| United Nations |
|
|
|
|
E/CN.17/1998/7/Add.6 |
Economic and Social Council
Distr. GENERAL
20 April-1 May 1998
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
Economic and Social Council
Commission on Sustainable Development
Sixth Session
20 April-1 May 1998
Progress in the implementation of the Programme of Action
for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States
Report of the Secretary-General
Addendum
National institutions and administrative capacity in
small island developing States *
(* The present report has been prepared by the Department of Economic and
Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, with the assistance of the
United Nations Development Programme, in accordance with arrangements agreed
to by the Inter-Agency Committee on Sustainable Development; it is the result
of consultation and information exchange between United Nations agencies,
interested government agencies and a range of other institutions and
individuals.)
Contents
Paragraphs Page
I. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 3
II. National action for institutional and
administrative capacity-building . . . . . . . . 2-7 3
III. Regional cooperation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-9 4
IV. Action by the United Nations system. . . . . . . 10-20 4
A. Asia and the Pacific . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-15 5
B. The Caribbean. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-19 5
C. The African small island developing States . 20 6
V. Bilateral and multilateral assistance. . . . . . 21-22 6
VI. Conclusions and recommendations. . . . . . . . . 23-31 7
A. Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-25 7
B. Recommendations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-31 7
I. Introduction
1. Pursuing sustainable development requires, inter alia,
a strengthening of national institutions and administrative
capacity. This need is clearly recognized in the Programme
of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island
Developing States.
II. National action for institutional and
administrative capacity-building
2. The institutional response of many small island
developing States to meet the new needs of sustainable
development have taken various forms. A common feature
that has emerged is the establishment in several of them of
a high-level body, either a council or commission, often
chaired by the head of the Government or a senior minister.
For example, in Mauritius a national environmental
commission was set up, chaired by the Prime Minister, with
a broad membership, including ministers responsible for
economic planning, finance, education, science and
technology, energy and natural resources, tourism, industry,
health, justice and local government. A key mandate of the
commission is to ensure coordination and cooperation
between public departments, local authorities and other
governmental organizations engaged in environmental
protection programmes. In Barbados, a national
commission on sustainable development has been
established, with broad representation from various
ministries and the involvement of the private sector and
major groups. A major responsibility of the commission is
to facilitate national-level coordination of sustainable
development programmes and to promote public awareness.
Similarly, an environment, science and technology
commission in the Office of the Prime Minister of the
Bahamas is broadly represented, with participation by
academics and the private sector. The principal task of the
commission is to coordinate efforts to protect the
environment, implement sustainable development policies,
and advance the use of science and new technology. In Fiji,
an interdepartmental coordination mechanism has been set
up to provide for an effective environmental management
capability, heritage protection and meaningful public
participation. In the Federated States of Micronesia, a
President's Council on Environment and Sustainable
Development has been established to coordinate and
oversee sustainable development activities of national
government departments.
3. Formulation of a national sustainable development
strategy that serves as an overall policy framework is
another important initiative taken by many small island
developing States Governments. In Singapore, the Green
Plan, which dates back to the early 1990s, has served as a
national master plan to guide the country into the twenty-first
century. Over 130 specific action programmes have
been formulated and are under implementation, with inputs
from government ministries, non-governmental bodies and
private organizations. Industry has taken a more proactive
approach, while heightened awareness among the
communities has led to their greater involvement in
numerous environmental activities. In the Pacific, 13 island
countries have prepared and adopted national
environmental management strategies. This has been
accompanied by an increase in staffing of relevant units in
most Pacific small island developing States.
4. In Haiti, the establishment of the Environment
Ministry in 1995 was followed by the preparation of a
national environment action plan, which aims to integrate
Haiti into the environmental mainstream and provide the
Government with a special tool for the sustainable
development of the country. In addition, specific
environmental directives have been tentatively drawn up
for waste management and air pollution reduction and metal
scrap disposal. With the assistance of international
institutions, Haiti is also proceeding with the codification
of environmental legislation as a further step towards a
strengthened institutional capacity for achieving sustainable
development objectives.
5. A number of small island developing States
Governments have extended the above-mentioned
initiatives to specific sectors. For instance, in the tourism
industry, which is a major sector in many small island
developing States, an integrated approach has been adopted
to address the sustainability of tourism in all its dimensions,
including the new institutions and administrative capacity
required for achieving sustainable tourism. A multi-pronged
strategy, composed of new legislation, training and
restructuring of government agencies, has been
implemented. A wide range of new laws have been enacted
in some small island developing States, establishing
standards for land use in tourism, tourism facilities and
investment in tourism. For instance, in Saint Lucia,
following the establishment of a national sustainable
tourism commission, the Minimum Standards Act has been
adopted with a view to addressing all areas of hotel,
restaurant and tourism carrying capacity. Jamaica has
carried out a review of existing environmental legislation,
which has resulted in the passage of new legislation
requiring the conduct of an environmental impact
assessment for all new development.
6. In addition, some small island developing States, such
as Cyprus, have started using economic instruments as a
new tool for reorienting tourism development. Various new
tax incentives have been introduced to diversify and
upgrade tourism products. Fiscal instruments are used to
encourage sound land use and coastal zone practices. The
same set of instruments have been applied in other tourism-related
sectors so as to improve the overall quality and
balance of sustainable tourism.
7. But although these measures are important
achievements, there are still small island developing States
that have not yet taken action to put in place the necessary
legislative and administrative frameworks that will enable
them to meet the growing requirements of sustainable
development programmes and activities. Even in those that
have taken important initiatives, key obstacles to effective
national cross-sectoral and interdepartmental coordination
remain, such as inadequate skilled manpower resources
allocated to the enforcement of new legislation, and weak
official status and authority accorded to new coordination
mechanisms that are yet to be sufficiently funded and
staffed in some small island developing States. The
experiences of small island developing States to date
suggest that institutional and administrative capacity-building
is a protracted and complex process that requires
sustained political commitment and sufficient resources.
III. Regional cooperation
8. Realizing the constraints arising from their limited
financial and human resources, small island developing
States Governments have shown greater interest in regional
and subregional cooperation for building and strengthening
national institutions and administrative capacity. Many
regional and subregional organizations have carried out
various activities in support of small island developing
States, including strengthening of specific national
institutions and administrative capacity (for details, see
E/CN.17/1998/7/Add 7). For instance, the Caribbean Center
for Development Administration (CARICAD), with funding
from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
and the Caribbean Development Bank, has been working
with six small island developing States Governments over
the past three years to strengthen institutional capacity for
defining and implementing national sustainable
development planning and programmes. Four modalities
were adopted to strengthen national institutions: (a)
establishing a national advisory and coordinating
mechanism or sustainable development council; (b)
launching a consultative process at the national and
regional levels; (c) conducting case studies of innovative
experiences from which to derive policy and operational
insights and lessons; and (d) establishing a regional network
for information sharing. Since the start of this project,
CARICAD has collaborated extensively with national
sustainable development councils in these countries in
strengthening public environmental management systems,
organizing training in key areas pertaining to institutional
development and capacity-building, and conducting case
studies in priority areas. At the recent Caribbean ministerial
meeting on the implementation of the Programme of Action
for the Sustainable Development of Small Island
Developing States, it was recommended that CARICAD,
with support from interested Governments and relevant
regional and international agencies, extend the network of
national sustainable development councils to the whole
region.
9. In the Pacific, a number of agencies are involved in
providing assistance in capacity-building in small island
developing States. For instance, the South Pacific Regional
Environment Programme (SPREP) has coordinated the
preparation of national environmental management
strategies throughout the region, with assistance from the
Asian Development Bank (ADB), UNDP and Australia. The
process included a review of relevant legislation,
preparation of a state-of-the-environment report, national
seminars and the development of a national environmental
strategy. In addition, regional cooperation has taken place
under the Capacity 21 Project funded by UNDP, aimed at
strengthening national frameworks for sustainable
development, sustainable development planning and
financing, environmental legislation and environmental law
training. Also, the South Pacific Commission (SPC) is
facilitating the work of the Pacific Sustainable
Development Network, which is designed to strengthen the
capacity of institutions in the region and to develop
effective and efficient systems for information exchange.
Since the Global Conference on the Sustainable
Development of Small Island Developing States, numerous
workshops and seminars have been held by United Nations
and non-United Nations organizations for the training of
civil servants involved in environmental management, not
only in the Pacific but also in the Caribbean (for more
details, see E/CN.17/1998/7/Add.9).
IV. Action by the United Nations system
10. Recognizing the lack of institutional and
administrative capacity in small island developing States,
United Nations agencies have undertaken a variety of
programme activities and projects with a view to
strengthening the capacity of small island developing States
to pursue sustainable development. A short review of
selected activities and projects is provided below on a
region-by-region basis.
A. Asia and the Pacific
11. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
has provided support to Kiribati, Tuvalu and Vanuatu in
environmental law, assisting them in drafting
environmental legislation and formulating a framework for
environmental law. The Economic and Social Commission
for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) has several projects
aimed at enhancing national institutions and the
administrative capacity of small island developing States
in the ESCAP region. One project involves subregional
workshops on economic stabilization, liberalization and
deregulation, while another involves enhanced intraregional
cooperation in trade and investment; both projects
emphasize the fragile ecology of island countries and the
importance of integrating environmental consideration in
the economic decision-making. In addition, the
ESCAP/Pacific Operation Centre has assisted SPREP in the
implementation of Capacity 21 projects, including the
design and conduct of workshops. It has also provided
advisory services to SPC and the South Pacific Forum
(SPF), including recommendations for rationalizing the
management of marine resources among the regional
bodies.
12. Within the framework of its regional programme,
UNDP has supported both the establishment of a regional
network for the exchange of information on Pacific island
marine resources and the concerted efforts of Pacific island
countries to maximize the exploitation of abundant tuna
resources while ensuring the sustainability of future stocks.
UNDP has also supported, through the regional indicative
planning figures (IPFs), programmes on improved
management, use and development of forest and tree
resources, and management of water supply and sanitation.
13. A programme on capacity-building for sustainable
development in the South Pacific, funded from UNDP's
Capacity 21, is geared towards assisting the Pacific small
island developing States in strengthening governmental and
non-governmental capacity for sustainable development
through the greater participation and improved capabilities
of traditional Pacific island institutions. The programme
fosters the participation of the general public, including
women, in development planning. The anticipated
outcomes include improved capacity of Governments to
promote and enforce sustainable land and sea resource use;
the creation of integrated, cross-sectoral and participatory
national frameworks for sustainable development for each
subregion (Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia);
improved capacity of financial planners and investment
institutions to integrate environmental issues into lending
policies; and the reform of legislation to support sound land
and sea management.
14. The Department of Economic and Social Affairs of
the United Nations Secretariat, through its technical
assistance activities, implemented a project in the Marshall
Islands during 1993-1996 aimed at improving public sector
management. The project addressed a number of constraints
faced by the public service of the Marshall Islands,
including its organization and staffing, policy-making
capacity in the economic and social sectors, and the
shortage of adequate skills of many staff members. The
World Bank and the SPF secretariat also supported and
participated in the implementation of the project.
15. The United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development/World Trade Organization International
Trade Centre has conducted several training programmes
and other related projects in the region, as well as in the
Caribbean, aimed at enhancing national capacity in
international trade, including improvement of import
management. Other activities of the Centre include
identification of technical cooperation needs in the
export/import sector and a series of dissemination seminars
and workshops.
B. The Caribbean
16. The Caribbean work programme of the Economic
Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)
contains an environment and development component
whose objective is to strengthen the capabilities of member
countries to incorporate environmental considerations into
development planning. Among other programme activities,
ECLAC has conducted a critical examination of the
availability of environmental information in the Caribbean,
and an assessment of the implications for planning and
decision-making. Its work in the environmental statistics
for the region will lead to a database and a directory of
sources of environmental information.
17. In the Caribbean small island developing States,
UNDP is supporting natural disaster management and
reduction programmes through regional IPF funding. The
main thrust of the activities is aimed at creating national
and regional capacities to deal with natural and man-made
disasters, and also to address the preparation and
implementation of contingency response measures and
comprehensive long-term disaster management plans
integrated into the national development planning process.
The organization is also supporting the establishment of an
independent satellite-based regional radio and data
communications network, with multilingual transmission
capabilities, through the enhancement of the regional
information distribution system of the Caribbean News
Agency. It is envisaged that the project will also strengthen
the regional integration linkages within the Caribbean
Community (CARICOM), as well as the information link
between CARICOM and Latin America. Furthermore,
UNDP is currently providing assistance in upgrading the
maritime legal and administrative regimes of member States
of CARICOM for the implementation of a system of port
State control, which will enable them to exercise
jurisdiction over foreign vessels in order to ensure
compliance with international maritime safety and pollution
regulations. UNDP is also supporting a number of other
projects, including (a) the enhancement of land-use policies
and regimes throughout the Caribbean under a human
settlements and related environmental management
programme; (b) institutional strengthening of the
Environmental Division of the Guyana Agency for Health
Sciences, Education, Environment and Food Policy; and (c)
institutional strengthening of the Planning Institute of
Jamaica.
18. Pursuant to the provisions of the Small Island
Developing States Technical Assistance Programme, UNDP
undertook an assessment of the priority technical needs of
the Caribbean small island developing States. The results
were embodied in two reports. The first, prepared by
CARICAD, was based on a careful process of consultations
with a number of stakeholders in the region to identify and
assess priority needs in the technical cooperation and
capacity-building necessary to implement the Programme
of Action. A multidisciplinary team, with expertise in
physical planning and environmental legislation,
agriculture and post-harvest technologies, natural resources
management, sustainable tourism development, institutional
development and capacity-building, visited a number of
Caribbean small island developing States with different
ecological, demographic and economic characteristics. The
second report constituted a compendium of technical
cooperation among developing countries project profiles
designed to address some of the unmet technical
cooperation needs and gaps in institutional resources of the
Caribbean small island developing States. Most of the
project profiles seek to strengthen capacities at the national,
subregional and regional levels through the convening of
technical training workshops and symposia in other priority
areas of the Programme of Action.
19. A four-volume directory of experts of small island
developing States, prepared with UNDP support and
circulated to all UNDP offices and key intergovernmental
institutions in the small island developing States, has
become a valuable source of reference for identifying and
drawing upon appropriate national and regional expertise
available in small island developing States for the
implementation of the Programme of Action.
C. The African small island developing States
20. UNEP has provided assistance to Seychelles in
collaboration with the United Nations Centre for Human
Settlements to formulate new land planning and
development control legislation and regulation, with the
objective of establishing an adequate legal and institutional
framework for the management and sustainable utilization
of land resources. Within the framework of its regional
programme, UNDP seeks to facilitate access of a number
of African small island developing States to new and
reliable knowledge and information through the Small
Island Developing States Information Network (SIDSNET).
Small island developing States' institutions in Africa will
be enabled to update their databases on-line, and apart from
providing access to important small island developing
States databases, SIDSNET will include World Wide Web
calendars, forums and directories. Although it will initially
focus on only three chapters of the Programme of Action
(Coastal and marine resources; Energy; and Sustainable
tourism), it will be gradually expanded to include the other
issues embodied in the Programme of Action. The African
Internet Initiative, with the support of SIDSNET, will
ensure that Internet connectivity is provided to Cape Verde,
Sao Tome and Principe and the Comoros, and will work
with the Indian Ocean Commission to promote inter-island
networking. In addition, UNDP has commissioned a
non-governmental organization in the region to carry out an
assessment-cum-formulation mission of unmet technical
cooperation priorities in small island developing States in
the Africa region.
V. Bilateral and multilateral assistance
21. National institutions and administrative capacity is
one of the few areas that has attracted relatively high
bilateral and multilateral assistance. Available data on
external support to small island developing States indicate
that in 1994, the latest year for which data classified
according to the chapters of the Programme of Action are
available, annual bilateral commitments to this area totaled
US$43.12 million, while multilateral commitments totaled
US$8.10 million.
22. However, as in the case of human resources
development, external assistance from bilateral sources in
this area experienced significant declines. Total bilateral
commitments fell from US$54.88 million in 1991 to
US$43.12 million in 1994. Multilateral assistance did not
change perceptibly in 1994 compared to 1991.
VI. Conclusions and recommendations
A. Conclusions
23. Since the Global Conference, most small island
developing States' Governments have taken important
initiatives to strengthen national institutions and
administrative capacity. The foregoing brief review shows
that many of them have established high-level bodies
charged with the overall responsibility for guiding and
coordinating national policies and measures for integrating
environmental protection and development. New legislation
has been adopted to provide a sound and updated legal
framework for the pursuit of sustainable development.
Comprehensive national strategies have been formulated
that will provide a blueprint for long-term coordinated
action. There has also been a growing trend of public
participation.
24. Regional organizations and the United Nations system
have provided indispensable support to national efforts
concerning institutional and administrative capacity-building.
Their assistance, whether through project funding
or technical cooperation, has been extended to a large
number of programme areas, contributing to the capacity-building
of small island developing States in different sectors.
25. There is, however, a continuing need for strong action
in this area since small island developing States remain
constrained by limited financial, human and technical
resources. Some have very limited capacity, even for
handling inter-agency coordination. Planning and
implementation of sustainable development policies and
measures remain uncoordinated, and are invariably
fragmented. There is therefore room for improving inter-ministerial
coordination at the national level and more
effective cooperation at the regional level. The crucial
importance of strengthening national institutions and
administrative capacity for sustainable development and the
difficult capacity-building process that it entails cannot be
overemphasized: the significant declines in external
financial support in this area are a matter of grave concern.
B. Recommendations
1. National level
26. Small island developing States' Governments should
further strengthen their national sustainable development
bodies by enhancing their political and legal status,
increasing their staffing levels and improving their
modalities of operation. Those that have not established
such a body should take immediate action to ensure that a
national mechanism for guiding and coordinating
sustainable development policy be put in place and be given
adequate status and resources for effective functioning.
27. Although many small island developing States have
adopted new legislation and formulated national strategies,
they need to ensure that the new laws are enforced and that
strategies are implemented. Particular attention should be
paid to the training of civil servants to adequate levels in
order to enable them to effectively implement reformed
legislation and revised development strategies.
2. Regional level
28. Small island developing States' Governments should
both expand and deepen their regional and subregional
cooperation in national institutions and administrative
capacity-building, especially in areas where they are
lacking in expertise and where joint activities in research
and training could help to overcome national resource
constraints, facilitate the exchange of national experiences
and increase the cost-effectiveness of regional cooperation.
29. Regional institutions should be given adequate
resources to provide research and training opportunities,
undertake critical assessments of priorities and needs, and
facilitate the exchange of experience and dissemination of
information. Regional institutions that have the right
expertise should assist these countries in the preparation of
new legislation, as necessary, and in the formulation and
implementation of national strategies.
3. International level
30. The international community should provide adequate
financial resources to small island developing States so as
to enable them to carry out necessary institutional reforms
and changes and to improve their national administrative
capacity. The United Nations agencies should increase
training activities to help to update and improve the skills
of staff engaged in sustainable development activities.
Organizations with the appropriate technical capacity,
including funds and programmes and specialized agencies,
should also provide technical assistance or advisory
services to small island developing States in building up
their national institutions.
31. Bilateral donors should provide financial and
technical support to small island developing States to
facilitate their ratification and implementation of relevant
international instruments; help to provide training
opportunities and facilities, including scholarships,
particularly in areas where small island developing States
suffer from serious lack of local expertise; and support
current efforts at building an information network for small
island developing States so that they may have better access
to information on the state-of-the-art technology and
become active participants in exchange of experience and
dissemination of information.
-----
This document has been posted online by the United Nations
Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA). Reproduction and dissemination of the
document - in electronic and/or printed format - is encouraged, provided acknowledgement
is made of the role of the United Nations in making it available.
Date last posted: 8 December 1999 15:15:30
Comments and suggestions: DESA/DSD
|