Regional Office for Africa Newsletter, February 2009 ~ United Nations Environment Programme

8/9/2019 Regional Office for Africa Newsletter, February 2009 ~ United Nations Environment Programme

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ROA NewsROA NewsUNEP ROA News is a Newsletter o the Regional Ofce or Arica (ROA) at UNEP, Nairobi, Kenya

N 14 Fbruary 2009

Globalization and InternationalEnvironmental Governance to top Worlds

Environment Ministers Discussions inNairobi for UNEP Governing Council

The 25th session o the Governing Council / Global Ministerial Environment Forum (GC/GMEF) o the United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP) will be held rom 16 to 20 February 2009 at the United Nations Ofce in Nairobi, Kenya. More than one hundred Environment Ministers

are set to attend annual Governing Council meeting.

This high-level meeting comes

on the heels o an eventul year

which saw urther evidence o

global warming, ood shortages and the

worst nancial crisis in years. The minis-

ters meet amid growing calls or a Global

Green New Deal a new approach to the

economy that ocuses on green growth

and investments in natural and nature-based resources.

The discussions at the ministerial con-

sultations will thereore be devoted to

the emerging policy issues under the

thought-provoking topics o Global-

ization and the environment, ocusingon the theme o Global crisis: national

chaos? and International environmen-

tal governance and the United Nations

reorm: international environmental

governance: help or hindrance?

These themes will provide environment

ministers with the opportunity to discuss

in a comprehensive manner how to meet

the multiple environmental and develop-

ment challenges o globalization at the

country level and enable them to receivea comprehensive update on the recent

developments in international environ-

mental governance so as to respond to the

needs and priorities o countries.

The Governing Council constitutes the

annual ministerial-level global envi-

ronmental orum in which participants

gather to review important and emerging

policy issues in the eld o the environ-

ment.

Dail f iu n h abl includ:

The green economy and green growth

Climate change and the ongoing talkstowards a new international agreement

in Copenhagen in December 2009

United Nations Ofce in Nairobi

C o N t e N t s

Globalization and International Environmental Governance to topWorlds Environment Ministers Discussions in Nairobi or UNEPGoverning Council

10th Arican Civil Society Consultations ahead o the 25thUNEP Governing Council: Restating the need or a strongerenvironmental governance

UNEP to Engage More Strategically in Africa

Climate Discussions In Poznan- What Prospects For Africa InThe Post Kyoto Regime?

Congo Forests and Climate negotiations: A long journeytowards Copenhagen

Climate Change Meeting in Algiers: African Youth for a StrongerEngagement

Inter-Agency Collaboration in Africa: Coordinated Multi-sectoralResponse to the Food Crisis Challenge in Africa

Health and Environment: WHO and UNEP Chart the Way beyondthe Libreville Declaration

Ozone and Climate Change- an Opportunity for AfricanJournalists

UNEP and Kenya Pioneer Practical low cost Technologies for

Wastewater Management in Mombasa

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RoA NeWs IssUe No. 14 1


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10th African Civil Society Consultations ahead of the

25th UNEP Governing Council: Restating the need for aStronger Environmental Governance

The 10th session o the Arican

CivilSociety consultative meeting

took place rom 10-11 November

2008 in Nairobi, Kenya. The meeting was

organized by UNEPs Regional Oce or

Arica (ROA), ahead o the 25th Session

o the UNEP Governing Council/ Global

Ministerial Environment Forum (GC/

GMEF), that are taking place this Febru-

ary, at the UNEP Headquarters, in Nai-

robi.

Over the last three decades, UNEP has es-

tablished strong linkages with civil society

organizations and networks. As a result,

UNEP has since 2002, been organizing

regional civil society consultative meet-

ings, in preparation or the annual Global

Civil Society Forum (GCSF), held prior

to the GC/GMEF. The overall objective

o the meetings is to provide a platorm

or exchange and consultation around

key environmental issues to be addressed

during the GC/GMEF, and ultimately a-

cilitate the input o civil societies into the

GC/GMEF as well as other international

ora in the eld o Environment and In-

ternational Environmental Governance.

During this consultative meeting, about

40 representatives o environmental

NGOs, trade unions, women groups,

youth, research and academia, and indig-

enous communities rom 20 countries

gathered at the UNEP headquarters in

Gigiri or the two day meeting, to delib-

erate on key environmental issues to be

addressed by the Member States, and to

acilitate Major Groups contribution to

the GC/GMEF. The consultative meet-

ing was also part o UNEPs strategy o

enhancing its collaboration with civil so-

ciety through greater commitment anda more systematic approach to partner-

ships and dialogues.

When opening these consultations, the

new Director or ROA, Mr. Mounkaila

Goumandakoye, commended the long

partnership between UNEP and the civil

society and stressed on the critical need

to enhance this cooperation in order

to eectively address the ever increas-

ing environmental challenges acing A-

rica particularly at a time when climate

change and variability is emerging as

another driving orce behind some o the

most serious challenges. UNEP consid-ers civil society organizations as strate-

gic allies and a very important source o

By David Ombisi

Mercury ministers will discuss policy

options or an international response

to global mercury pollution

The ood crisis

The Olympic Games and the environ-

ment

An overview o the key environmental

issues o the day including ecosystemmanagement, resource eciency and

environmental governance.

There will be a number o pre-session

events, namely, the tenth Global Civil So-

ciety Forum, which will be held in Nairobi

on Saturday, 14 February, and Sunday, 15February, and the Forum o the Networko Women Ministers or the Environ-ment, to be held on Sunday, 15 February.The GC/GMEF will continue to movetowards climate neutrality in its 25th ses-sion. New initiatives to monitor and re-duce signicant impacts on the environ-

ment, such as greenhouse gas emissions,waste products and water usage will beimplemented when greening the GC inNairobi, Kenya.

These include osetting or greenhousegas emissions caused by UNEP sponsored

participants travel and stay, reducing the

number o hard copies o all documents,

maximum possible use o 100 per cent

recycled paper or documentation, mak-

ing increased use o recyclable materials

and goods in the conerence venue, in ad-

dition to providing relevant inormation

and communications campaigns. Fur-

thermore, a green guide will be made

available on the UNEP website to provide

delegates with inormation on how to as-

sist in making the event more environ-

mentally riendly.

2 RoA NeWs IssUe No. 14

2 5 t h U N E P G C / G M E F

African civil society meeting in Nairobi


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C L I M A T E C H A N G E

Climate Discussions in Poznan- WhatProspects for Africa in the Post Kyoto

Regime?:

The ourth assessment report o the

Intergovernmental Panel on Cli-

mate Change, revealed alarming

prospects or Arica particularly as they

relate to the social, economic and envi-

ronmental impacts o climate change inArica. While Arica has contributed the

least to the increasing concentration o

greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, it is

the most vulnerable continent to the im-

pacts o climate change and has the least

capacity to adapt with projected costs

estimated to reach at least 5-10 per cent

o GDP. Climate change is emerging as a

driving orce behind many o the envi-

ronmental problems plaguing Arica and

is potentially a massive threat to human

development. In some places it is alreadyundermining eorts to reduce extreme

poverty.

Aware o the vulnerability o their conti-

nent, Arican Group o Experts (Negotia-

tors) met in Algiers rom 19-20 Novem-

ber 2008 to rame an Arican Common

Position to enable the region eectively

participate in the post 2012 negotiations.

The common position reached by the A-

rican Group o Negotiators was endorsed

by Arican Ministers o Environment atthe High Level Segment organized by the

Government o Algeria.

In the run up to the 14th Conerence o

Parties in Poznan, Algeria proposed the

establishment o a continental and in-

ternational alliance or climate change in

order to promote strong actions or ad-

aptation, and vulnerability reduction. A

Ministerial Task Force was also proposed

to provide political support to negotia-

tors, together with a three-year plan o-cusing on short-term projects dealing

with energy eciency, land degradation

and sustainable orest management. In

addition, a regional initiative on adapta-

tion and a climate change observatory or

the continent will be set up according to

the proposals made in the declaration.

Beore this meeting, the Twelth Ses-

sion o the Arican Ministerial Coner-

ence on the Environment (AMCEN) met

in Johannesburg, South Arica in June

2008 and adopted the regions Roadmap

to Copenhagen to build a shared visionand consensus on the complex issues o

climate change and sustainable develop-

ment, to the benet o the continent. The

session also proposed the development o

a comprehensive ramework o Arican

Climate change programmes that will

ensure coordination and coherence in the

implementation and review o climate

change initiatives and sustainable devel-

opment plans in Arica at all levels.

This came as a ollow-up to the adoptionby the Arican Union o the Tunis Decla-

ration and action plan and the decision

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (C) speaking to the UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer

and Polish President Lech Kaczynski (R) in Poznan-

The UN climate change conerence which was held in Poznan, Poland kept on track the international process to conclude a new global climateagreement at the end o next year in Copenhagen. It took a series o decisions including work programmes or 2009 which will accelerate the

negotiations. Parties also reached a solution to make operational the Kyoto Protocols Adaptation Fund or developing countries.

By Angele Luh-Sy

to determine the rationale and modali-

ties or establishing an Arican panel on

climate change, and in particular the

Declaration on Climate Change and De-

velopment in Arica, in which the heads

o State and Government requested the

Commission o the Arican Union to

consult with the Arican Ministerial Con-

erence on the Environment with a view

to establishing the necessary mechanisms

to ollow up on the implementation othe Declaration.

The consolidated comprehensive rame-

work o Arican climate change pro-

grammes will be submitted or adoption

to a special session o the Arican Minis-

terial Conerence on the Environment in

the margins o the summit o the Arican

Union in June and July 2009.

Although Arica has a shared vision on

adaptation and mitigation, progress inresponding to climate change in Arica is

ar rom sucient. And the recognition




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o this act seems to trigger action and

initiatives at all levels to ensure that A-

rica speaks with one voice in advancing

the continents interests in negotiations

or the climate regime beyond 2012.

The critical challenge is to engage multi-

lateral nancial institutions and other de-velopment partners to take into account

the special needs o Arica in the decision-

making processes under international

nancing schemes, including, among

others, adaptation unds, World Bank cli-

mate unds, Arican Development Bank

unds and United Nations initiatives, and

to streamline their procedures to improve

access to nance.

Wr h cncrn givn du

anin in Pznan?

Concretely, besides the issue o the und-

ing, Arican countries would like to see

the adoption o a protocol on adapta-

tion that would address regions priorities

such as desertication, land degradation

control, the protection o biodiversity,

agriculture and water resources. As ar as

mitigation is concerned, Arica believes

that actions aimed at minimizing the

consequences o deorestation and or-

est degradation should be considered in

uture positive incentive mechanisms or

emission reduction taking into account

the role o orested areas in the regulation

o the global climate system. The equi-

table geographic distribution o projects

that will benet rom the Clean Develop-

ment Mechanisms (CDM), the promo-tion o learning-by-doing approach or

capacity building and the establishment

o an institutional ramework to address

all aspects o technology transer are also

very high on the expectations list.

The 14th Conerence o Parties did not

really make a signicant move on these

ronts. But all is not set. Perhaps the

meeting is not to come to nal decisions,

as the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-

moon told Xinhua at a press conerencein Poznan. Copenhagen is still another

year rom now. Poznan appears to have

been a useul staging post on the way to

the Copenhagen conerence, when the

world must conclude an ambitious new

global climate agreement or the post-

2012 period. The growing consensus,

including on developing a shared vision

or the new global agreement, is encour-

aging, but there is still a huge amount o

work ahead.

In the meantime, Arica should come up

with a stronger stand at a time when new

studies by eminent scientists are warning

that even the 2-degree threshold may not

be sae enough to avoid global disaster.

To the rapidly worsening global nancial

situation may make things more chal-

lenging.

Marthinus van Schalkwyk, South Aricas

Minister o Environmental aairs and

Tourism, and President o the Arican

Ministerial Conerence on the Environ-

ment (AMCEN) said Rather than com-

ing orward with clear numbers and

adopting a range or mid-term emission

reduction targets in a timely manner, as

previously agreed, some developed coun-

tries are still playing hide-and-seek with

the climate.

It is thereore critically important or

Arica to orge a consensus on ways o

enhancing implementation o the Frame-

work Convention on Climate Change and

the Kyoto Protocol beyond Copenhagen,

on the basis o the established principles

o equity and common but dierentiated

responsibilities and respective capabili-

ties.

RoA NeWs IssUe No. 14


Rginal Yar-end snaph f h Clan Dvlpmn Mchanim 2008

Hydro, Wind and other Traditional renewables dominate but some geothermal, energy eciency and home lighting projects coming through

Wind and geothermal power projects alongside ones promoting energy eciency and even the preservation o onions are emerging across the globecourtesy o the United Nation-brokered carbon markets.

A year-end snapshot o the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) o the Kyoto Protocol- the UN emission-reduction treaty-- shows that more than4,200 projects are up and running, or in various phases o the pipeline.

Leading are medium and small-scale hydroelectric projects; ollowed by biomass energy, wind power and electricity rom industrial waste heat.

However the CDM is also now triggering interest in a wider range o renewable energy projects. These include solar and geothermal power. One novelproject is emerging rom Niger where an estimated 60 per cent o the national onion crop can be lost, leading to methane emissions as the vegetablesrot. The idea is to use solar dryers and other systems to preserve the onions so they do not rot in storage or on the way to market.

Some Regional and National HighlightsWhile the number o registered or proposed projects in Arica remains small, the CDM is now being glimpsed across almost all countries albeit ata low level.

In 2004, only two countries across the entire Continent were accessing the CDMMorocco and South Arica. In 2008, a large range o Aricancountries now have projects up and running or in the pipeline. The country with the largest slice is South Arica with just under 30 registered or inthe pipeline, ollowed by Egypt; 12 and Morocco with nine.

Renewable energy projects at close to 40 per cent top Aricas access to the CDM ollowed by a quarter o projects in the methane reduction area.

Nigeria is likely to generate the greatest nancial fows rom just our projects worth, i all are approved, some $108 million annually under the $20 assumption


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Congo Forests and Climate Negotiations: A longjourney towards Copenhagen

By Serge Bounda

More than ever, the inclusion o orest

ecosystems in the new Post-Kyoto climate

regime as well as the establishment o a

global unding mechanism which ad-

dresses deorestation and degradation

will be at the heart o the next cycle o

climate change negotiations which will

culminate in December 2009 in Copen-

hagen. Indeed, deorestation accounts

or one th o the global greenhouse

gas emissions, which is higher than the

worlds transportation sector.

Since June 2009, and even beore, UNEPhas been in the oreront o the nego-tiation process in Arica within the UN-FCCC ramework. In June 2008 in Johan-nesburg, the 12th session o the AricanMinisterial Conerence on Environment(AMCEN), mandated UNEP to acilitateand support the preparation o Aricannegotiators towards the UNFCCC - COP15. In response to this mandate, UNEPin close partnership with the Commis-sion o Forest o Central Arica (COMI-

FAC) brought or the rst time togetherMinisters o Environment and Ministerso Forests o Central Arica rom 9 to 11September 2008 in Bangui, Central Ari-can Republic.

The objective o the special session was to

acilitate the adoption o a common po-

litical position on orests and climate to-

wards the Copenhagen Summit in 2009.

Eleven ministers rom the region held

ruitul deliberations and in attendance

were climate and orest experts romthe region with representation rom theCongo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP),World Bank, World Agroorestry Centre(ICRAF), and the French and Germangovernments.

The ministers and the COMIFAC secre-tariat welcomed the UNEP initiative andduring their discussions, emphasis was onthe need to establish a win-win partner-ship amongst those who have been pre-serving their orests and the internationalcommunity. Through this meeting, theMinisters demonstrated their high levelo engagement in preparing or the cli-mate change negotiations as well as theirpolitical commitment to spare no eortin ensuring the inclusion o orests in the

new Post-Kyoto climate regime.

The Ministerial session saw the signing and

adoption o the Bangui Ministerial Decla-

ration on the adoption o a common posi-

tion or the new post-Kyoto 2012 climate

regime. Key decisions arrived at in the Ban-

gui Declaration include:

Creation o the regional group o central

Arican negotiators under the umbrella

o the Economic Commission o Central

Arica States (ECCAS);

Requesting UNEP to provide a logisti-

cal and strategic support to the group o

ECCAS negotiators and ensuring their

participation in the Arican High Level

Panel in charge o dening the Aricans

common position;

Requesting the Congo Basin Forest Fund

(CBFF) to support Central Arica to-

wards Copenhagen Summit by acilitat-

ing in the preparation o the negotiators

and nancing REDD projects beore the

climate change Summit in Copenhagen

in 2009.

The next critical step beore Poznan (COP.

14) is the Arican Conerence o Min-isters in Charge o Environment on cli-mate change or post 2012 which will beorganized by the Algerian government inlate November, where orest issues andmainly the Congo Basin orest ecosystemwill be discussed comprehensively. Thereis no doubt that the uture o the planetwill depend on the capacity o our leadersto include orests in the new post-Kyotoclimate regime. Exclusion o orests romthe new post-Kyoto climate regime will

certainly not achieve the goals o the in-ternational community in ghting climatechange.

UNEP and COMIFAC: a win-win partnership

Ministers of Environment and Ministers of Forest in central Africa discussing in Bangui, CAR


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Climate Change Meeting in Algiers: African Youth for aStronger Engagement

The Arican conerence on climate

change opened on Wednesday(November 19th) in Algiers with

the participation o regional environ-

ment ministers. Attendees rearmed the

need or Arican countries to adopt a uni-

ed position on climate change beore the

upcoming international climate summits

in Poland and Copenhagen. In his open-

ing speech, Algerian President Abdelaziz

Boutefika said climate change caused by

the greenhouse eect is the major chal-

lenge or the world in the rst hal o 21st

century.

In a speech to the Arican Ministerial

Conerence on the Environment in Al-

giers, Yvo de Boer said that an agreed

outcome at Copenhagen must be more

Arica-riendly and spur enabling sup-

port or the continent. He stressed that

the international climate change process

has the opportunity to move towards a

sel-nancing climate compact that can

generate such support or Arica and

other developing countries, not least byexpanding the carbon market.

The Algiers Declaration on climate

change, adopted November 19, 2008 by

the Conerence o Arican Ministers o

the Environment, will serve as a platorm

or Arican countries to map out the

way orward or uture negotiations on

climate with participating environment

ministers agreeing on a united ront to

take into December 2009 talks in Copen-

hagen on replacing the Kyoto Protocol,

covering eorts to reduce greenhouse gas

emissions.

Arica is also seeking a common position

with the European Union going into cli-

mate-change negotiations next year, Al-gerias environment minister, Mr. Cheri

Rahmani said ollowing a pan-Arican

agreement.

The Tunza Youth Advisor or the Region

Mr. Adel Rahmani attended the coner-

ence and interacted with the press, minis-

ters and other delegates. His participation

was part o the UNEP Regional Oce or

Aricas commitment to ensuring youthrepresentation at major regional environ-mental ora, within the UNEP-BAYERpartnership. The meeting presented aunique opportunity to showcase Youthinvolvement in environmental activitiesin the region by raising the prole and

visibility o the UNEP-linked Arica YouthEnvironment Network (AYEN) amonggovernments and enable it to take a moreactive role in uture meetings to ensure youths participation in the negotiationo positions taken during such meetingsin avor o a better engagement o youngAricans in climate change strategies.

AYENs presence was visible both at themeeting and particularly at the exhibi-tion where UNEPs publications on en-vironmental conservation, outreach andawareness were displayed. The exhibitionattracted over 100 delegates representingNGOs, governments and press who tookthe opportunity to learn more about pos-itive attitudes with regard to engagemento young people in environmental edu-cation through publications such as theTunza youth magazine, Tunza childrenbooks and Ozzy-Ozone magazines andeducation packs or secondary schoolswhich highlight the importance o pro-tecting the Ozone layer. Also on display

was the Arican Atlas o our changing en-vironment which shows the state o the

environment within the region.



Tunza Youth Advisor, Mr. Adel Rahmani with delegates from Botswana (L) and Kenya

Tunza Youth Advisor, Mr. Adel Rahmani with delegates from the Algerian Ministry of Environmentand Tourism at the UNEP stand.


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A M C E N 1 2 t h S E S S I O N

Inter-Agency Collaboration in Africa: CoordinChalleng

The 9th meeting o the Regional Coordination Mechanism (RCM) o the UN agencies and organizations working in support o the Arican Union (AU) and itcoordination meeting o UN organizations working at the continental level was the frst attended b

By By Strike Mkan

ROA New Director Hits the GroundRunningMr. Goumandakoye quickly got into the

milieu and tempo o the process while

leading the UNEP delegation to the RCM,

consisting o Mr. Halia Drammeh (Exec-

utive Directors Policy Advisor or Arica

and current Chair o UN-Water/Arica),

Mr. Strike Mkandla (Representative to

AU, UNECA and Ethiopia) and Ms. Milha

Desta (National Environmental Ocer,

Ethiopia). During the RCM, Mr. Alioune

Badiane, Director or Arica and the Mid-

dle East at UN-HABITAT delivered the re-

port o the Population, Environment and

Urbanization Cluster as the organizations

stewardship o the cluster comes to an

end. This thereore marked a transition in

which UNEPs regional Oce or Arica

will pilot the cluster as UNEP is poised to

succeed as Convener/Coordinator.

Mchanim changinggar: frm cnulain crdinain

The 9th RCM adopted the decision o

the meeting held to review the mecha-

nism, recommending that it change its

designation rom consultation to co-

ordination. This decision is in line with

a revamped mandate proposed or ECA,

which has been asked to become a strate-

gic coordinator instead o just a convener

o the mechanism. These changes have

positioned the mechanism to respond to

growing expectations or coordinated in-

ter-agency work at the regional level, akin

to the One UN process that is taking

place at the country level.

The core theme o the 2008 RCM was Co-

ordinated Multi-sectoral Response to the

Food Crisis Challenge in Arica. This oc-

cupied centre-stage on the rst day, while

the second day dealt with the climate

change to Arica. The thematic session was

organized to deal with a recent directive

rom the Central Executives Board (CEB)

chaired by the Secretary-General Mr. Ban

Ki-moon, that United Nations Regional

Commissions should spearhead a coordi-

nated UN response to climate change. In

both the ood security crisis and the men-

ace o climate change, the RCM grappled

with nding concrete responses to the

challenges, crating elements o an inter-agency agenda cutting across all the nine

clusters in the mechanism.

High-lvl AU and UNparicipain

For the second year running, the Arican

meeting was chaired by the United Na-

tions Deputy Secretary-General, Dr. Asha-

Rose Migiro. For the rst time the Arican

Union Commission was represented by

its Chairperson, H.E. Mr. Jean Ping, whowas accompanied by several AU Commis-

sioners and Directors. The Acting Chie

Executive o NEPAD, H.E. Ambassador

Olukorede Willoughby also participated.

Mr. Abdoulie Janneh, the UN Under Sec-

retary General and Executive Secretary o

the UN Economic Commission or Arica

(ECA), was among the senior UN ocials

who included USG Mr. Haile Menkerios

rom the Department o Political Aairs,

ASG Mr. Noureini Tidjani-Serpos (UNES-

CO), a representative rom ESCAP, and

Arica regional directors and high ocials

o several agencies (UNFPA, UN-Habitat,UNEP, ILO and others).

Chrnc and Alignmn wihAU and NePAD prgramm

The RCM originated in the atermath o

the UN General Assembly decision that the

UN support to Arica should be through

the continents NEPAD programme. Sub-

sequently, ollowing the shit by the AU

rom preoccupation with a predominantly

political agenda to a stronger develop-ment ocus (in contrast to the predeces-

sor Organization o Arican Unity), the

AU Commission sought to build its ability

Mr. M. Goumandakoye, Director UNEP-ROA and UNEPs regional Advisor on Africa,Mr. Halifa Drammeh


I N T E r A G E N C y


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ed Multi-sectoral Response to the Food Crisisn Africa

w Partnership or Aricas Development (NEPAD) programme, took place on the 21-22 October 2008 at the UN Conerence Centre, Addis Ababa. Thisnewly arrived Director o the UNEP Regional Ofce or Arica Mr. Mounkaila Goumandakoye.

& Rose Munyiva

UN Deputy Secretary General Dr. Asha Rose Migiro, and Under Secretary General and UNECAExecutive Secretary Dr. Janneh Abdoulie

to coordinate and promote development

planning. In a landmark agreement, the

then respective institution leaders AUC

Chairperson Pro. Alpha Konar_ and UN

Secretary General Ko Annan signed on

16 November 2006 a declaration on En-

hancing UN-AU Cooperation: Frame-

work or the Ten-Year Capacity Building

Programme or the Arican Union. The

RCM henceorth assumed this additional

programmatic responsibility and the chal-

lenge o aligning its activities with the

priorities o the AU parent body as well

as developing the various NEPAD sector

programmes.

In their remarks the principal speakers,

while addressing this years RCM themes,

took up this issue o alignment o UN pro-

grammes with AU priorities. Mr. Abdoulie

Janneh called or vigilance to ensure that

the combined eect o the ood, uel and

nancial crisis does not derail the recent

good economic perormance in Arica.

In addition to the thematic ocus o the

meeting, he drew attention to three other

issues that needed the meetings engage-

ment. The rst was ensuring that the in-

stitutional make-up, especially the cluster

system was meaningully aligned to the

priorities o the AU and could eectively

promote the implementation o its Ten-

Year Capacity Building Programme. The

second was to do with how the system

would operate to improve coherence and

deliver on the Ten-Year Capacity Building

Programme. Thirdly, he pointed out that

the RCM Secretariat make-up should re-

fect the common ownership o all RCM

members.

Dr. Jean Ping, the Chairperson o the AUC

acknowledged with gratitude that the UN

agencies had started aligning their themat-

ic clusters with the programs and activities

o the AU and its NEPAD programme. He

urged the UN system to speed up the pro-

cess and put more eort in coordinating

with the Arican Union Commission to

ensure the nalization o the alignment

exercise.

The AUC Chairperson also touched on

what had seemed to many an intractable

assignment, i.e. the integration o NEPAD

into the structures o the Arican Union.

Mr. Ping armed that the recommenda-

tions by the Algiers summit o NEPAD

Heads o State and Government imple-

mentation Committee (HSGIC), held

in March 2007 and endorsed by the AU

summit decision o January 2008, gave the

necessary impetus to the previously slow

integration o NEPAD. He assured the

meeting that the integration process was

now on track and poised or nalization.

In her keynote address to the RCM, Dr.

Asha-Rose Migiro observed that the meet-

ing was taking place at a time the world

was acing a nancial crisis o epic propor-

tions that could aect the international

development agenda.. She said the impact

o this turmoil in the nancial system,

compounded by the ood crisis and the

eects o climate change, could very well

derail the prospects o attaining the Mil-

lennium Development Goals (MDGs).

She continued, Both climate change and

ood security compel us to address peo-ples vulnerabilities. They are both integral

parts o our eorts to achieve the Millen-

nium Development Goals. She said the

Organization is only as relevant as it is able

to deliver tangible results to people on the

ground.

Clima-rlad Acin a hRginal Lvl: UNeP in fcalgrup

Climate change was always going to be

an undercurrent in RCM discussions. As

it turned out the issue assumed a higher

prole when it emerged that the Secretary




10/16

General Mr. Ban Ki-moon had directed

regional economic commissions, o which

ECA is one, to lead regional responses to

the global threat. Following the Chie Ex-

ecutives Board (CEB) April 2008 session

in Bern, the Secretary-General in a let-

ter dated 30th May 2008 to the CEB on

the burgeoning threat o climate changecalled or coordination rameworks at

various levels and designated ocal points

that would be convening agencies, ve o-

cal areas and our cross-cutting areas. The

proposed objectives o this initiative are to

ensure planning and delivery o coherent

and synergistic UN support to climate re-

lated policies and actions at the regional

level, and at the country level in selected

ocus areas.

To acilitate RCM ollow-up o the SGs di-rective, The UNEP delegation took a lead

role in articulating the issues and in pro-

posing the way orward. The UNEP pre-

sentation, by Mr. Strike Mkandla (UNEP

Representative to the AU, ECA and Ethio-

pia) dwelt on Arican policy responses to

climate change, while the ECA presenta-

tion, by Mr. Josu_ Dion_ (Director o the

ECA Food Security and Sustainable De-

velopment Division) ocussed on the po-

tential contribution o the ECA/AU/ADB

Climate Inormation or Developmentin Arica (ClimDev) Programme and the

planned Arican Climate Policy Centre

(ACPC). The AU Commissioner or Rural

Economy and Agriculture, Ms. Rhoda-

Peace Tumusiime, gave political support

to AMCEN and other eorts to assist A-

rica in developing a coherent approach to

climate change adaptation.

Even though Arica accounts or less than

3.8% o green house gas concentration

in the atmosphere, it is among the most

vulnerable to climate change on account

o its low adaptive capacity. Fortunately,

the UNEP presentation reported, Arica

had risen to the climate change challenge

through many orums. Most notably the12th session o the Arican Ministerial

Conerence on the Environment (AM-

CEN) held in June 2008 in Johannesburg

had already commenced the process o

coordinating the eorts o various minis-

terial meetings and processes through de-

velopment o a comprehensive ramework

o climate change programmes. AMCEN

in its comprehensive Decision 2 that dealt

with climate change had also started a

process towards an Arican Common Po-

sition or the renegotiations o the Kyotoprotocol beyond its 2012 liespan.

Other key elements o the AMCEN deci-

sion were the training o Arican climate

change negotiators, the proposal by AM-

COST or the establishment o an Arican

Panel on Climate Change (APCC), en-

dorsement o ongoing initiatives such as

ClimDev and ACPC, and an attachment

o an indicative list o climate change de-

cisions (by AU Summits, AMCOW, and

ministerial bodies in energy, health, andorests, among others).

Mounkaila Goumandakoye and Halia

Drammeh contributed concrete proposals

or designing an inter-agency roadmap or

the implementation o the CEB directive

on regional responses to climate change.

As an outcome o the discussion, the RCM

tasked the cluster on Environment, Popu-

lation and Urbanization is to come up

with a proposal or a plan o action. The

core suggestion adopted rom the UNEP

presentation was that all clusters needed

to indicate measures or climate-proong

their sectors and to provide AMCEN with

inputs or the Comprehensive Frameworko Climate Change Programmes. It was

agreed in line with the CEB directive that

ECA would be the channel or reporting

on ollow-up o the directive, according

to the time-lines that came with the direc-

tive.

Glbal Fd Crii affc Africa

The impact o the global ood crisis on A-

rica was a dominant theme in the rst day

o the RCM. The Food and AgricultureOrganization (FAO) Senior Agricultural

Policy Advisor Mr. Kidane speaking or

the Agriculture, Food Security and Rural

Development Cluster, made a presenta-

tion on the theme o the 9th RCM meet-

ing. He said the root cause o the ood

crisis in Arica was decades o neglect-

ing agriculture and development sectors.

Hence agriculture remained under-und-

ed and thereore underdeveloped. Further

more he noted that, even ater the Arican

leaders had adopted and the developmentpartners endorsed the NEPAD Compre-

hensive Arican Agriculture Develop-

ment Programme (CAADP) initiative,

and the Arican governments had agreed

to spend 10% o budgetary resources on

agriculture, the outcome o these com-

mitments had not been encouraging and

thereore agriculture remained in its dire

state. The ood crisis had underscored the

need to accelerate CAADAP implementa-

tion at national and regional level and to

strengthen the capacity o the AU, NEPADand RECs. The key principles o the Com-

prehensive Framework or Action have al-

ready been adopted as a guiding principle

or the RCM, while CAADAP remains the

ramework or ood security and agricul-

ture development in Arica.

Mr. Kidane also introduced the Initiative

on Soaring Food Prices (ISFP), a rame-

work or enhanced intra and inter-cluster

cooperation. It was launched in Decem-

ber 2007 with the objective o twin track

interventions on Social Saety and Pro-

ductive Saety Nets. Other initiatives that



Delegations at the 9th RMC meeting in Addi Ababa


11/16

addressed the ood crisis were the Chie

Executives Board or coordination that

met in Bern and deliberated and agreed

on UN eorts to deal with the ood crisis,

as well as various events on advocacy and

communication in support o responses

to high ood prices.

oucm f h 9h RCMMing

The ood crisis had brought agriculture

to the oreront o the Arican agenda and

thereore need was seen or all the clusters

to ormulate measures and to contribute

towards an advocacy strategy to tackle the

crisis.

The meeting welcomed the proposal to

change the title Regional ConsultationMechanism to Regional Coordination

Mechanism, and that conveners o the

clusters should become coordinators. It

was urther agreed that while UNECA is

the seat o Secretariat o the RCM, own-

ership o the regional mechanism is by all

cluster members. In programme develop-

ment, it was underscored that the inter-

agency clusters should ensure realignment

to the AU-NEPAD priorities in order or

the RCM to be eective. It was noted that

some clusters worked better in sub-clus-ters as shown by the UN-Water/Arica ex-

ample that had captured the essence o the

RCM and its cluster system.

The ECA reminded agencies that support

is needed or eective operation o the

Secretariat and got some positive response,

with a commitment rom UNFPA to sec-

ond sta. The UNFPAs Regional Director

or Arica, Mr. Bunmi Makinwa, made the

commitment that was warmly received by

participants.

For a detailed report on the 9th RCM Meet-

ing, including progress report rom the RMC

Secretariat and inter-agency clusters, please

contact: Mr. Strike Mkandla, UNEP Rep-

resentative to the AU, ECA and Ethiopia

P.O. Box 3001, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia , Tel:

+251 11 544 5402; Fax: +251 11 552 1633,

E-mail:[email protected]

WHO-UNEP Joint Task Team

Health and Environment: WHO andUNEP chart the way beyond the

Libreville Declaration

The Regional Director o WHO in the Arican region and The Regional Director o UNEPor Arica met recently in Nairobi to discuss the implementation o the Libreville Declarationand establish the WHO-UNEP Joint Task Team that will prepare the Second Inter-ministerial

Conerence on Health and Environment in Arica to be held in 2010.

Aricas environmental assets oer

opportunities or it to attain the

objectives o the New Partnership

or Aricas Development and to achievethe targets o the Millennium Develop-

ment Goals to which it signed up at the

turn o the century along with other re-

gions. Yet this potential resource is seri-

ously undermined by ill health and mis-

management o the continents natural

wealth resulting in considerable ecosys-

tem degradation.

The current deterioration is based upon

certain driving orces, both natural andman-made, such as persistent poverty;

conficts; pollution; over harvesting; and

inadequate policies and eorts to address

the problems. Patterns o disaster risk are

changing. The critical ecosystems that

support community resilience are being

lost at an alarming rate due to changes

in climate and our mismanagement o

natural resources. As a result, Arica is

currently o track to reach most targets

o the Millennium Development Goals,both the health related ones and those

associated to the environment.

Increasingly, a motivation is emerging

on the part o Arican Governments to

improve environmental conditions in

order to protect the health and wellbeing

o their people but Nowhere in Arica,

the power o synergies between health

and environment sectors has been used

to its maximum potential.

The First Arican Inter-Ministerial Con-

erence on Health and Environment in

Arica was organized to unleash this po-

tential power.

At their rst Conerence, Arican minis-

ters o health and ministers o environ-ment convened in Libreville, Gabon,

rom 28-29 august 2008 to explore the

nature o, and opportunities oered by,

the interlinkages between health and

environment. They recognized the mu-

tual importance and relevance o their

respective sectors and the synergies that

may be derived rom intensied collabo-

ration.

Through the Libreville Declaration, theycommitted their countries to establish

a strategic alliance between health and


H E A L T H A N d E N v I r O N M E N T

By ALS


12/16

environment as a basis or joint plans o

action.

They requested WHO and UNEP to

support the implementation o the Dec-

laration, and increase their eorts in

advocacy, in resource mobilization and

in obtaining new and additional invest-

ments in order to strengthen the strategic

alliance between health and environment,

along with other partners, Financial in-

stitutions and Arican Sub-regional Eco-

nomic Communities; Help Arican coun-

tries in sharing experiences, developing

capacity and establishing a mechanism to

monitor progress towards the ulllment

o the commitments made at the Coner-

ence, through peer review, and organize

a second Inter-Ministerial Conerence onHealth and Environment in Arica beore

the end o 2010, and; Support the imple-

mentation o health and environment

conventions and agreements and the es-

tablishment o an Arican network or

surveillance o communicable and non-

communicable diseases, in particular

those with environment determinants.

The Libreville Conerence urther recog-

nized that an integrated policy approach

was the best way orward to address inter-

linked health and environment issues. So

ar, despite some eorts towards working

in a more cross-cutting ashion, health

and environment issues have essentially

been addressed within their respective

sectors.

Ky p h 2010

Cnfrnc

Arican ministers decided to meet again

in 2010. In the run up to the second In-

ter-ministerial Conerence on Health

and Environment in 2010, an ambitious

programme has been developed. Major

achievements will include:

The ormalization o the health and

environment strategic alliance as a

new country initiative to harmonize,

streamline, integrate and jointly re-source health and environment ac-

tions;

The development o national strategic

plans based on rm evidence or joint

action that will provide inormation

on prevailing ecological settings risk

actors in the environment, public

health and resources development, as

well as and nancial resource map-

ping etc. and

The establishment o a Financial

Mechanism to support country stra-

tegic plans within the Health and En-

vironment Strategic Alliance. WHO

and UNEP will carry out a detailed as-

sessment to identiy existing unding

mechanisms, to prole donor sources

globally, and consider requirements

or accessing such unds.

The Joint Task Team (JTT) established by

WHO and UNEP in November 2008 is

entrusted with the responsibility to inter

alia develop and implement a roadmap

highlighting milestones and main activi-

ties to be carried out during the inter-ses-

sion period, one o the short term activi-

ties being the organization o the Meeting

o Partners by end o February 2009 as

well as subsequent meetings o partners;

support preparations or the Second In-

ter-ministerial Conerence on Health andEnvironment in Arica to be held in 2010

and Facilitate resource mobilization.

At their meeting earlier this month, theJTT developed a roadmap with the viewto chart the process and key milestonesor implementing the Libreville Declara-tion at national and international levels,in order to report to Ministers o Healthand Ministers in charge o Environmentat their second meeting in 2010. The

roadmap will also serve as the basis orcoordinated partners actions in support

o country processes.


H E A L T H A N d E N v I r O N M E N T

The strategic direction contained in

the Medium-term Strategy provides a

clear, results-based ocus or UNEP pro-

grammes o work. This ocus will enable

UNEP to deliver on its mandate more

eectively by building on its existing ex-

pertise and comparative advantage in alimited number o priority areas.

UNEP has identied six cross-cutting

thematic priorities. These include Cli-

mate change; Disasters and conficts;

Ecosystem management; Environmen-

tal governance; Harmul substances and

Hazardous waste; and Resource ecien-

cy-sustainable consumption and produc-

tion. Delivering tangible results against

each o the priorities will be the ocus o

its eorts in the period 20102013.

This signals major changes that UNEP

will undergo this year in terms o institu-

tional adjustments and business process-

es. There is a major departure rom the

current business model to a model that

will bring more cohesiveness as UNEP

delivers one in a more coordinated andresults- oriented approach. UNEP is

thereore in the process o reorganizing,

restructuring and reocusing itsel.

In line with the change process, the Re-

gional Oce or Arica will organize

a retreat in March this year, in order to

kick start the readiness process in terms

o appropriate changes in unctions and

structure to prepare and equip the oce

or the ull implementation o the Pro-

gramme o work 2010-2011.

The outcome of this retreat will be one of

the major focuses of the next edition of

ROA News.


13/16

Ozone and Climate Change- an opportunity for AfricanJournalists

As part o UNEP continued support to build the capacity or environmental reporting within the Arican Network o Environmental Journalist(ANEJ), the Ozone Compliance Assistance Programme in Arica the Regional Ofce or Arica have recently organized a series o workshops orenvironmental journalists. These workshops were intended to help journalists get a better grasp o the issues and examine how the world aces thechallenge o protecting the ozone layer and the role o the media in promoting awareness and prompting action on ozone and climate Changeand to build bridges between journalists and ozone Experts so as to increase efciency in accurate inormation delivery to all stakeholders. Thepartnership in providing resource material is now extended to the London-based International Institute or Environment and Development IIED.

The build-up o ozone depleting

substances and greenhouse gases

in the atmosphere is largely the

consequence o industrialization over the

last two and a hal centuries. How has the

world measured up to this threat, par-

ticularly in an era o rampant economic

globalization? Is this response part o thesolution or part o the problem? What

can be done to arrest this trend, even

while permitting developing countries to

industrialize?

These issues have never been higher on

the medias agenda, yet problems persist

in the way it is reported. There are many

criticisms o how the media has covered

these issues to date, but many signs o im-

provement too. For journalists new to the

topic, ozone and climate change issues

are complex, making training a priorityor media outlets.

In the case o climate change or instance,

challenges include making stories more

relevant to audiences, raising the prole

o adaptation and the perspectives o the

poor, and reporting on ways to address

climate change that bring additional ben-

ets.

In developing countries especially, ew

reporters are well trained, connected and

resourced or the challenge ahead. Butozone and particularly climate change

issues now encompass so many develop-

ment issues and more. The main issue is

to grasp the complex nature o the issue

as it continues to gather new dimensions.

Training and access to experts are still

clearly a challenge in Arica.

tim fr ynrgic acin nozn and clima chang

Much has changed since the international

community rst agreed over 20 years ago

to take action to control ozone-depleting

substances (ODS). Continuing scientic

research has urther revealed the scale

o the problem, which in many cases is

bleaker than previously believed. But this

has also brought about alternatives and

new solutions. The Montreal Protocol

will and must continue to adapt in

light o new scientic inormation.

The inormation rom the Scientic As-

sessment Panels report in 2006 ound

that, even i complying with all present

control measures, Antarctic ozone will

only return to its previous levels some

time between 2060 and 2075, up to 25

years later than earlier estimates. Mean-

while the solutions put in place to combat

ozone depletion have created their own

set o challenges such as illegal trade

which in turn require an international re-

sponse. In recent years, attention ocusedmore in strengthening the implementa-tion o control measures, a work that will

Journalist following presentations


O Z O N E

By ALS

Ozone ofcers , ANEJ Journalists and UNEP staff in Lilongwe, Malawi-Consolidating partnerships


14/16


O Z O N E

need to be intensied to address variousissues that have emerged.

One o the emerging challenges is thelink between ozone and climate change.There is increasing evidence that changesin climate, ground temperature, levels o

greenhouse gases and water vapor in theatmosphere will infuence the recovery othe ozone layer.

Decisive multilateral action on environ-mental threats and challenges can bringwide-ranging health, social and eco-nomic benets. The Montreal Protocolon Substances that Deplete the OzoneLayer, which underpins the internationalcommunitys eorts to combat depletiono the earths ragile protective shield, alsocontributes to combating climate change,

since many o the chemicals controlledunder the treaty have also emerged asones that contribute to global warming.Not only has the Montreal Protocol orthe protection o the ozone layer servedas a useul example in developing the in-

ternational climate regime, but policies

pursued in both issue areas infuence each

other. By phasing out chlorofuorocar-

bons (CFCs) - once common in products

such as rerigerators - and now decid-

ing to accelerate a reeze and phase-out

o hydrochlorofuorocarbons (HCFCs),

the treaty has provided two benets at

once. The Montreal Protocol and indeedall MEAs have consequences that extend

well beyond their expected target. As ex-

perience has shown, those consequences

oten collide in unexpected ways.

Faced with the choice o beginning a

phased reduction in the programme or

expanding it to enhance its coverage o

both ozone and climate, the Parties to

the Montreal Protocol decided in 2007, to

harness the power o the Montreal Proto-

col to achieve urther ozone and climatebenets through the acceleration o the

phase-out o HCFCs.

Where possible, increased synergies are

being pursued between the Montreal Pro-

tocol and other international or multilat-

eral environmental agreements (MEAs)

such as the Kyoto Protocol on climate

change, the Stockholm Convention on

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs),

the Basel Convention on waste, the In-

ternational Plant Protection Convention

(IPPC) and the Rotterdam Convention

on chemicals.

The potentials or enhancing synergy are

explored, and related options discussed.

Some initiatives or exploiting the po-

tentials are already underway, aiming in

particular at enhancing learning and ex-

changing o inormation. This is indeed

a very good opportunity or journalists as

it provides more chances to give human

ace to stories thus making it more inter-

esting and close to peoples concerns. This

is also likely to help tackle urban air pol-lution, deorestation, loss o biodiversity

and other dangers and make them more

reader riendly and prompt participation

and action.

enhancing jurnali capaciy dal wih zn iu in Africa

Arica has been identied as one o UNEP priority area o ocus, by the United Nations Environment Programmes Governing Council considering the specic nature ochallenges acing this continent and its relatively low capacity to address the emerging issues. The need to involve all stakeholders as we strive to reach a sustainabledevelopment points to the critical necessity to enhance public awareness and participation in environmental protection and decision processes. But there are alsoconstraints in communicating outreach inormation on these critical and at times rather technical environmental issues to dierent audiences.

In the context o this mission and to consolidate the experience journalists in environmental reporting, UNEP assisted in the establishment o the Arican Network oEnvironmental Journalists (ANEJ), with the view to build strategic partnership with the media, in support o its public awareness programme in the region.The Ozone Compliance Asssistance Programme Team in Arica has been particularly active on this ront. Since the establishment o ANEJ in 2002, a series o trainingworkshops have been held to help build the capacity o Arican journalists in understanding Ozone related issues. Particular emphasis has been placed on the phaseout o Ozone depleting substances and harmonization o ozone legislations in dierent sub regions; illegal trade o environmentally- sensitive commodities such asozone depleting substances (ODS), toxic chemicals, hazardous waste and endangered species, through the Green Customs Initiative; alternatives to methyl bromide;maximizing the climate- combating benets o the Ozone layer, Treaty-the Montreal protocol.

This eort is going to gain a new momentum as the world moves towards a total phase-out o major ODS in 2010. Some critical challenges still need to beaddressed:Critical or essential uses: The overall quantity o methyl bromide used globally in soil umigation has gone down substantially. However, sectors where no technicallyor economically easible alternatives are available are still exempt rom the rules. A number o medical applications, or example or treating asthma and other bronchial

diseases are still exempt rom the rules on CFCs. Alternatives have now been developed in some countries, but incentives must be introduced to make the technologymore widespread, particularly in developing countries.

Addressing the alarming growth of HCFCs: Production and consumption o HCFCs in developing countries is set to double rom their current levels, despite the alreadyagreed 2013 reeze date and 2030 total phase out date. HCFCs represent about 60 percent o the remaining ozone depleting substances in industrialized countries, andover 90 percent o remaining ODS used in Arican countries, with overall quantities steadily increasing. To avoid a urther delay in the recovery o the ozone layer, thereis a need to address this alarming increase by moving orward the current phase out schedules.

Illegal trade: There is evidence o a signicant black market in ODS, with a fow o trade rom chemical producers in certain emerging market countries to westerncompanies. Currently, there is insucient sharing o license inormation between the parties and there remain signicant discrepancies between data declared byimporting and exporting countries.

Assessment: Action is needed to assess new substances in light o the latest scientic inormation on their ozone depleting potential and on whether they need to beadded to the list o controlled substances.

Exemptions for quarantine/pre-shipment: To ensure that goods or export are pest ree, the numbers o quarantine and pre-shipment (QPS) applications are increasingrapidly in a number o areas. These applications continue to rely heavily on Methyl Bromide although more and more alternatives are becoming available.

Linking ozone and climate policies: The link between ozone and climate change must be addressed more ully. There is increasing evidence that changes in climate,ground temperature, levels o greenhouse gases and water vapor in the atmosphere will infuence the recovery o the ozone layer


15/16

UNEP and Kenya Pioneer Practical low costTechnologies for Wastewater Management in

Mombasa

UNEP and Kenya are bringingnatures answers to the sanita-

tion challenges in the coastal city

o Mombasa through appropriate, simple,

ecient, low-cost and environmentally

sound technologies in managing waste-

water at the Shimo La Tewa Prison in

Mombasa, Kenya, a prison with a popula-

tion o 4000 inmates and sta aced with

a critical sanitation challenge.

Beore the implementation o this joint

project, the sewage was discharged directlyinto the Mtwapa Creek, thus contaminat-

ing the water and threatening not only the

health o the inmates and prison sta, but

also the coastal and marine ecosystems

and local communities living around the

creek, around 55,000 inhabitants. The

creek supports diversity o habitats such

as mangrove orests, coral rees and sea-

grass beds and also serves as breeding

ground or living marine resources with

immense socio-economic importance

UNEP through the Nairobi Conven-

tion is supporting the Kenya Govern-

ment through this demonstration project

which intends to treat wastewater ema-

nating rom the prison premises by use

o natural systems with minimum energy

requirements, while exploring opportuni-

ties or recycling o treated wastewater or

irrigation and aquaculture, as well as gen-

erating biogas or use in cooking, heating

and lighting.

The technology involves the developmento a sewer system and wetland wastewa-

ter treatment system at a ar lower cost

than the price o high-tech treatments

(the cost in the range o US$ 100,000-

200,000 - about US$ 2050 per person

or the prison population when com-

pared with the conventional wastewater

treatment systems oten costing in range

o US$ 450800 per person), while also

triggering scores o environmental, eco-

nomic and social benets. The wetland

treatment system will be commissioned

in 2009. The project is also to assess using

the wetland- ltered water or irrigationand sh arming giving prisoners a new

source o protein or sold to local markets,

alternative livelihoods.

Thus it has the potential recovery o costs

o its construction as well as in contribut-

ing to the MDG and WSSD targets on wa-

ter and sanitation. The scheme is among

a rat o projects being undertaken under

the Addressing Land-Based activities in

the Western Indian Ocean (WIO-LaB)

Initiative, which orms part o the UNEP-

brokered Nairobi Convention treaty-a re-

gional seas agreement.

It is hoped the lessons learnt can be ap-

plied to other parts o the Nairobi Con-

vention region so that the multiple chal-

lenges o sanitation and pollution can in

part be viewed through a nature-based

lens. Some o the countries in the region

have expressed great interest in the use o

the wetland wastewater treatment tech-nology to manage their municipal waste-

water.


N A I r O B I C O N v E N T I O N

Growing vegetables on wastewater

Example of a constructed wetland treatmentsystem

Fishponding using wastewater pre-treated in aconstructed wetland system


16/16

N A I r O B I C O N v E N T I O N

Dvlping a wland-lagn ym frwawar managmn a shim La twaPrin, Mmbaa Knya

Description: The goal o the project is to demonstrate a sustain-

able manner o pollution control o Mtwapa Creek in Mombassa

by designing and constructing a sewer system and constructed

wetland wastewater treatment system at Shimo la Tewa Prison

in Mombasa. The aim is to treat wastewater emanating rom the

prison premises by use o natural systems with minimum en-

ergy requirements, while exploring opportunities or recyclingo treated wastewater or irrigation and aquaculture, as well as

generating biogas or use in cooking, heating and lighting. The

project also involves upgrading o the existing sanitary acili-

ties in the prison itsel so as to improve the living conditions

and reduce health risks o the approximately 2,500 inmates and

1,500 sta. Furthermore, acilities or rainwater harvesting will

be constructed at the Boys prison, where also the use o ecosan

toilets will be tested. Construction and operation o the acilities

will involve inmates, which will not only generate a (modest)

source o revenue or them but will also enhance their technical

skills. Specic training elements are built into the project or

this purpose. The project is intended to serve as an example obest practice in sanitation in prisons in Kenya (within the con-

text o the ongoing Prison Reorm process) as well as in the rest

o the region.

Partners: The National Environment Authority (NEMA), the

Coast Development Authority (CDA), Kenya Prisons Service

and Shimo La Tewa Prison more in particular, the Mombas-

sa Water and Sewerage Company, the Municipal Council o

Mombassa, The Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute

(KMFRI). Technical assistance is urthermore provided by the

University o Dar es Salaam (a regional knowledge centre on

constructed wetland technology) as well as the University oWageningen, the University o Amsterdam and the Waterboard

Noorderkwartier rom the Netherlands. The latter support

rom Dutch counterpart institutions is coordinated through the

NGO Aqua or All, representing the Dutch Water Sector, which

also provides cash co-nancing to the tune o over 100,000 USD

to the project.

Costs: The solutions demonstrated are very cost-eective. The

investment costs o the constructed wetland treatment system

or the main prison amount to approximately 17,000 USD, with

an additional 38,000 USD going into the sewer system develop-

ment, including improved sanitary acilities in the prison itsel,

and a urther 30,000 USD being needed or the construction o

a septic tank system. Labour costs are estimated at 27,000 USD.

The total costs therewith amount to approximately 110,000

USD or 25 USD per person, which is substantially less than

more conventional solutions. (Noted should be that the total

project value, including project management costs, other com-

ponents such as rainwater harvesting, ecosan toilets, training

and capacity building, education and awareness raising activi-

ties, are estimated at 400,000 USD, hal o which is provided or

by the WIO-LaB Project budget)


Building the technical capacity of inmates by involving them in the construction works and operation of the facilities

Regional Office for Africa Newsletter, February 2009 ~ United Nations Environment Programme

Documents

Transcript of Regional Office for Africa Newsletter, February 2009 ~ United Nations Environment Programme