeting of the African Ministerial Con-ference on the Environment t hrough its bureau;

17. To urge all our Governments to attend the World Summit onSusta inable Development at the level of Heads of State;

18. To encourage African par tners to at tend t he World Summiton Susta inable Development at the level of Heads of States ;

19. To commit our Governments to the implementation of thedecisions adopted by the African Ministerial Conference on theEnvironment at its ninth session;

20. To mandate the President of the African Ministerial Confer-ence on the Environment to submit t he Kampala Declaration andits annexes to the summit of the African Union to be held in Dur-ban in July 2002;

21. To expres s our gratitude to Mr. Abdoulaye Wade, the Presidentof the Republic of Senegal, for attending the ninth meeting of the

African Ministerial Conference on the Environment as well as hisoffer to host an African conference on the selection of environmen-tal projects under the environmental component of the New Part-nership for Africas Development and take note of the proposal toestablish a secretariat for the implementation of the projects;

22. To pay tribute to t he Pres ident of Uganda, Mr. Yoweri KagutaMuseveni, his Government and the People of Uganda for the warmwelcome and the hospitality extended to participants of the ninthsession of the African Ministerial Conference on Environmentwhich greatly contributed to its success .

The complete report of the 9th

Session of AMCEN is available atwww.unep.org/roa Or africa.unep.net

A M C E N - 9

UNEP, wi th funding from Global Environment Facili ty (GEF), is building the technical and legal skills of countries in Africa in the field of genetically-modified crops.


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ROA N EW S ISSUE N O. 4 1 1

AFRICAENVIRONMENT

OUTLOOK

Africa is a top priority for UNEP. Along with the continents human capital, its rich and abundant biodiversityis of great importance, not only for Africans but also for theentire world.

However, Africa faces a number of critical challenges suchas the growing deterioration of the environment, increasingsocial and economic inequality in and among countries withits a ssociated impact on the environment, accelerat ing paceof economic globalisation and its environmental impact onAfrica; and rapid changes in the global economy, in technol-ogy, in consumption patterns and in population anddemographics and its environmental impact.

These challenges cannot be addressed in isolation, they re-quire new thinking and vision and an urgency to act in anintegrated manner amongst all st akeholders within Africa and

globally. This is the consensus of African experts and col-laborat ing institutions extensively consult ed in the AEO proc-ess.

Publishing the Africa Environment Outlook report is a sig-nificant milestone in collaboration between the United Na-tions Environment Programme (UNEP) and the AfricanMinisterial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN). TheAEO assess ment methodology is modelled on UNEPs GlobalEnvironment Outlook process incorporating s ound data, in-

formation and science, sub-regional, national and multi-stakeholder perspectives, priority emerging issues with ast rong orientation toward sust ainable development.

The AEO report provides det ails on the sta te of the environ-ment over the las t 30 years, the driving forces behind envi-ronmental change, and the consequences for social andeconomic development. These consequences are presentedboth in t erms of impacts on ecosystems, and vulnerability of human populations to floods, droughts, earthquakes, pests

and diseases . The links between environmental change andpoverty are explored and appropriate intervention is pointsidentified.

The report provides an analysis of the historical and currentresponses to environmental change and the impacts at theregional, sub-regional and national level, with assessmentof their effectiveness. Building on this analysis, a s eries of scenarios for the future are pres ented. These visualise alt er-native futures that could arise based upon potential deci-sions and actions by policy makers. Africa environmentOutlook concludes with recommendations on the most ap-propriate interventions for Africa.

The AEO report is therefore a very concrete tool for African

policy makers to look back and take stock of the pressing en-vironmental issues concerning the region since the StockholmConference of 1972 and to take action based upon current in-formation and sound science. The policy options presented bythe scenario analysis provide an opportunity to look aheadand address critical environmental, economic and social fac-tors that the region faces.

The Africa environment Outlook is available at www.unep.org/

aeo or africa.unep.net

A E O u t l o o k


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NEPAD: Key preparatory processes and stepsDescribes the road to the New Partnership for Africas Development and particularly the development of the Environment

Initiative of the NEPAD and UNEPs involvement throughout this process

Initially called the Millennium Partnership for the African Recovery Pro-gramme the initiative was launched by theleaders of three African countries, Presi-dent Mbeki of South Africa, PresidentObansanjo of Nigeria and PresidentBouteflika of Algeria. The aim of the pro-gramme is to launch Africa on the path of sust ainable peace and accelerated develop-ment at the beginning of the 21

stcentury.

At the same time, UNECA was mandatedby the Conference of African Ministers of Finance, in November 2000, to articulate anew global Compact with Africa. The Com-pact repres ents an important component of ECAs response t o the implement at ion of theMillennium Declaration, in particular thesection on Africa, adopted by the UN gen-eral Assembly at the Millennium Summit.Similarly, Matre Abdoulaye Wade, Presi-

dent of Senegal had submitted a plan calledOMEGA in January 2001, at the France Africa Summit held in Yaounde, Cameroon.The OMEGA plan for Africa had similar ob-

jectives with focus on the four following ar-eas: infrastructure, education, health andagriculture.

Formulation of the content of theN EPAD

It was in this context tha t an extraordinarymeeting of the OAU took place in Syrte,Libya in March 2001. The MAP and OMEGAplans were discussed and an agreement wasreached to merge these t wo initiatives. Tothis end, a Steering committee, comprisingAlgeria, Nigeria, Egypt, Senegal and SouthAfrica was esta blished. The aim was t o en-sure that Africa comes up with a single planto show the world that it is speaking withonly one voice.

Following the instruct ions of its ExecutiveDirector, UNEP committed itself from the

N E P A D

very beginning to contribute to the process.We part icipated in s everal meeting with theview to elaborate further on the initiative:

Joint Conference of Ministers of Financeand Ministers of Planning and EconomicDevelopment and an Intergovernmentaltechnical preparat ory committee of ex-perts from the Member States, held inAlgiers , Algeria, from 2 -10 May 2001;

Workshop on the Programme of Actionfor the Millennium Partnership for Af-rican Recovery Programme (MAP), or-ganised in Abuja, Nigeria, from 2 - 4June 2001;

Meeting of the Drafting committee inCape Town, South Africa on June 18,2001;

Meeting of the Drafting Committee inCairo Egypt, from 18 to 20 June 2001.

Africa has been losing 5.2 million hectares a year of forest cover, according to UNEPs Global Environment Outlook-3

A drylands project for Africa, which wipe conserve indigenous species and human knowledge has been drawn up with funding from the GEF


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UNEP participated in the meetings in Al-giers and Abuja. These consulta tions led tothe following achievements:

Agreement by ECA to support, as a tech-nical institution, the process;

Refinement and further development of both the OMEGA and the MAP. Themerger of the two initiatives wasachieved at t he last meeting of the Sec-ret ariat of the MAP and the OMEGA inCairo, from 18 t o 20 June 2001. Two ti-tles were suggested for the new Plan:New Partnership for African RecoveryProgramme and Millennium Partner-ship for African Recovery Programme.An executive summary of the plan wasprepared and a final meeting at the min-isterial level took place in Pretoria from2 to 3 July 2001, to adopt the draft tobe submitted to the Lusaka Summit;

The fina l execu t ive summary wasadopted at the OAU Summit in Lusakafrom 3 to 11 July 2001.

It is important t o note that UNEP was suc-cessful in ensuring the integration of a full

environment component in the MAP (at theAbuja meeting). The UNEP/GEF Co-ordina-tion Office submitted a proposal for GEFFunding. This was approved under the un-derstanding that this will be implementedwith the full support of AMCEN. Amongother outputs, the proposal will analyse thefeasibility of an inst itut ional mechanism forEnvironmental Protection in Africa.

Throughout this development, UNEP as the

Secretariat to t he African Ministerial Con-ference on the Environment (AMCEN) keptthe Ministers informed on this developmentthrough a number of meetings, including thefollowing:

Inter-sessional meeting of AMCEN heldon 19 April in New York a t t he marginsof the CSD9;

Meeting of the bureau of AMCEN heldon 8 September 2001, in Algiers;

AMCEN Special Session during the Af-rican Regional Preparatory Conference

for the 2002 World Summit on Sustain-able Development, Nairobi, Kenya, 16October 2001;

Discussion on NEPAD during the GEFSouthern African Const ituency Meetingon 19 November 20001 in Pretoria dur-

ing which UNEP delegat ion paid a visitto the NEPAD Secretariat.

Envi ronment In i t i a t ive o f theN EPAD

In the development of the Environment Ini-tiat ive of the NEPAD, UNEP facilitated theestablishment of a Steering Committee of the MSP comprising of the members of theBureau of AMCEN and Steering Committeemembers of NEPAD. The following coun-tries are members: Algeria, Cameroon,Egypt, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal,

tariat, OAU, ECA, AFDB, IGAD, NEPADSecretariat, SADC and AMU.

At the kind invitation of the Government of South Africa, the first meeting of the steer-ing committee was held in Pretoria on the

17th

January 2002. The primary objective of this meet ing was to agree on the modalitiesand timetable for the implementation of theMSP with a view of submitting a draft Afri-can Environment Action Plan for review bythe AMCEN at its 9

thSession to be held dur-

ing the first week of July 2002 in Kampala,Uganda. The meeting requested the Secre-tariat, in consultation with the members of the Bureau, to prepare a draft outline of theAfrican Environmental Action Plan, based onwritten contributions s ubmitted by the mem-bers of the steering committee.

N E P A D

South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia,GEF Secretariat , UN Economic Commissionfor Africa, OAU and ADB. At its first meet-ing the Committee elect ed the following cochairs: Zambia in its capacity as the cur-rent chair of the OAU, South Africa in itscapacity as the incoming Chair of the OAU,Nigeria in its capacity as the currentAMCEN Chair and Senegal as t he lead des-ignated country on the environment forNEPAD. The following organisations arepart of the Steering committee: GEF Secre-

The second meeting of the Steering com-mittee was held in Algiers on 11 and 12March 2002. The part icipants reviewed thedraft outline of the African EnvironmentalAction Plan. The participants agreed on t hefollowing draft outline of the action plan:background, Chapter I. on the state of theenvironment in Africa, based on the find-ings of the Global Environmental Outlook for Africa; Chapter 2. On the environmen-tal challenges facing Africa; Chapter 3. Onthe Africa Environment Action Plan for the

Governments at WSSD agreed to halve the number of people without access to basic sanitation by 2015


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Environment in the structures of theAfrican Union

Acareful analysis of both the Const itut ive Act of theAfrican Union and the background documents of the NEPAD shows that environmental feat ures predomi-nantly in priorities of Africa.

The organs of the AU are specified in Article 5 (Assembly

of the Union, the Executive Council, the Pan-African Par-

liament, the Court of Just ice, the Commiss ion, the Perma-

nent Representatives Committee, the Specialised Technical

Committees, the Economic, Social and Cultural Council,

the Financial Inst itutions, including the Central Bank, the

African Monetary Fund, the African Investment Bank). It

is also stated that the Assembly may decide to establish

other organs.

In Durban, only the Assembly of Heads of State, the Ex-ecutive Council, the Commission and the Committee of

the Permanent representatives were launched.

Three organs will be handling environmental issues:

The Executive Council shall co-ordinate and take deci-

sions on policies in areas of common interest to the

Member Stat es, including environmental protection, hu-

manitarian action and disaster response and relief (art .

13 (e));

Technical Committee: there is a Committee on Industry,

Science and Technology, Energy, Natural Resources and

Environment (art. 14 (d). The Specialised Technical

Committees will be composed of Ministers or senior

officials responsible for sectors falling within their

respective areas of competence.

The Commission. Being the administration of the Un-ion, they will also have some responsibilities in this

area.

21st

century; Conclusion, which will includenext steps, financial and institutionalmechanisms for the implementation of theaction plan. A framework for a strategicplan on capacity building for Africa will becontained as an annex to the action plan.

The draft framework is contained as anAnnex to this note. The participants agreedon an initial set of criteria and guidelinesfor t he preparat ion of projects to be devel-oped under the action plan. The partici-pants also welcomed the offer of Algeriato host a donor meeting for the implemen-tation of the Action Plan upon its adoption.

The participants of the Algiers meetingalso agreed that t he implementation of theMSP on NEPAD will take into account re-

sult s of the project on the Development andProtection of the Coastal and Marine Envi-ronment par ticular ly in Sub-Saharan Africa(African Process ).

The third meeting of the Steering commit-

tee was held in Dakar on 12 and 13 June atthe level of experts and on the 14 June 2002at the level of ministers. The meetingadopted the framework of an Action Planfor the Environment Initiative of the NEPADand agreed on a number of thematic work-shops to be held to finalise t he Action Plan.It is important to note that the first meet-ing of the Steering committee mandated itsbureau, at the level of ministers, to meetthe President of Senegal in his capacity asthe designated lead head of state for the

implementation of the environment com-ponent of NEPAD. To this end, a meetingbetween the Pres ident of Senegal and thespecial envoy of the Executive Director washeld in Dakar on 25 February 2002. As aresult, and taking advantage of their par-

ticipation at the meet ing in Dakar, the Min-isters, members of the Bureau of thestee ring committee met with President of Senegal, in Dakar on 15

thApril 2002.

The decision of the Steering committeemeeting of Dakar was endorsed by the 9

th

Session of the African Ministerial Confer-ence on the Environment (AMCEN) heldin Kampala from 1 to 5 July 2002.

N E P A D


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The Rotterdam Convention in Africa

operate a voluntary PIC procedure, in order to continue to protecthuman health and the environment from certain hazardous chemi-cals and pesticides, pending the entry into force of the Conven-tion and to prepare its effective operation once it enters into force.

The 8th

sess ion of the intergovernmental negotiations committee(8-12 October 2001) has requested the Secretariat to develop acomplete manual for the Designat ed Nat ional Authorities (DNAs)serving as focal points to the Rotterdam Convention. This manual,which will include the feedback from DNAs would facilita te a bet-ter understa ting of the DNAs obligations towards the convention.

The Secretariat was also requested to provide a practical trainingto DNAs by organising regional workshops on the Rotterdam con-vention.

It is, in this line that the Dakar workshop was organised from 10-14 June 2002 by the Secretariat of the Rotterdam Convention in

I N D U S T R Y

The amount of toxic waste stemming from obsolete pesticidesin Africa is higher than previously estimated, the UN Foodand Agriculture Organisation (FAO) sa id in a s tat ement releas edon 18 September 2002. FAO estimates that the toxic waste in Af-rica alone amounts to around 120 000 tonnes, with more than 500000 tonnes worldwide.

These pesticides seriously threaten the health of both rural andurban populations, and contribute to land degradat ion and waterpollution. Toxic pesticides and other hazardous chemicals kill orseriously sicken thousands of people every year. They also poisonthe na tural environment and damage many wild animal species.Despite the committed efforts to address the problem, obsoletepesticides continue to accumulate.

Every African country has stockpiles of obsolete pesticides andassociated was te s uch as heavily contaminated soils and millionsof containers. Many of these countries suffer from weak importcontrols, poor storage and stock management, and lack of train-ing in appropriate pesticide use.

This dramatic growth in chemical production and trade has raisedworldwide concerns about the potential risks posed by hazardouschemical and pesticides. In response to these concerns, the UnitedNations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the food and Agricul-ture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) started to addressthis problem in the 1980s by establishing a voluntary Prior InformedConsent procedure (PIC).

PIC required exporters trading in a list of hazardous substancesto obtain the prior informed consent of importers before proceed-ing with the trade. In September 1998, governments decided tostr engthen t he procedure by adopting the Rotterdam Convention,which makes PIC legally binding. The Convention establishes afirst line of defence by giving importing countries the tools andinformation they need to identify potential hazards and excludechemicals they cannot manage safely.

If a country agrees to import chemicals, the Convention promotestheir safe use through labelling standards, technical assistance,and other forms of support. It also ensures that exporters complywith the requirements.

Governments, through the Conference of plenipotentiaries, alsoconsidered that interim arrangements a re required to continue to

Lack of communication, technical expertise, Financial and human resources identified as major constraints to the implementation of the Convention in Africa

Toxic waste in Africa amounts to around 120,000 tonnes


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I N D U S T R Y

Increase the awareness of the DNA on the Rotterdam conven-tion;

Evaluate the needs on practical training during the workshop; Train the African DNAs on the various forms related to the

convention; Increase the understanding of the documentation process;

And facilitate discussion and exchange of experience amongDNAs in the region.

About 53 par ticipants represent ing African Designated NationalAuthorities, Industry sector, NGOs, Universities from 26 Africancountries and Donors from the Kingdom of Belgium attended themeeting.

Discussions centred on the convention overview and obligations inrelation to imports of chemicals, training on the dangerous pesti-cides forms, information exchanges challenges and issues to be ad-

dressed and opportunities for regional collaboration and partnership.

During the session of the Regional co-operation, the Regional Of-fice for Africa proposed that the implementation of the Rotterdamconvention be promoted via the African Minist erial Conference onthe Environment (AMCEN). Participants also expressed concernabout the lack of communication, technical expertise, Financialand human resources as major constraints to the effective imple-mentation of the Rotterdam Convention in Africa.

The outcome of this workshop will be presented during the next

Inter-governmental Committee meeting scheduled from 30 Sep-tember to 04 October 2002 in Geneva.

collaborat ion with UNEPs Regional Office for Africa to meet thefollowing objectives:

Encourage the implementation of the Rotterdam Conventionon PIC;

In the East African Region, the numbers un-served basic sanitation doubled over the last decade to 19 million people

Africa stands to suffer most from the impact of climate change despite producing only 3.5% of the worlds carbon dioxide emissions


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Phasing-out Ozone depleting Substances (ODS)in Africa: State of the Art

Following the adoption of the ViennaConvention for the Protection of theOzone Layer in 1985 and its Montreal Pro-tocol on Substances the Deplete the OzoneLayer in 1987, t he international communityhas been taking necessary measures to phaseout substances that deplete the Ozone Layer(ODS : Ozone Depleting Substances).

Although the deplet ion of the ozone layer isnot seen as a major environmental issue for

most African countries, the Africa region isactively taking part in implementing theMontreal Protocol. To date, 49African Coun-tries are P arties to the Vienna Conventionand the Montreal Protocol. The MontrealProtocol aims at phasing-out ODS throughthe replacement of industrial, commercialand domest ic equipment us ing ODS by non-ODS based equipment.

One major concern of African countries in

the implementation of the Montreal Proto-col is the dumping of obsolete ODS-basedtechnologies from developed countries aswell as the import of second-hand or newbut still ODS-based equipment (especiallyrefrigerators, freezers and chillers) fromEurope and Asia.

To combat such traffic, African countriesneed to take urgent measures to ensure thatregulations (including licensing systems)are put in place. Such measure will helpprevent the continent from becoming adumping ground for obsolete technologiesand equipment , which will soon become of-no-use, as the substances used for servic-ing them will have been phased-out byproducing countries.

As of July 1999 African countries startedimplementing the first control measure un-der the Montreal Protocol, applicable todeveloping countries i.e. the freeze in both

production and consumption of ozone-de-pleting substances. Thereafter, gradualphase out of CFCs (ChloroFuloroCarbons)

and other substances will go on until 2010,the expected phase out date for most of these substances. Final phase-out of allsubsta nces is expected by 2040.

To assist developing countries in their ef-forts to phase out ozone-depleting sub-stances, Parties to the Montreal Protocolhave been implementing a financial mecha-nism, the Multilateral Fund, which providesgrants for industries to shift to Ozonefriendly technologies.

Through this Fund UNEP is providing thetraining for technicians mainly in the re-frigerat ion sector, as well as public aware-

ness and institut ional strengthening as partof ODS phase out strategy. UNEP has alsoput in place a net working system within itsregional offices, the ODS Officers Network (ODSONET), to enables Nat ional Ozone Of-ficers to meet frequently and exchangesexperiences on the implementat ion of theirrespective country programmes for ODSphase out. From 1993 to the year 2001, upto US$ 150 Millions were provided to Afri-can countries for the implementation of

ODS phase-out activities with the supportof UNEP, UNDP UNIDO and t he World Bank.

UNEP Regional Office for Africa was involvedin the implementation of the Multilateralfund since 1995 through the ODS OfficerNetwork for Africa (ODSONET/AF). Throughthis network UNEP is providing support tocountries in the region to in terms of capac-ity building awareness raising and enforce-ment of control measures to prevent thedumping of ODS based obsolete equipment.

UNEP OzonAction Progamme recentlylaunched a new approach to increase UNEPass istance to developing countries in com-plying with the provisions of the MontrealProtocol on substances that deplete theOzone Layer. This new Compliance Assist -

ance Progamme (CAP) has allowed UNEPto st rengthen its regional offices for directdelivery of services to t he countries.

In the Africa Region, the Compliance As-sistance Progamme which star ted in Janu-ary 2002 is now fully operational and isexpected to help in keeping all African coun-tr ies in full compliance with the ODS phase-out schedule. The medium term objectivefor the Africa CAP Progamme is to reduceODS Consumption in the region by 50% of its freeze level by the year 2005. The freezelevel consumption (13,251 tons) is the av-erage consumption between 1995 and 1998.

O Z O N E

Explains regions efforts and constraints in phasing out the ODS with the assistance of UNEP Ozone Action Programme

Mr. Jeremy Bazye, Regional Ozone Network Coordinator.


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Ozone layer Protection through Sustainablefarming

O Z O N E

Nigeria, Philippines, Senegal, Thailand,Zambia, and Zimbabwe have been workingin close cooperat ion with the National OzoneUnits in each country in developing and im-plementing the communication programme.This ensures that the communication pro-gramme is integrated with other nationalozone protection activities to ensure acountrywide approach to ODS phase out.

The consultative meeting reviewed the s ta-

tus of the activities undertaken by NGOs,the extent of the completion of outputsthrough and explored a strategy for a fu-ture NGO Communications Network onmethyl bromide phase out, and concreteactions and st rategies t o popularize the in-troduction of available alternatives by me-thyl bromide users .

It provided an opportunity to gather viewsof the NGOs on the impact of the pro-gramme in countries and to receive sugges-tions from NGOs on ways in which theprogramme might be improved and mademore sustainable and replicable. This meet-ing als o provided an opportunity for NGOsfarther ahead in the process to exchangeinformation and to learn from each otherregarding plans and strategies that can beused to implement their communicationprogrammes.

Considering that the phase out date of me-thyl bromide in the developing countries is2015, and taking into account that thereare currently no control measures for me-thyl bromide in Quarantine and Pre-ship-ment (QPS) use, coupled with the criticalagricultural us e exemption of methyl bro-mide, the NGOs concluded that the UNEPsMethyl Bromide Communication Pro-gramme is of a long term nature.

Most of farmers worldwide will confirm thatMethyl Bromide is one, if not the best of pesticides when it comes to its output inagriculture. They have been relaying on itfor years to make sure that they producecrops in good quantities t o ensure food se-curity. But this pesticide has proved verytoxic and harmful to human health and theenvironment. Methyl bromide is also a bigthrea t t o the ozone layer. Experts ar e nowlooking for a lternat ives to this highly per-

forming pesticide.

In this line, UNEP is implementing a projectentitled, Enhancing the Capability of Lo-cal Agricultural Organisations and Non-gov-ernmental Organisations in Methyl BromideCommunicat ion. The main objective of thisproject is to raise awareness among farm-ers and methyl bromide users about themethyl bromide phase out. The project alsoenhances the capacity of NGOs in promot-

ing methyl bromide alternatives and in net -working with other NGOs across the globe.The Second NGO Consultative Meeting on

UNEPs Methyl Bromide CommunicationProgamme, was organised by UNEPs Divi-sion of Technology, Industry and Econom-ics and the Regional Office for Africa from17-18 September 2002 at UN Headquarters,Nairobi Kenya.

The main objective of this second meetinginvolving thirteen countries is to assess theresult of the communication Progamme andexplore way of developing other activities

for the extension of this Progamme. Oneimportant issue being discussed at themeeting is the strengthening of the inter-relation between the NGOs community andgovernment institutions involved in theOzone Layer protection Progamme in car-rying across the phase out message to farm-ers and methyl bromide users around theglobe.

The selected NGOs/agricultural organiza-

tions NGOs from the twelve countries,namely Chile, Cameroon, Costa Rica, Do-minican Republic, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi,

UNEP enhances the capacity of NGOs in promoting methyl bromide alternatives


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

Fresh funds for cleaner andhealthier Nairobi Rivers

The Government of France, through itsAmbassador in Nairobi, PierreJacquemot, signed a Financing Agreement

on September 18th 2002 for US $ 65,000

with the United Nations Environment Pro-

gramme - Regional Office for Africa (UNEP-

ROA) to support t he improvement of health

and well-being of people living in a section

of the Kibera informal settlement (Kianda

Village) in Nairobi. UNEP-ROA was repre-

sented by its Director, Sekou Toure.

The French funds will be used to improve

the provision of good quality water, and,

through public awareness campaigns and

education, promote environmental sanita-

tion and waste management practices.These activities will be implemented by a

local non-governmental organisation - the

African Network for the Prevention and Pro-

tection against Child Abuse and Neglect

(ANPPCAN), and a Community-based or-

ganisation (Ushirika wa Maisha na

Maendeleo Kianda - UMMK) translating in

English as: Co-operation for Livelihood and

Development for Kianda . UNEP-ROA will

source technical support and manage the

funds under this Agreement.

The French support is part of a larger ini-

tiative managed under UNEP- ROA - the

Nairobi River Basin Project - which is a

multi-st akeholder pilot project to rest ore to

the capital city its riverine system as a re-

source of clean water and to promote a

healthier environment for the people of

Nairobi. Other stakeholders and partners

to the NRBP include the Government of

Kenya, Government of Belgium, UNDP/GEF

UNEP and the French Embassy signed financing Agreement to help improve provision of good quality water and promote

environmental sanitation in Kianda Village, Nairobi

Small Grants Programme, the Nairobi City

Council, and the UNCHS-Habitat.

UNEP-ROA has engaged in restoring Nairobi riverine system as a source of clean water

Clean up activities involving UNEP-ROA in Nairobi


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N R B P r o j e c t

An important milestone

Following the successful completionof Phase I , involving not only a s itu-ation assessment but also the develop-ment of community and educationprogrammes to enable capacity buildingamongst stakeholders, Project Phase IIcommenced in September 2001.

Phase II is constituted of six pilotprojects , each directed at demonst rat inga methodology to combat the pollutionof Nairobis rivers. The projects are fo-cused on the Motoine/Ngong River. Work

is now well underway on all of the sub-components.

The Kibera Water and Sanitation P ilotProject: To date, the project s ite has beenidentified; community mobilisation hasbeen ongoing with bi-weekly clean-upsin the project area; potential sites fordrainage construction, ablution blocks,recycling centre and information kiosk have also been identified; and communitycommittees have been est ablished to co-ordinate individual aspect s of the project.

The Water Hyacinth Utilisation Projectalso continues successfully. This projectis tra ining artisans in making householdproducts and furniture from the invasivewater hyacinth. The first t raining courseswere held at the Nairobi Sailing and Sub-Aqua Club in March, April and June 2002.

Finished products have been on-show atexhibitions a t the Nairobi Yaya Centre andCarnivore Grounds.

The Public Awareness Campaign is on-going. Media coverage has been pos itiveand consistent. Special Events have beenorganised for World Environment Day,World Water Day (2002) and for Cleanup the World. A Project documentary, un-

dertaken with Television Trust for the En-vironment was shown at t he UN Water Sup-ply and Sanitation Collaborative Council2001 Bonn Water Forum. Azimuths havealso undertaken documentary filming on theproject for UNDP and distribution to over150 television networks. Most recently, acommunity education poster has been de-veloped with messages originated from theresidents of Kibera informal set tlement.

The Environmental Impact Assessment(EIA) Report for the Constructed WetlandsProject ups tream of Nairobi Dam and forthe water hyacinth purification ponds hasbeen undertaken. The report has been sub-mitted to the Kenya National Environment

Management Authority for review. A sepa-rate EIA has also been undertaken for theConstructed Wetlands Project at the KenyaWildlife Service (KWS) Headquarters andhas been submitted to KWS for review.

Working in close collaboration with agen-cies including, UN-Habitat, Nairobi CityCouncil, IUCN - The World ConservationUnion, and Network for Water and Sanita-

tion International (NETWAS), the Pol-lution Monitoring Network Project hasmoved forward successfully. The Pollu-tion Monitoring Strat egy Paper has beencompleted and, building on this, theproject undert ook Baseline Samplings inMarch 2002. The project EMIS mappingsystem has been updated from these re-sults and the latest maps are includedin the completed report on the samplings.

Successful interventions of Phase II

will be replicated on a larger scale in

Project Phase III .

Further information and details may beobtained from the NRBP website,

www.unep.org/ROA/Nairobi_River

UNEPUNEP, Regional Office for Africa

http:/ / www.unep.org/ roa Tel: (254-2) 624292 Fax: (254-2) 623928 [email protected] or [email protected]

Documents

Regional Office for Africa Newsletter, October 2002 ~ United Nations Environment Programme