Professional and Institutional Forms of Improving SEA Capacities to Impact Decision-Making Workshop E1.3 IAIA International Experience and Perspectives in SEA Linda Ghanimé Environmental Operations and Policy Advisor United Nations Development Programme

Millennium Development Goal 7 Ensure Environmental Sustainability TargetsIndicators 9. Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programs and reverse the loss of environmental resources 25. Proportion of land area covered by forests 26. Ratio of area protected to maintain biological diversity to surface area 27. Energy use per $1 GDP 28. Carbon dioxide emissions (per capita) and consumption of ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons 29. Proportion of population using solid fuels 10. Halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and sanitation 30. Proportion of population with sustainable access to an improved water source, urban and rural 31. Proportion of population with access to improved sanitation 11. Have achieved, by 2020, a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers 32. Proportion of households with access to secure tenure

Global Progress on MDG7 Target Setting  Only 23% of countries tailored targets to reverse the loss of environmental resources (Target 9)  Over 50% of countries have set time-bound and measurable national targets, primarily on water and sanitation (Target 10).  Only 8% of countries set targets to improve slum conditions (Target 11) Achieving Environmental Sustainability  Disappointing progress overall  Few countries reported sufficient data to monitor trends  Less than 5% of countries indicated they would achieve targets for environmental sustainability by 2015  The majority of countries reported progress on access to safe drinking water and sanitation Source: UNDP, Environmental Sustainability in 100 MDG Country Reports, 2005.

SEA

What is Capacity Development?  Capacity is the ability to perform functions, solve problems, set goals and achieve them.  Capacity Development is the process by which individuals, institutions and societies develop these abilities. Takes place in every society primarily as an endogenous process.  Conserving, creating, strengthening, adapting and maintaining capacity over time is our challenge.

Values Norms Systems Structures Practices Capacity Emanates from:

IndividualInstitution/ Organization Society/ National International/ Global Capacity Levels:

 Setting goals and targets  Developing strategies  Developing and implementing appropriate policies  Developing regulatory and legal frameworks  Building and managing partnerships  Fostering an enabling environment for civil society  Mobilizing and managing resources  Implementing action plans  Monitoring progress  Evaluating outcomes, impacts and results Capacity is Achieving Outcomes, Impacts and Results

Default Principles of Capacity Development CD is a long-term, dynamic process. … builds upon respect and self-esteem. … is context specific. … requires an enabling dynamic. … needs attention and leadership. … can be encouraged with conducive incentives. … is premised on ownership. … grows from existing capacities. … is most needed where it is weakest. … needs to work for poor people. 1. don ’t rush 2. respect the value system and foster self-esteem 3. scan locally and globally; reinvent locally 4. challenge mindsets and power differentials 5. think and act in terms of sustainable capacity outcomes 6. establish positive incentives 7. Integrate support into national priorities, processes & systems 8. build on existing capacities rather than creating new ones 9. stay engaged under difficult circumstances 10. remain accountable to ultimate beneficiaries

 Design capacity development efforts as an integral part of an ongoing change process - Result-based management process  Recognize the value of experience: learning- by-doing …the thinking  Networking for knowledge acquisition and sharing  Flexibility to adjust to individual country/community needs, cultural identities and values. Emerging principles from lessons learned

Why monitoring environmental sustainability? Assessment –SEA analysis and process-needs to be :  Key part of a continuous system of planning, implementation, and evaluation: establishing priorities, objectives and plans with regular review and re-charting course of action as necessary  Anchors vision, goals and targets for evidence based policy making  Builds and integrates existing frameworks and processes  Builds national ownership, political support, and institutional capacity building  Catalyst for local, national and international mobilisation

Experts, Equipment, Funding Data collection & analysis, Consultations, Training Programmes, Equipment Procurement, Construction Seminars conducted; People trained; Studies Completed; Recommendations made; Equipment/ Infrastructure functioning; Conditions improved: health/ longevity; income; employment; literacy; social inclusion; shelter & environmental conditions; perception of prosperity More development- conducive Laws and Policies; Social Services/ Facilities expanded; Clients served; Jobs Created; Access/inclusion improved; Attitudes Changed Inputs ActivitiesOutputs OutcomesImpacts Where is SEA ?

OECD/DAC SEA Task Team Develop and promote the practical use of SEA in the formulation and assessment of development policies, plans, programmes and projects in development cooperation to ensure that:  Environmental considerations are effectively incorporated into policy development, planning and strategic decision- making at the formative stage Linkages between environmental, social and economic factors are better understood and addressed Outcomes of policies, plans and programmes have better prospects to contribute to sustainable development.

SEA for OECD DAC  SEA is an analytical and participatory process to integrate environmental considerations into strategic decision making in development cooperation at the level of policies, plans and programmes and to evaluate the inter linkages with economic and social considerations.

Task Team 10-point Programme 1. Improve understanding of SEA 2. Establish and evaluate relationship of SEA to policy formulation, assessment and implementation used in development cooperation 3. Identify, develop and promote SEA methodologies 4. Promote transparency, stakeholder participation, and accountability 5. Harmonise approaches of SEA to development policies, plans and programmes formulation, assessment and implementation 6. Align SEA approaches with country priorities and processes 7. Provide a forum for dialogue on the development of SEA 8. Promote the value of SEA to those engaged development policies, plans and programmes 9. Provide practical guidance for both decision-makers and practitioners 10. Launch the final Guidance at the IAIA Annual meeting in Stavanger, Norway, in May 2006.

SEA guidance outline 1. Executive summary 2. Objectives of the guidance 3. SEA as applied to development cooperation? 4. Benefits of using SEA in development cooperation? 5. Towards SEA good practice: principles and processes 6. Potential applications of SEA – Guidance notes (eg)  Direct budget support  Poverty reduction strategies  Country sector programmes  Country assistance strategies 7. How to evaluate an SEA 8. Capacity Building for SEA 9. Appendices

Capacity Building For SEA Principles and opportunities for developing capacities for SEA:  Foster country level knowledge and leadership  Good donor practices  SEA to develop capacity for making complex development/public investment SEA as a learning system for capacity development:  Ongoing process of change  Simple and flexible approach that seeks a balance between process and product, using familiar concepts Building on existing strengths:  Use and retain existing capacities - expertise, consultancy and research capacity  Integrate SEA in national institutions and systems and avoid by-passing them with new or separate mechanisms for SEA delivery.

Capacity Development in SEA: Examples of support  Identifying and reinforcing links between poverty reduction and environmental management and development – contribution of environment  Facilitate stakeholders access to SEA knowledge and experience  Help create a national framework for undertaking SEA.  Facilitate discussions between government and donors on opportunities to strengthen planning processes  Address analytical, participatory processes for effective SEA  Build technical capacity within government, private sector and non-governmental players to conduct SEA studies and review SEA reports

Developing capacity for SEA 1. MDG-based national poverty reduction strategies must fully integrate energy and environment issues in order to succeed. 2. Setting country specific targets for environmental sustainability integrated into the overall national planning and budgeting system is essential to maximize progress on the MDGs.

Key challenges in CB?  Financing SEAs  Lack of experience, since there has been few SEAs conducted  The legal basis for SEAs is weak in many countries  Not much scope for inter sectoral collaboration  Convincing politicians (to gain political interest)  Lack of training needs assessment  Enforcement of SEA laws / mandates  How to adapt international experiences to fit different countries and sectors  Find appropriate government structures to champion SEATiming

Opportunities for SEA CD?  Legal frameworks exists in many countries  Build on experiences from EIA implementation  Commitment to MDG/Agenda 21 – entry point for SEA  Experiences from implanting the SEA protocol  External pressure from donors, World Bank can trigger SEA and capacity building  Possibility to influence national budgets with SEA