Environment protocol for SADC on the drawing board

SADC Ministers of Environment agreed at their meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, in October 1999,  to adopt a Protocol on Environment and directed the SADC Environment and Land Management Sector (ELMS) to develop it.  
   The ministers approved the establishment of a working group consisting of Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Mauritius, the SADC Secretariat and SADC-ELMS to oversee the process.
   The working group was mandated to co-opt international and regional environmental bodies such as the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and The World Conservation Union, Regional Office for Southern Africa (IUCN-ROSA) to provide technical support to the process.
   The first working group meeting in  Johannesburg in January 2000, put together the working frame-work including giving SADC-ELMS the mandate to recruit consultants who are responsible for the technical drafting process. 
   The second meeting held in Maseru, Lesotho in May discussed the substantive elements of the proposed protocol. A programme of action and the generic terms of reference for the consultants as well as the budget, were discussed. The Maseru meeting also mapped out the strategy for the process and laid down the roles and  responsibilities of various national and regional stakeholders. 
   Since all the member states rely heavily on the exploitation of natural resources and the environment in their economies, the region must put in place measures and strategies for proper management of natural resources, many of which  are shared. This means that overexploitation or neglect in one country can adversely affect sustainable management efforts in a neighboring country. Hence the need for an instrument that can promote harmonisation of plans, programmes and projects in the region. 
   In the past five years, SADC has  been very active in adopting regional instruments such as protocols and policies  relative to its various sectoral agencies.

SADC has adopted protocols on Wildlife Management and Law Enforcement and Shared Watercourse Systems while protocols on forestry and fisheries are on the drawing board or being considered. 
   The proliferation of uncoordinated sectoral instruments on environment and natural resources would leave gaps, create duplication and make implementation expensive and ineffective. 
   An effective natural resources and environment management programme for SADC therefore requires a holistic and coordinated approach as well as careful consideration of the various factors that have a bearing on this sector. 
   At the Maseru meeting the Working Group drew up a programme that will seek to create both national and regional consensus. In particular, the Working Group identified the need for national reviews


Oil refineries and shipping can threaten the marine environment

of environment and natural resource-related  legislation and policies, which would be discussed at national work-shops. National experts in each country will carry out these reviews. There will also be reviews of natural resources and environment related regional and international instruments by the consultants. The consultants will also carry out stake-holder  consultation in the region. 
   The working group emphasised the need for a multidisciplinary approach to the reviews as well as creating conditions for national "buy in" to the proposed protocol. An issue of major concern is the need to consult local communities during the national workshops and stakeholder consultation. Clearly a comprehensive consultation of local communities is often difficult due to budgetary constraints. There are however, a number of ongoing studies in the region that can supplement any existing gaps in information.

   The aim of the national and regional reviews, workshops and stakeholder consultations is to sift out relevant principles emerging from national and regional approaches, experiences and strategies. The consultants will use this information for purposes of drafting the protocol and will form the core of their instructions. The process seeks to comply with and fulfill the mandate of the SADC member states under the SADC Treaty.
    The involvement of the peoples of SADC in its programmes is clearly identified as key under the treaty. The draft protocol will benefit from extensive stakeholder review at national and regional workshops and through consultations. It will also be subject to technical review by the working group and a Regional Meeting of Legal and   Technical Experts before it goes to the SADC Secretariat for the formal process of adoption. 
   A framework protocol on environment for SADC seems a logical step to take given the proliferation of sectoral protocols that have a bearing on the environment and natural resources. The protocol must contend with entrenched sectoral interests and some sectors may be required to change their strategies for purposes of harmonisation. This is not new. 
   With extensive consultations envisaged, the process of adopting the protocol could take between three to five years. Again this is not new. If well done, the region will have a coherent, comprehensive and coordinated legal and policy regime for harmonising and coordinating the sustainable utilisation and management of its natural resources and the environment.

   The author, Gracian Banda, a member of the working group of the proposed SADC Protocol on Environment, is an Environmental Lawyer working for the Regional Institutional Development Programme at the World Conservation Union’s Regional Office for Southern Africa (IUCN-ROSA).

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