African
Heads of State and Government adopted the New Partnership
for Africa’s Development at the thirty-seventh Session of
the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the
Organization of African Unity (OAU) in Lusaka, Zambia from
9-11 July 2001. The NEPAD policy framework was finalized by
the Heads of State Implementation Committee on 23 October
2001. In adopting NEPAD, African Heads of State and
Government realized that Africa can only take its proper
place in the international community if it gains economic
strength, hence the objective of NEPAD is to stimulate
Africa’s development by bridging existing gaps in priority
sectors, which include agriculture, health, education,
infrastructure, information and communication technology,
environment, tourism, S&T, the African Peer Review
Mechanism, and engagement of the private sector and civil
society. NEPAD was designed to meet the AU’s development
objectives and serves as a programme of the AU.
Since its
adoption, NEPAD has increasingly gained recognition from the
international community and Africa’s development partners.
In November 2002, the United Nations General Assembly passed
a declaration (A/RES/57/2) and a resolution on NEPAD (A/RES/57/7),
affirming the UN system’s support for the implementation of
NEPAD and recommending that the international community use
NEPAD as its framework to support development in Africa. The
Secretary General also established the Office of the Special
Advisor on Africa to coordinate the UN’s support to Africa,
guide reporting on Africa and coordinate global advocacy in
support of NEPAD.
The
Johannesburg Plan of Implementation adopted at the 2002
World Summit on Sustainable Development, held in
Johannesburg, South Africa, recognized that NEPAD provides a
framework for sustainable development in Africa. This Plan
of Implementation also called on the international community
to: promote technology development, transfer and diffusion
to Africa; further develop the technology and knowledge
available to African centers of excellence; and support
African countries in developing institutions and research
activities capable of developing and adapting “world-class”
technologies.
GOVERNANCE STRUCTURES:
The
highest authority of the NEPAD implementation process is the
AU Summit of Heads of State and Government. The AU Heads of
State and Government Implementation Committee (HSGIC)
reports annually to this Summit and is comprised of 20
states nominated to spearhead the NEPAD process. The HSGIC
is chaired by President Olusegan Obasanjo of Nigeria, with
Presidents Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal and Abdelaziz
Bouteflika of Algeria as Vice-Chairs. The HSGIC meets every
four months and is tasked with setting policies, priorities
and programmes of action. It also identifies strategic
issues that need to be researched, planned and managed at
the continental level; develops mechanisms for reviewing
progress; and reviews progress in the implementation of past
decisions and takes appropriate steps to address problems
and delays. A Steering Committee, comprised of the Personal
Representatives of the HSGIC, oversees projects and
programme development, while the NEPAD Secretariat
coordinates the implementation of projects and programmes
approved by the HSGIC.
NEPAD Secretariat:
The NEPAD
Secretariat, based in South Africa, is responsible for
coordinating the preparation of NEPAD’s programmes and
projects, mobilizing technical and financial support, and
facilitating and supporting implementation of NEPAD
programmmes. The Secretariat liaises with development
partners and multilateral institutions, mobilizes private
sector participation, outsources technical work, represents
the programme at development fora, and monitors and reports
on progress. The Secretariat is divided into three work
streams: project and programme policy coordination;
administration and secretarial services; and communications
and marketing of NEPAD inside and outside Africa.
ENVIRONMENT ACTION PLAN
The
African Ministerial Confrence of Environment (AMCEN) guided
the development and subsequent adoption of the action plan
by the Assembly of the African Union at its second ordinary
session, held in Maputo, Mozambique in July 2003. The action
plan takes fully into account the relevant recommendations
on NEPAD contained in the Johannesburg Plan of
Implementation as well as recommendations agreed upon during
the discussion on the environment component of NEPAD held in
during the 23rd session of the UN Environment Programmes
Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum.
The
overall objectives of the action plan are to complement
relevant African processes, including the work programme of
the revitalized AMCEN, with a view to improving
environmental conditions in Africa. It also aims to build
Africa’s capacity to implement regional and international
environmental agreements and to effectively address the
African environmental challenges in the overall context of
the implementation of NEPAD.
The action
plan is organized into clusters of programmatic and project
activities to be implemented over an initial period of 10
years covering the following priority sectors and
cross-cutting issues as identified in Environment Initiative
of NEPAD, namely: combating land degradation, drought and
desertification; wetlands; invasive species; marine and
coastal resources; cross-border conservation of natural
resources; climate change; and cross-cutting issues. The
action plan also complements the on-going AMCEN activities
including the: generation and dissemination of environmental
information in Africa; programme on poverty and environment
in Africa; environmental assessment in Africa; and
strengthening of the collaboration with major bodies in
Africa.
The plan
was prepared with financial support from the Global
Environment Facility (GEF), under the leadership of AMCEN,
UNEP’s Regional Office for Africa and in close cooperation
with the NEPAD secretariat, and the African Union
Commission. The action plan was prepared in two phases. The
first phase (September 2001-July 2002), conducted by the
steering committee of the UNEP/GEF medium-sized project on
NEPAD, comprising the representatives of the five members of
the Bureau of AMCEN as well as the five initiating countries
of NEPAD, developed the initial framework of an action plan.
During the second phase (September 2002-May 2003) nine
thematic workshops were convened in order to finalize of the
action plan.
AMCEN
devoted considerable time to the matter at its tenth regular
session in June 2004. Under AMCEN’s guidance various
activities have been undertaken to realize the action plan,
including the implementation of aspects of the action plan
by some member States, improving cooperation between China
and Africa to protect the environment and the execution of
the 2004–2006 work programme of AMCEN.
In
addition several action plans have been designed. These
action plans are grouped into key areas of concern or
programmes, and address the need for more detailed
frameworks, policies, strategies, action plans and key pilot
investments in that specific field. The programmes cover
such issues as: land degradation, drought and
desertification; management of coastal and marine resources;
management of freshwater resources such as wetlands, ground
water resources and catchment areas; management of biomes,
habitats, species and genetic resources; management of alien
invasive species; management of cultural heritage;
management of non-renewable resources; management of cities
– the impacts of urbanization/sustainable cities; integrated
waste management and pollution control; energy production
and consumption; and impact of population dynamics on the
environment –including the impact of HIV/AIDS and war. Among
the Plan’s specific objectives are to:
contribute to the implementation of NEPAD through the
effective implementation of its Environment Initiative;
promote the sustainable use of Africa natural resources;
strengthen public and political support to sub-regional and
regional environmental initiatives;
support the implementation by African countries of their
commitments under the global and regional environment
conventions and other legal instruments to which they are
party to;
enhance the human and institutional capacities of the
African countries to address effectively the environmental
challenges facing the continent;
promote the integration of environmental considerations into
poverty reduction strategies;
foster regional and sub-regional co-operation to address
environmental challenges;
build a network of regional centers of excellence in
environmental science and management;
mobilize and direct African and international scientific and
technical communities to solve Africa’s pressing
environmental problems;
enhance the effective participation of the African major
groups and their important contribution to inform
intergovernmental decision-making;
improve the institutional framework for regional
environmental governance;
mobilize international resources for the implementation of
the African environmental initiative; and
provide a framework for the establishment of a solid
partnership between Africa and their bilateral and
multilateral partners, including the multilateral financial
institutions such as the Global Environment Facility and in
accordance with the spirit and the letter of the United
Nations Millennium Declaration.
STRATEGIC PLAN TO BUILD
AFRICA’S CAPACITY TO IMPLEMENT GLOBAL AND REGIONAL
ENVIRONMENTAL CONVENTIONS:
One of the priority goals of the NEPAD environment
initiative is to build Africa’s capacity to implement
environmental conventions and such related international
legal instruments. As part of the action plan, AMCEN adopted
the ‘Strategic Plan to Build Africa’s Capacity to Implement
Global and Regional Environmental Conventions.’
The
overall objective of plan is to enable African countries to
implement in a coordinated and comprehensive manner their
commitments under global and regional environmental
conventions and other international legal instruments. It
will also promote sharing of experiences at the national,
subregional and regional levels and encourage South-South
cooperation. The plan is organized around clusters of
activities and processes that will be implemented over a
five-year period, namely: human resources development;
public education and awareness raising; strengthening
institutions and improving coordination; supporting the
development of information systems and related environmental
assessments; mobilizing and strengthening the role of the
scientific and technical communities; and promoting
South-South cooperation and sharing of experiences.
Among
Africa’s capacity needs include the following:
development of adequate national policy frameworks for the
effective implementation of global and regional conventions;
coordinated preparation and implementation of national,
legal and regulatory frameworks to comprehensively address
the complexity of issues covered by global conventions;
promotion and enhancement of adequate institutional
mechanisms for the implementation of such frameworks,
including strengthening the role of environmental
institutions;
promotion and enhancement mechanisms for environmental
information, including coordination, integration and
delivery to identified targets, particularly those involved
in the policy and decision-making process;
promotion and enhancement of mechanisms required for
regional cooperation on issues of common concern such as the
management of shared ecosystems, in conformity with existing
agreements between the countries concerned, including, for
example, migratory species, trade in endangered species,
shared coastal and inland water bodies, transboundary river
basins, pollution and exchange of information and expertise;
promotion of information on and understanding of the status
of and trends in environmental degradation, vulnerability to
climate change, impacts of land degradation and
desertification and implications of biodiversity loss in
addition to a variety of other environmental challenges is
still modest in many African countries;
enhancement of the negotiating and technical skills of the
African representatives at the meetings of the major global
conventions; and
public awareness of global conventions and related
sustainable development instruments. |