USAID Africa Bureau
Environment/Natural Resources
Sector Overview
For NAPFSC
Forum on Forestry in Africa
February 24, 2003
USAID Bureau for Africa
Office of Sustainable Development
Economic Growth, Environment and Agriculture
(USAID/AFR/SD/EGEA)
Presentation outline
1.
2.
3.
4.
Overview of trends in Africa and
Africa Bureau programs
Water Initiative and activities in Africa
Accomplishments and future directions
of Africa Bureau programs
Challenges and opportunities
AFR/SD Environment and Natural Resources Sector Overview
Guiding principle for E/NRM programs:
environment, wealth, and rights
are connected



Rural Africa suffers from pervasive poverty, rural
disenfranchisement and natural resource
mismanagement
NR = sources of wealth, power and patronage
Factors to consider in E/NRM programming:
- Environmental – conservation of biodiversity, clean water,
soil and water conservation
- Economic – revenues from wildlife, non-wood products,
entrance fees, eco-tourism
- Governance – rural democratic institution building, participation,
demands for responsiveness and accountability, checks and
balances, promoting transparency, mitigating conflict
AFR/SD Environment and Natural Resources Sector Overview
Linkages: Natural Resources
Management (NRM) and Other Sectors
Economic
Growth &
Agriculture
Biodiversity
NRM
Global
Climate
Change
AFR/SD Environment and Natural Resources Sector Overview
Conflict
Mgmt
Governance
AFR/SD’s E/NRM
programs: SO17 and SO23
SO17:
Improved Environment and
Naturals Resource
Management Systems
SO23:
Environmental Assessment for
Sounder Development
Programs (includes compliance
with environmental regulations)
AFR/SD Environment and Natural Resources Sector Overview
SO17: Improved Environment and
Natural Resource Mgmt Systems
Program overview:
1. Mission support
2. Improving communications between E/NRM
institutions
3. Building African analytical capacity in E/NRM
4. Fostering environmental advocacy
AFR/SD Environment and Natural Resources Sector Overview
SO17
1. Mission/Bureau support
Numerous country visits (most to assist field
missions in strategic planning, M&E, and
assessments)
 Regular backstopping in Washington
 Organization of the Biodiversity Collaborative
Group (ABCG)
 Review of Environment SOs
 Soil Fertility Initiative
 Global Climate Change

AFR/SD Environment and Natural Resources Sector Overview
SO17
2. Improving communications
FRAME Web site and CD
 NRM Tracker – sharing successes

 AFRICAlink
AFR/SD Environment and Natural Resources Sector Overview
SO17
3. Building analytical capacity
Environmental Trends Analysis
 Urbanization and Environment in Africa
 Netweaver – decision-support tool
 Role of NRM in intensified agriculture
 NRM’s linkages to other sectors
(continued...)

AFR/SD Environment and Natural Resources Sector Overview
SO17
3. Building analytical capacity
(continued...)
Normalized-Digitized Vegetative Index (NDVI)
 Web-hosted GIS – access to maps and data
 Soil Carbon Sequestration Verification
 NRM and Fertilizer-Use Efficiency (FUE)
 EIS-Africa (Env Info Systems)

AFR/SD Environment and Natural Resources Sector Overview
SO17
4. Fostering environmental advocacy
Policy and governance activities to foster better
links between democracy, the environment, and
the development of NRM policies. For example:
FRAME Contact Groups support advocacy
efforts of African experts
 EIS-Africa encourages open access to
environmental information
 CBNRM activities strengthen communitybased organizations

AFR/SD Environment and Natural Resources Sector Overview
SO17
SO23:Environmental Assessment
for Sounder Development Programs
Program overview:
1. Environmental procedures oversight
2. Analytical processes to promote
environmentally sound development
programming
3. Capacity building in EIA and environmentally
sound design
4. Monitoring and mitigation frameworks
AFR/SD Environment and Natural Resources Sector Overview
SO23
1. Environmental procedures
oversight
40-60 activity-level environmental reviews
(IEE’s) per year, by mission and implementing
partner staff; 2-3 EA’s or PEA’s; 2-3 countrylevel environmental assessments
 BEO works with REOs and MEOs to guide
environmental reviews (including assistance via
TDYs), and approves final documents
 Pesticide use is area of most frequent concern,
including ag and health (e.g. bednets)

AFR/SD Environment and Natural Resources Sector Overview
SO23
2. Capacity building for EIA and
environmentally sound program design
ENCAP EIA training
program, best practices
guidelines, website, CD
AFR/SD Environment and Natural Resources Sector Overview
BEO Actions Tracker
website and CD – access
to all AFR env reviews
SO23
3. Analytical processes for
environmentally sound
development programming
AFR/SD guidelines on best practices in
environmental review and environmentally
sound design have been adopted throughout
USAID and are informing World Bank review
of small scale activities
 Emerging issues (from missions and
implementing partners): cleaner production in
small scale industry, GMO research, using
EIA to reduce HIV/AIDS risks, fumigation of
stored food commodities

AFR/SD Environment and Natural Resources Sector Overview
SO23
4. Monitoring and mitigation
frameworks
Goal of this focus area is to promote the
consideration of environmental soundness
principles in the design of USAID programs
 Previously: Environmental Monitoring,
Evaluation and Mitigation Plans (EMEMP) were
developed for pilot countries – too burdensome
 Strategic Environmental Assessment and
Monitoring (SEAM) is current proposed
approach

AFR/SD Environment and Natural Resources Sector Overview
SO23
Presentation outline
1.
2.
3.
4.
Overview of trends in Africa and Africa
Bureau programs
Water Initiative and activities in Africa
Accomplishments and future directions of
Africa Bureau programs
Challenges and opportunities
AFR/SD Environment and Natural Resources Sector Overview
Water Initiative
Water: Critical to Millennium Development Goals
UN’s Millennium Development Goal (MDG): reduce by
half the proportion of people living without sustainable
access to safe drinking water by the year 2015.
Water Initiative objectives:
 Increasing access to clean water and
sanitation
 Improving watershed management
 Increasing the productivity of water use
AFR/SD Environment and Natural Resources Sector Overview
Increasing Access to
Clean Water and Sanitation Services
Concentrating in countries where water authorities are
undertaking reforms to allow viable partnerships
between local governments, water utilities, the private
sector, NGOs, communities and families.
Two highlights:
 Rural Water Partnership: West Africa Water
Initiative (WAWI)
 Urban Water Partnership
AFR/SD Environment and Natural Resources Sector Overview
Rural Water Partnership:
West Africa Water Initiative (WAWI)
Launched by new alliance of 10 organizations
 Investing in small-scale potable water supply,
sanitation, hygiene, and water management
activities in rural West Africa
 USG grants of $4.4 million to complement
over $36 million in resources from private
foundations and industry groups

AFR/SD Environment and Natural Resources Sector Overview
Urban Water Partnership
Supplies clean water to urban slum dwellers
 Helps water authorities implement publicprivate partnerships to extend water lines,
standpipes and sewers into slum areas
 Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Council
(GJMC)

AFR/SD Environment and Natural Resources Sector Overview
Improving Watershed Management
Over the next three years, USAID will work on
integrating surface water, aquifer, and coastal
zone management. USAID promotes productive
watershed management partnerships through
such activities as:
Guinea Forest Co-Management Project
Nile Basin Initiative
AFR/SD Environment and Natural Resources Sector Overview
SO17 accomplishments and future
directions
1.
2.
3.
4.
Mission support
Improved communications
Building analytical capacity
Environmental advocacy
AFR/SD Environment and Natural Resources Sector Overview
SO17
SO23 accomplishments and future
directions
1.
2.
3.
4.
Environmental procedures oversight
Analytical processes for
environmentally sound development
programming
Capacity building for EIA and
environmentally sound project design
Monitoring and mitigation frameworks
AFR/SD Environment and Natural Resources Sector Overview
SO23
Challenges and opportunities for
Africa E/NRM programs
Destruction of natural resources increasing in
Africa
 Importance of natural resources as the basis
for sustainable growth just being widely
recognized
 Need to take a long-term approach to E/NRM
programs
 Need to provide assistance in formulating
environmental policies and implementing
environmental regulations
(continued...)

AFR/SD Environment and Natural Resources Sector Overview
Challenges and opportunities
(cont’d)
Decreased staffing in Africa
 Decreased funding and the number of
missions that have E/NRM programs
 Need to establish means for collaborating
with Pillar Bureaus to assure that Mission and
country needs are addressed
 Emphasis on Presidential Initiatives, but
presented in the context of the long-term
program of AFR/SD

AFR/SD Environment and Natural Resources Sector Overview
AFR/SD Environment and Natural Resources Sector Overview