UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR AFRICA (UNECA).doc

united nations economic commission for africa (uneca)sustainable development indicators framework for africa and initial compendium of indicators first draft mersie ejigunovember 2010table of contentspageacronyms and abbreviations.31. purpose and study methodology .52. background and context 73. the conceptual underpinning of sustainable development indicators 114. assessing and measuring sustainable development .165. building on existing sustainable development indicators knowledge and practices 186. identifying, selecting, organizing, and using indicators .267. core sd indicators for africa 438. monitoring and evaluating sustainable development indicators.579. the way forward .5810. conclusionannex: initial compendium of sustainable development indicators for africa acronyms and abbreviationsaccnnr african convention on the conservation of nature and natural resources acgs african centre for gender and social developmentacnnrafrican convention on nature and natural resourcesacs african centre for statisticsaeoafrica environment outlookafdb african development bankamcen african ministerial conference on the environmentapci africa productive capacity initiativeaprm african peer review mechanismau african unionaucafrica union commissioncaadp comprehensive africa agriculture development programmecbd convention on biological diversitycsd commission on sustainable developmentcso civil society organizationecolfoot ecological footprint eiaenvironmental impact assessmenteraenvironmental risk assessmentesaenvironmental security assessmentesiaenvironmental and social impact assessmentesienvironmental sustainability indexevienvironmental vulnerability index eu european uniongdp gross domestic productgdsgenuine domestic savingsgef global environment facilitygeoglobal environment outlook gnpgross national productgpigenuine progress indicatorgricsgovernance research indicator country snapshot hdihuman development indexhdrhuman development reporticpdinternational conference on population and developmentidrc international development research centeriepiinternational. environmental performance indexiisdinternational institute for sustainable development iucn the world conservation unionjpoi johannesburg plan of implementation mdgs millennium development goalsnapas national adaptation programmes of actionnepad new partnership for africas developmentngo non-governmental organizationnpca nepad planning and coordinating agency of the au oau organization of african unity oecdorganization for economic cooperation and developmentpaespartnership for african environmental sustainability (paes)prsps poverty reduction strategy paperssc sustainable consumptionsdsustainable developmentsdifasustainable development indicators framework for africa sdrasustainable development report on africaseastrategic environmental assessmentseea system of integrated environmental and economic accounting slm sustainable land managementsna system of national accountssp sustainable productionuncbdunited nations convention on biological diversityunccdunited nations convention to combat desertification uncsdunited nations commission on sustainable developmentundesa-dsd united nations department of economic and social affairs- division for sustainable developmentundpunited nations development programmeunecaunited nations economic commission for africa unepunited nations environment programmeunfaounited nations food and agricultural organization unfccunited nations framework convention on climate change unidounited nations industrial development organizationunicefunited nations children fundunsc united nations statistical commissionwfpworld food programmewiwellness index wriworld resources institute wssd world summit on sustainable development wwfworld wide fundwwiworld watch institute1. purpose and methodology1.1 purposethis 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 request of 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 framework for 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 methodologythe 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 processagreed inception note feedback from partner institutions inception note preparing the second edition of sd indicators framework & compendium of indicators (way into the future)draft sd indicators framework pilot testing the indicators in selected countries feedback from partner institutions publication and formal launch of sd indicators framework revised draft sd indicators framework revised sd indicators frameworkcompendium of indicators draft compendium of indicators validation workshop figure 1: african sd indicators framework & compendium of indicators preparation process2. 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 “nobodys 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 aristotles 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 africas development (nepad) in conjunction with agenda 21, the johannesburg plan of implementation (jpoi), the millennium development goals (mdgs) 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 continents 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 t