UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR AFRICA (UNECA)
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS FRAMEWORK FOR AFRICA AND INITIAL COMPENDIUM OF INDICATORS
First Draft
Mersie Ejigu
November 2010
Table of Contents
page
Acronyms and Abbreviations……………………………………….3
- Purpose and Study Methodology ………………………………………..5
- Background and Context …………………………………………………7
- The Conceptual Underpinning of Sustainable DevelopmentIndicators ……11
- Assessing and Measuring Sustainable Development …………..16
5. Building on Existing Sustainable Development Indicators
Knowledgeand Practices ……………………………………………………18
- Identifying, Selecting,Organizing, and Using Indicators ………………..26
- Core SD Indicators for Africa ……………………………………………43
- Monitoring and Evaluating Sustainable Development Indicators…………..57
- The Way Forward ……………………………………………………….58
- Conclusion
Annex: Initial Compendium of Sustainable Development Indicators for Africa
Acronyms and Abbreviations
ACCNNR African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
ACGS African Centre for Gender and Social Development
ACNNRAfrican Convention on Nature and Natural Resources
ACS African Centre for Statistics
AEOAfrica Environment Outlook
AfDB African Development Bank
AMCEN African Ministerial Conference on the Environment
APCI Africa Productive Capacity Initiative
APRM African Peer Review Mechanism
AU African Union
AUCAfrica Union Commission
CAADP Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme
CBD Convention on Biological Diversity
CSD Commission on Sustainable Development
CSO Civil Society Organization
ECOLFOOT Ecological Footprint
EIAEnvironmental Impact Assessment
ERAEnvironmental Risk Assessment
ESAEnvironmental Security Assessment
ESIAEnvironmental and Social Impact Assessment
ESIEnvironmental Sustainability Index
EVIEnvironmental Vulnerability Index
EU European Union
GDP Gross Domestic Product
GDSGenuine Domestic Savings
GEF Global Environment Facility
GEOGlobal Environment Outlook
GNPGross National Product
GPIGenuine Progress Indicator
GRICSGovernance Research Indicator Country Snapshot
HDIHuman Development Index
HDRHuman Development Report
ICPDInternational Conference on Population and Development
IDRC International Development Research Center
IEPIInternational. Environmental Performance Index
IISDInternational Institute for Sustainable Development
IUCN The World Conservation Union
JPOI Johannesburg Plan of Implementation
MDGs Millennium Development Goals
NAPAs National Adaptation Programmes of Action
NEPAD New Partnership for Africa’s Development
NGO Non-Governmental Organization
NPCA NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency of the AU
OAU Organization of African Unity
OECDOrganization for Economic Cooperation and Development
PAESPartnership for African Environmental Sustainability (PAES)
PRSPs Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers
SC Sustainable Consumption
SDSustainable Development
SDIFASustainable Development Indicators Framework for Africa
SDRASustainable Development Report on Africa
SEAStrategic Environmental Assessment
SEEA System of Integrated Environmental and Economic Accounting
SLM Sustainable Land Management
SNA System of National Accounts
SP Sustainable Production
UNCBDUnited Nations Convention on Biological Diversity
UNCCDUnited Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
UNCSDUnited Nations Commission on Sustainable Development
UNDESA-DSD United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs- Division for Sustainable Development
UNDPUnited Nations Development Programme
UNECAUnited Nations Economic Commission for Africa
UNEPUnited Nations Environment Programme
UNFAOUnited Nations Food and Agricultural Organization
UNFCCUnited Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
UNIDOUnited Nations Industrial Development Organization
UNICEFUnited Nations Children Fund
UNSC United Nations Statistical Commission
WFPWorld Food Programme
WIWellness Index
WRIWorld Resources Institute
WSSD World Summit on Sustainable Development
WWFWorld Wide Fund
WWIWorld Watch Institute
1. Purpose and Methodology
1.1 Purpose
This work on Sustainable Development Indicators Framework (SDIF) for Africa Study was launched by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)in response to a mandate of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) “to foster sustainable development through promoting the balanced integration of the economic, social and environmental pillars of sustainable development.” It is also a response to the requestof the UN General Assembly “to take action to ensure the effective implementation of, and follow-up to the outcomes of the WSSD” and to Chapter 40 of Agenda 21 that “calls on countries, international, governmental and non-governmental organizations to develop indicators of sustainable development and also harmonize efforts to develop them to provide a solid basis for decision-making at all levels.” Accordingly, UNECA published in 2008, the Sustainable Development Report on Africa (SDRA): Managing Land-Based Resources for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Report on Africa (SDRA): Five Year Review of the Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development Outcomes in Africa (WSSD+5).
As provided in the Terms of Reference (TOR), the primary objective of the assignment is Study is to “develop a sustainable development indicators frameworkfor Africa and produce a compendium of indicators” covering all dimensions (economic, social, environmental, and institutional) of sustainable development with the view to:
•Contributing to the effective assessment of the status of sustainable development in Africa and thereby raise public awareness on trends and inform policy and management actions aimed at promoting and enhancing sustainable development in the region;
•Serving as a tool for “systematically measuring and tracking progress on sustainable development at the regional level” and more specifically “for conducting the assessment of Part I of SDRA-IV and subsequent ones, which aim to provide a holistic assessment of the status of sustainable development in the region and a critical analysis of, and show case the contribution of forests, biodiversity, biotechnology, tourism and mountains to sustainable growth and development in the region; and
•Guiding the development of similar frameworks by member States and RECs to promote the integration of sustainability principles in the development, implementation and monitoring of national and sub-regional development policies, strategies and programmes, including national poverty reduction strategies.
Toward fulfilling the above objectives, this Framework seeks to provide the policy and institutional context for developing SD indicators; clarifies the conceptual underpinning; defines linkages among economic, social, environmental and institutional dimensions of SD; systematically organizes and arranges indicators; outlines their basic characteristics; sets criteria for identifying and choosing; and proposes guidelines for refinement and improvement.
1.2 Methodology
The process of developing this sustainable development indicators framework included the following activities:
•A review of literature on sustainable development and indicators by the United Nations system including UNCSD-UNDESA, UNECA, UN Statistical Division, the Human Development Indicators (HDI) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) indicators, the Global Environment Outlook (GEO) Indicators of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), The Africa Environment Outlook (AEO), UN Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD), UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), UN Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO), Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), IUCN-The World Conservation Union, the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), the World Wide Fund (WWF), the World Resources Institute (WRI), the Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI2005) prepared by Yale and Columbia Universities, the Governance Research Indicator Country Snapshot (GRICS) of the World Bank, and the Global Corruption Report of Transparency International. Environmental Performance Index (EPI2006), the Environmental Vulnerability Index (EVI2004), the Ecological Footprint (ECOLFOOT), and the Wellness Index (WI). The review would help to identify relevant and appropriate indicators that can be adapted at the Africa level.
•Interviews with relevant experts within UNECA, the AUC, the AU/NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency (NPCA), the African Development Bank (AfDB), including authors of the SDRA Report.
•Discussions with selected reputable experts through one to one meetings, phone calls, and emails
•Drafting of the indicator framework and generating the initial compendium of sustainable development indicators for Africa based on the framework.
•Identification of data availability and gaps, assessment of quality and capacity needs, and providing recommendations to generate the required data.
•Feedback from participants of the validation workshop.
It is important to note that any work on sustainable development indicators is never a one-time undertaking, but a continuous process of testing and retesting of indicators at the national, sub regional, regional and global levels; distilling lessons learned; and based on these lessons learned, improving and refining regularly indicators in coverage and quality.
The diagram below shows the proposed process of developing the SD indicators framework and compendium of indicators, which entails participation of member countries and UNECA partner institutions.
African SD Indicators Framework & Compendium of Indicators Preparation Process
Figure 1: African SD Indicators Framework & Compendium of Indicators preparation process
- Background and Context
The question of measuring sustainable development (SD) and what indicators to use has been an issue of considerable debate since the Brundtland Commission Report brought the SD concept to the global scene in 1987. The Commission in its seminal publication, Our Common Future, defined sustainable development as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Sustainable development is understood to involve the attainment of three related objectives: economic growth, social well being and equity, and protection of the environment in an integrated and balanced manner, which necessitates the existence of responsive and well functioning institutions- the fourth dimension of sustainable development.
It is fair to say that both in Africa and the rest of the world the notion of sustainability is not a new idea. Human beings have harmoniously coexisted with nature for time millennia despite their dependence on/depletion of natural resources for survival. In Africa, it is only since the colonial period more so in the post World War II years of corporate greed that the use of natural sources resulted in the destruction of species and ecosystems at a scale unknown to humanity. “Over the past 50 years, humans have changed the ecosystems more rapidly and extensively than in any comparable period of time in human history” (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005). These rapid shifts included irreversible vegetation cover loss, threats to the quantity and quality of water resources, soil degradation and loss, climate change (recurrent drought and desertification), and an overall erosion of the natural resource base upon which most livelihoods in Africa depend.
The notion of sustainability postulates that used natural resources need to be replaced by an equal amount (quantity and quality) to offset depletion. It is, however, interesting to note the different perspectives regarding the origin of this sustainability or sustainable development, which influences the work on indicators. Keiner (2006) wrote that “sustainable development was born in 1713 in forest sciences when Carlowitz called for a balance between timber growth and lumbering.” Others attribute the origins of sustainable development to the founder of ecology, Ernst Haeckel, who wrote about ecology as a science and basis for social systems and argued for the need for society to adapt itself to the state of balance in the natural world (Ramphal 1992).
The sustainable development idea might even go back to ancient Greece with Aristotle, who wrote that property that is communally owned (water, air, forest, etc.) is the least cared for. Individuals tend to take good care of resources they own. Communal property often becomes “nobody’s property” as individuals are eager to exploit it but not assume responsibility for replacing it. Garrett Hardin articulation of “tragedy of the commons” in 1968 captured world-wide attention as the best expression of Aristotle’s concern. Diamond (2005) attributes the collapse of great human civilizations to mismanagement of common property (the environment). However, the extent to which a common property will be subject to “tragedy of the commons” depends on culture, institutions, and common property management regimes. For example, Ostrom (1990) argues that users of common property resources have managed, in various places around the world, sustainably those resources through local institutions and self-regulation that defined clearly individual and group rights and obligations. Indeed, Africa has a long and proud history of well functioning indigenous community governance and regulatory institutions, although these are under serious threat today because of political developments and perspectives that ended up concentrating power in the center.
At the continental Africa level, one of the earliest concerns for the environment, hence for sustainable development, was expressed in the 1900 London Convention for the Protection of Wild Animals, Birds and Fish in Africa, which aimed at preventing the indiscriminate destruction of wildlife (UNEP 2003). The other land mark agreement was the African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources adopted in Algiers in 1968 by then Organization of African Unity (OAU). The Convention called for “the conservation, utilization and development of natural resources, particularly soil, water, flora and fauna resources based on scientific principles” to meet societal needs (UNEP 2003). Nevertheless, the current environmental problems Africa grapples with suggest that the two conventions have not been implemented.
In addition to lessons learned from past efforts to promote sustainable development, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) in conjunction with Agenda 21, the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI), the Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s) and the three Rio Conventions (UNCBD, UNCCD and UNFCCC) that Africa is party to provide the broad framework for development of indicators.
A key objective of NEPAD is “placing Africa on a path of sustainable growth and development” through eradicating poverty, building peace, and conserving the integrity and diversity of its ecosystems, most notably its forest resources. Centred on “African ownership and management,” NEPAD calls for a new partnership between Africa and the international community and the enhancement of the continent’s integration in the global economy and trade based on “transformation from a raw materials supplier to one that processes its natural resource.”NEPAD makes clear that African countries will be responsible for restoring and maintaining peace, preventing and managing conflicts, enhancing democracy and human rights by (i) “developing clear standards of accountability, transparency and participatory governance.” Restoring and maintaining macroeconomic stability; revitalizing and extending the provision of education, technical training and health services; and promoting the role of women in social and economic development are the other measures that African countries are committed to taking. Monitoring of progress toward the attainment of NEPAD goals, so far, is done through compartmentalized traditional and sectoral indicators.
On the positive side, many African countries are, today, increasingly embracing the sustainable development idea as a recent ECA study of the experiences of 16 African countries shows. Almost all these 16 countries have embarked upon or set in motion the formulation and implementation of National Strategies for Sustainable Development, although there are differences in emphasis of the four dimensions of sustainable development (UNECA-FSSD 2010). “Increasingly, countries are applying the principles of sound leadership, good governance and multi-stakeholder participation and ownership (FSSD 2010). But one of the lessons learned from this process has been that greater integration of the economic, social and environmental pillars of sustainable development calls for the development of specific indicators/indices to measure progress toward sustainable development.
UNECA’s seminal publication, the Sustainable Development Report on Africa (SDRA): Managing Land-Based Resources for Sustainable Development reviews in great length the sustainable development concept, the importance of indicators and work done on sustainable development indicators at the global level. The Sustainable Development Report on Africa (SDRA): Five Year Review of the Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development Outcomes in Africa (WSSD+5) takes the issue further and assesses how population growth, economic activities and consumption patterns, weak policies and institutions have impacted the environment negatively resulting in severe and accelerating environmental degradation against the backdrop of limited integration of environmental issues into development decision making. The report concluded that serious constraints and barriers remain on the path to sustainable development and ensuring social and environmental sustainability of economic growth Africa has achieved in recent years. It then highlights the vital importance of developing sustainable development indicators and the need for future work on indicators to focus on measuring the status of sustainable development in countries.
At the global level, all African countries, as members of the United Nations, have a responsibility for the implementation of Agenda 21, the Statement of Principles for the Sustainable Management of Forests, and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI). Under the banner, saving the earth, Agenda 21 and subsequently issued declarations and action plans to implement it called for a major shift in the priorities of governments and individuals in the way business is conducted on a daily basis, including the way we live, eat, move around and communicate in a manner that will show concern for the environment and sustainable and responsible use of natural resources. The UN Commission for Sustainable Development (UNCSD), created to monitor and follow up the implementation of Agenda 21, has developed a comprehensive list of indicators, which provide both the foundation and scaffolding for this African SD indicators framework and compendium of indicators.
Beyond Agenda 21, the three flagship global environment conventions, notably, UN Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD), UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), and the Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to which all African countries are signatories of, impact heavily the form and content of the indicators work.
The UNCBD aims to enhance the conservation of biological diversity, ensure the sustainable use of its components, and promote the fair and equitable sharing of benefits derived from that use. Most African countries have formulated national biodiversity strategies and action plans to assist them realize the Convention at the country level. These strategies and action plans, however, remain largely unimplemented (Ejigu 2001).