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Major Positions for WSSD
Environment Africa (EA)
September 23, 2002

Environment Africa (EA) believes that Zimbabwe and Africa have a distinct voice to present at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). This voice must demand that the world takes notice of the community approach to sustainable development. This is why EA has chosen as our WSSD jingle: "sustainable development - the African Way".

The United Nations (UN) has come up with five areas of sustainable development, which are salient: Water, Energy, Health, Agriculture and Biodiversity - known by the acronym WEHAB. EA recognises the importance of WEHAB to sustainable development, and aims to provide both a local and a global perspective on these issues. These issues have importance locally and globally and EA has positions at both these levels.

• Water: EA believes that access to clean, safe and sufficient water is central to sustainable development and is a fundamental human right. EA promotes and supports planning and management activities that ensure greater access to cleaner water for all and the prevention of the contamination of water bodies. EA is opposed to the commercialisation and unsustainable use of water as an exploitable and tradable commodity. In this regard EA advocates for water conservation through the use of water pricing which reflects the total marginal cost of water procurement, storage, treatment and distribution.
• Energy: EA believes that sustainable development is impossible without widespread access to cheap, sustainable and alternative energy sources. EA supports approaches that lead to a more ecologically efficient use of energy. In particular the research and development of sustainable energy technologies that are relevant to local needs and interests and those that can be availed for adaptation to local conditions. EA considers the following approaches as crucial.
  • Policy Reforms that stimulate efficient energy use.
  • Promotion of renewable energy sources including technology transfers and applied research.
  • Investment in more environmentally sustainable energy resources.
  • Environmental awareness raising and capacity building to promote an ecologically sustainable society.
• Health: EA believes that the productivity and sustainability of the people is related to their health. Currently, not enough is being done to combat HIV/Aids, which is undermining advances in other areas of health such as polio and Tuberculosis. EA contends that the problems of pollution, natural resource conflicts and public health are interlinked and that holistic approach to development is required to address the health problem and make sustainable development operational.
• Agriculture: EA supports grassroots agricultural programs and initiatives that follow principles of sustainable land use and production and minimise risks of degradation and pollution of natural resources. EA also believes that in the Zimbabwean context, there should be a land reform programme, which is not politicised but takes cognisance of issues such as security of tenure, productivity, and sustainable management of natural resources. EA also advocates the following positions:
  • Redistributed land must be sustainably managed to conserve the environment and maintain contributions to economic growth.
  • Collaborative approaches to conflict resolution on land issues must be developed.
  • Under-utilised land must be distributed to those with urgent needs.
  • The social, historical and cultural heritage of resettled groups and farm workers must be carefully considered.
• Biodiversity: EA believes that the sustainable use of biodiversity is central to sustainable development. To this end, EA advocates enhanced awareness of factors, which threaten biodiversity, such as Gomes, poor natural resource management and the adoption of a sound legal framework. EA advocates for measures to be taken to protect community rights over biodiversity, and to protect the diversity of indigenous food crops from the threat of negative genetic engineering and the biotechnology industry.

However, there are also several issues, which EA regards as pivotal to sustainable development:

• Governance: sustainable development, requires a type of governance which seeks to consult with all sectors of society to build up institutional reforms and legislation which enhances participation in sustainable development within a democratic environment and within the rule of law. Issues of corruption, political conflict and polarisation and the failure to observe the rule of law should be addressed decisively and fairly.
• Poverty: EA believes that poverty and unequal access to skills and resources undermine sustainable development. Poverty weakens the voice of local communities in development issues and undermines their participation in sustainable development. Getting the poor out of the cycle of poverty and eliminating the barriers that inhibit the poor from participating in the development process is the first step towards achieving sustainable development.
• Participation: EA is concerned that the magnitude of the summit has resulted in the overshadowing of many third world community voices. The national, regional and continental preparatory processes have been marred by poor coordination and participation and confusion. In Zimbabwe, EA feels that the government dominated the civil society process and this has ultimately resulted in a loss of diverse opinions and contributions. EA believes that sustainable development is only operational when it reveals the interests of the various stakeholders in the multiple levels of the development process.
  

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