SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL DEMOCRACY IN TANZANIA An Assessment of Access to Information, Participation, and Justice in environmental decision-making A joint Assessment between LEAT, LHRC, and AGENDA LEAT LHRC EDITORIAL BOARD Vincent Shauri Secelela Balisidya Emmanuel Massawe Grainne O’Neill RESEARCHERS Rahima Njaidi Twilumba Mlelwa Emmanuel Massawe Clarence Kipobota Bashiru Abdul RESEARCH ASSISTANTS Doris Andrew ii AGENDA Armando Swenya Rodrick Maro COMPILED & PUBLISHED BY Lawyers' Environmental Action Team (LEAT)TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................... V ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................. VII RECOGNITION OF AFFILIATION WITH ACCESS INITIATIVE ............................. IX LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................ X INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ XI Purpose of the report ...................................................................................................... xi Importance of access ...................................................................................................... xi Overview of the report ................................................................................................. xiv Overview of the main conclusions and findings .......................................................... xiv Overview of the main findings ................................................................................ xiv Overview of the main conclusions ........................................................................... xvi CHAPTER ONE ................................................................................................................. 1 CONTEXT AND METHODOLOGY ................................................................................ 1 1.0. Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1 1.1. Discussion of Influential Political Factors ............................................................... 1 1.1.1. Endorsement of Relevant International Commitments ..................................... 1 1.1.2. Current decisions to promote or block legislation relevant to access ............... 2 1.1.3. Levels of corruption .......................................................................................... 4 1.1.4. Special interest groups that influence decisions ............................................... 4 1.2. Social Factors ........................................................................................................... 4 1.3. Political and social influences over access to information ...................................... 5 1.4. Description of the methodology used for the assessment ........................................ 6 1.4.1. Modifications to the methodology .................................................................... 8 CHAPTER TWO ................................................................................................................ 8 ACCESS TO INFORMATION .......................................................................................... 8 2.0. Introduction .............................................................................................................. 9 2.1. Assessment of Laws regarding access to information ........................................... 10 2.2. Assessment of Practice .......................................................................................... 11 2.2.1. Basic Information............................................................................................ 11 2.2.2. Case studies description .................................................................................. 11 iii 2.2.3. Analysis of the findings ...................................................................................... 12 2.3. Comparison of Case Law for different types of information ................................. 13 CHAPTER THREE .......................................................................................................... 15 PARTICIPATION ............................................................................................................ 15 3.0. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 15 3.1. Laws Supporting Participation ............................................................................... 16 3.2. Findings.................................................................................................................. 17 3.3. Tanzanian Priorities for Developing a Legal Framework for Participation ...... 21 3.4. Public Participation in Practice .............................................................................. 21 3.5. Case Study Details ................................................................................................. 21 3.5.1. Forestry ........................................................................................................... 21 3.5.3. General Management Plans – Mafia Island Marine Parks.............................. 24 3.5.4. National Forest Programme ............................................................................ 25 3.5.5. The Forest Act - Legislation ........................................................................... 27 3.5.6. Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project (LVEMP) ...................... 28 3.5.7. The Lower Kihansi Environmental Management Project (LKEMP) ............. 29 3.6. Comparison of findings for different types of decisions ................................... 31 CHAPTER FOUR ............................................................................................................. 32 CAPACITY BUILDING .................................................................................................. 32 4.0. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 32 4.1. Description of the Methodologies and Case Studies Involved .............................. 33 4.2. Assessment of the law ............................................................................................ 34 4.2.1. Description of Legislation............................................................................... 34 4.2.1.1. The Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania, 1977 ....................... 35 4.2.1.2. The Income Tax Act, 1973 .......................................................................... 35 4.2.1.3. The National Environmental Management Act, 1983 ................................. 36 4.2.1.4. The Environment Management Act, No. 20 of 2004................................... 36 4.3. Summary of the Laws ........................................................................................ 36 4.4. The Case Law ........................................................................................................ 37 4.5. In Practice: Case Studies ........................................................................................ 37 4.5.1. Government - Wildlife Division ..................................................................... 37 Table 3: Chart showing questions asked and their responses ................................... 38 4.5.2. Government Agency- National Environmental Management Council (NEMC) ................................................................................................................................... 39 4.5.3. Government Agency: Department of Environment - Vice President’s Office 40 4.5.4. Government Agency: Department of NGOs – Vice President’s Office ......... 40 4.5.5. Government Agency: The Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) .................... 40 4.5.6. Government Agency: High Court Registry of Tanzania ................................ 41 4.6. Summary of Results ............................................................................................... 41 4.6.1. Overall Strengths ............................................................................................ 41 4.6.2. Overall Weaknesses ........................................................................................ 41 CHAPTER FIVE .............................................................................................................. 42 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................... 42 5.0. Conclusions ............................................................................................................ 42 5.1. Recommendations .................................................................................................. 44 iv 5.1.1. Legislation on information .............................................................................. 44 5.1.2. Public Participation ......................................................................................... 45 5.1.3. Government capacity ...................................................................................... 47 APPENDICES .................................................................................................................. 48 Appendix 1: Access to Information ............................................................................. 48 Form IA: Information about Environmental Emergencies ....................................... 48 Form IB – State of the Environment Reports ........................................................... 49 Appendix 2: Participation ............................................................................................. 50 Form IIA: Participation in Decisions on National or Sub-national Policies, Strategies, Plans, Programs and Legislation ............................................................. 50 Form IIB. Participation in Decisions on National or Sub-national Policies, Strategies, Plans, Programs or Legislation ............................................................... 51 Annexture IIA: Summary of Communication and Awareness Creation Activities for the forest Sector. ....................................................................................................... 52 Annexture IIB: Participatory Process for the Preparation of the Agricultural Sector Development Strategy............................................................................................... 55 CHAPTER 1: The Preparatory Phase ................................................................. 55 CHAPTER 2: Stakeholders’ Workshops............................................................ 55 Annexture IIC: Kihansi villagers complain of being sidelined in a project ............. 56 Appendix 3: Capacity Building .................................................................................... 58 Annexture IIIA: Capacity (Building) Summary Chart for NEMC ........................... 58 Annexture IIIB: Capacity Building – Wildlife (Environment) Division .................. 59 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................. 60 BOOKS ......................................................................................................................... 60 UNPUBLISHED MATERIAL ..................................................................................... 61 STATUTES................................................................................................................... 62 CASES .......................................................................................................................... 63 OTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION ................................................................... 63 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This assessment report gives a synthesis of the progress made by Tanzania in access to information, participation, capacity building and justice in environmental decisionmaking, maps out implementation gaps and identifies opportunities for further improvement. The assessment of the status of implementation of access to information, participation, capacity building and justice in Tanzania was undertaken as part and parcel of a global initiative to asses the progress made by States in implementing Principle 10 of Agenda 21 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. The Access Initiative developed the methodology that was used during the assessment. This is a set of instructions and questions, which allowed the assessment team to v determine the government’s public participation system. These research questions generated over 100 indicators of Tanzania’s performance in providing access to information, participation, capacity building and justice in law and in practice. The law indicators were used to evaluate the general framework for guaranteeing access while practice indicators were applied to selected case studies to assess the performance on the ground. The findings show significant progress in a number of areas especially in developing relevant pieces of legislation and the emerging high level political will to support a number of unfolding information access initiatives for example allowing media in different government working fora. The assessment also found that, in practice, the right to participate in decision-making is better implemented than the capacity building for environmental management, which is better implemented than the right of access to information. Access to information is mainly through general public or selected audience forum through meetings, conferences, seminars and workshops rather than through routine decisions made through correspondences, legal proceedings and so on. The level of participation for different actors in policy, strategy planning, and drafting legislation is vastly uneven. Some actors have disproportionate amounts of influence in certain policy– making processes. Other groups, especially those located in remote regions and districts in rural areas have little or no input into national laws and policies that may greatly affect them. From the findings obtained for the access to information aspect, it was noted that the laws in Tanzania guarantee the right to access environmental information. However, the right is not absolute as there are various claw back and derogation clauses, which prevent the right from being fully realized. Much information is also withheld because of the state or public interests. It is recommended that there should be a clear and strategic policy for capacity building on environmental issues to support the laws that are passed. The strategy that will vi indicate how information and data on environment would reach people at different levels so that they can take measures on their own. Further, participation should mean more than simply obtaining input from participants. The degree of participation should be increased in all policy, strategy, programmes, and projects processes. Participation of the most excluded groups in society, such as women, indigenous groups, or disabled people, sheds light on the quality of participatory process. Ideally, this means putting the beneficiaries at the centre of a process that they will drive and continuously adjust, according to their own learning processes and needs. It is recommended further that in enacting laws, the government should keep the people's needs in mind. However, this can only be achieved through a consultative process prior to the enactment of the laws. This consultative process involves the collection of opinions from the people and considering the obtained opinions during drafting the pieces of legislation. In addition, the government should have a full and effective information management system. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We would like to point out here that many people and organizations have played a central role in conducting the assessment and in contributing to the finalization of this work. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to several organizations whose immeasurable cooperation has made the assessment successful. We are very grateful to AGENDA for Environment and Responsible Development and Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) for their devoted work in successfully accomplishing two parts of the overall assessment. We would also like to acknowledge the invaluable cooperation and assistance of the Lake Victoria Environment Management Programme (LVEMP), Lake Nyanza Environmental Sanitation Organisation (LANESO), Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute (TAFIRI), vii Lower Kihansi Environmental Management Project (LKEMP), the National Environmental Management Council (NEMC) and in particular that of its dedicated and indefatigable Director of Information, Communication and Outreach (DEICO), Mrs. A. Maembe for her invaluable support in terms of ideas and materials for this assessment. Further we acknowledge the invaluable assistance of Mwanza Water and Sanitation Authority (MWAWASA), Forestry and Beekeeping Division of the Ministry of Natural Resource and Tourism, Wildlife Conservation Society of Tanzania (WCST), Tanzania Forest Conservation Group (TFCG), Division of Environment (Policy & Planning), Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (Policy and Planning Department), Marine Parks and Reserve Unit, as well as Water Quality Laboratory located in Mwanza. We are primarily indebted to Ms. Secelela Balisidya, Ms. Rahima Njaidi, Ms. Twilumba Mlelwa, Mr. Emmanuel Massawe, Miss Doris Andrew, Mr. Bashiru Abdul, Mr. Clarence Kipobota, Mr. Rodrick Maro and Mr. Armando Swenya who were members of research teams in their respective organisations and whose industrious work led to the successful finalization of this report. We also feel indebted to the State Attorneys of Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, the Director of Wildlife under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Mr. J. Kayera and the Executive Director of Education Programmes’ Department under the Ministry of Education and Culture for their support on all what was enquired in relation to the assessment. Additionally, to Ms. Vicky Mayao, who is the lawyer of Vice President’s Office, Department of Non-Government Organizations for her timely and prompt reply to questionnaires. Finally, we would like to value the financial and logistical support from the World Bank which was provided to LEAT through Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE), Uganda. The financial support was critical for the general implementation of The Access Initiative project in Tanzania. viii RECOGNITION OF AFFILIATION WITH ACCESS INITIATIVE This publication was produced by Lawyers’ Environmental Action Team (LEAT), AGENDA for Environment and Responsible Development, and Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) and is based on research and methodology developed by The Access Initiative (TAI). Unless otherwise noted, views, interpretations, and findings herein are those of LEAT, AGENDA for Environment and Responsible Development, and LHRC, and do not represent The Access Initiative. The Access Initiative is a global coalition of public interest groups collaborating to promote national-level implementation of commitments to access information, participation, and justice in environmental decisionmaking. The Access Initiative is led by a core team composed of the World Resource Institute (Washington D.C., USA), the Environmental Management and Law Association (Budapest, Hungary), Corporacion Participa (Santiago, Chile), Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (Uganda), and the Thailand Environment Institute (Bangkok, Thailand). The core team relies on input and support from broad constituency of NGOs, governments, and regional and global inter-governmental organizations. ix LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ACODE AIDS AMGM ASBESCO ASDS CBFM CFR DED DFO DNRO EIA FAO FBD GMP G.N. GOT HIV Ibid ICCMCA IREMP IUCN ICT JFM JFMA MNRT LANESO LEAT LHRC LKEMP LVEMP MWAWASA NCSSD NEP NEAP NEMC NGOs OAU PF PRTR SOE Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome Afrika Mashariki Gold Mining Limited Asbestos Company Agricultural Sector Development Strategy Community Based Forest Management Community Forest Reserves District Executive Director District Forestry Offices District Natural Resource Offices Environmental Impact Assessment Food and Agriculture Organisation Forestry and Beekeeping Division General Management Plan Government Notice Government of Tanzania Human Immunodeficiency Virus Ibidem (in the work(s) immediately cited) The Industrial and Consumer of Chemicals (Management and Control) Act Immediate Rescue and Emergency Measures Project The World Conservation Union Information and Communication Technology Joint Forest Management Joint Forest Management Agreements Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism Lake Nyanza Environmental Sanitation Organisation Lawyers’ Environmental Action Team Legal and Human Rights Centre Lower Kihansi Environmental Management Project Lake Victoria Environment Management Programme Mwanza Water and Sanitation Authority National Conservation Strategy for Sustainable Development National Environmental Policy National Environmental Action Plan National Environment Management Council Non-Governmental Organisations Organisation of African Unity Private Forests Pollutant Release and Transfer Register State of the Environment Report x TAI TAFIRI TANESCO TFAP TFCG UN UNCED VA VG VLFR VPO WCST WDC WSSD The Access Initiative Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute Tanzania Electricity Supply Company Tanzania Forestry Action Plan Tanzania Forest Conservation Group United Nations United Nations Conference on Environment and Development Village Assembly Village government Village Land Forest Reserves Vice President’s Office Wildlife Conservation Society of Tanzania Ward Development Committee World Summit on Sustainable Development WWF World Wildlife Fund for NatureINTRODUCTION PURPOSE OF THE REPORT The aim of the report is to assess the progress made by Tanzania in access to information, participation, and justice in environmental decision-making, to map out implementation gaps and to identify opportunities for further improvement. Assessing the status of implementation of access to information, participation, and justice in Tanzania was undertaken as part and parcel of a global initiative to asses the progress made by States in implementing Principle 10 of Agenda 21 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. IMPORTANCE OF ACCESS In 1992, leaders from 178 World Nations met in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to set out an agenda that addresses sustainable development in environmental, economic and social challenges facing the world. The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) produced a series of key instruments that have provided the basic framework for environmental governance in the post—Rio sustainable development agenda. The Conference adopted a comprehensive programme of action, Agenda 21, that details the various actions and the amount of resources required to achieve sustainable development. The political statement of xi the Conference popularly cited as the Rio Declaration, was one of the most important outcomes of the UNCED. In Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration, the Heads of States and Government declared that: Environmental issues are best handled with the participation of all concerned citizens; at the relevant level... each individual shall have appropriate access to information concerning the environment... and the opportunity to participate in decision-making processes. States shall facilitate and encourage public awareness and participation by making information widely available. Effective access to judicial and administrative proceedings, including redress and remedy, shall be provided. (Emphasis ours) It goes without saying that, Principle 10 represents social, legal and political consensus on three key governance issues that are very important if citizens are to effectively contribute to sustainable development. These are the three pillars, namely, access to information, access to public participation and access to justice which form the basis of “The Access Initiative (TAI)”. Access to information, participation, and justice is an effort envisaged by the Rio Declaration towards ensuring that people are well informed about decisions affecting the environment in which they live, that they have a say in those decisions, and that they are able to pursue redress if their rights to participate in decision-making is infringed. Access is crucial and of paramount importance because it gives all participants the opportunity to participate in a dialogue and reach consensus about the resolution of various issues. It improves the quality of decisions and solutions because it increases the quality and quantity of information that goes to the public. Additionally, the parties become more committed to the solutions since they play a significant role in crafting them. Access supports meaningful personal and organizational choices and decisions, and helps to protect human lives, biodiversity and the environment. It also facilitates xii change of attitude and helps to shape daily decisions for instance whether to drink water from local wells, or to go for a walk on a day with high levels of air pollution, or whether to buy a certain product; this knowledge has long term impacts and will change policies on facility reporting requirements and increase general awareness of environmental issues. The present plan of implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) is geared towards building on the achievements made since UNCED and expedites the realization of the remaining goals. There is commitment worldwide to undertake concrete actions and measures at all levels and to enhance international cooperation, taking into account the Rio Principles, including, inter alia, the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities as set out in principle 7 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. These efforts are expected to promote the integration of the three components of sustainable development — economic development, social development and environmental protection — as interdependent and mutually reinforcing pillars 1. The above commitments are relevant to Tanzania but the environment is not fully conducive for their fulfillment, because sustainable development has remained elusive for many African countries. Poverty remains a major challenge and most countries on the continent have not benefited from globalization, further marginalizing the continent. Africa’s efforts to achieve sustainable development have been hindered by conflicts, insufficient investment, limited market access opportunities and supply side constraints, unsustainable debt burdens, and the impact of HIV/AIDS and in some cases limited access to information and statistics to facilitate informed decision making. The World Summit on Sustainable Development should reinvigorate the international community's commitment to addressing these special challenges and should give effect to a new vision 1 Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/WSSD_POI_PD/English/WSSD_PlanImpl.pdf xiii based on concrete actions for the implementation of Agenda 21 in Africa.2 OVERVIEW OF THE REPORT Chapter one provides the background and the context for access to information, participation, and justice. It also briefly discusses the methodology used for the assessment. Chapter two presents the results of the assessment and analyzes access to four different types of information, namely, information-emergencies, informationmonitoring, information-state of environment and information-facility. Chapter three illustrates the findings and analysis of access to participation in environmental matters in general. Chapter four elucidates and underscores measures which are to be implemented for the purpose of building capacity in access to information, participation, and justice in particular and environmental democracy in general, in Tanzania. Finally, chapter five stipulates the conclusions and recommendations advanced by the assessment teams. OVERVIEW OF THE MAIN CONCLUSIONS AND FINDINGS Overview of the main findings Generally, the findings show significant progress in a number of areas especially in developing relevant pieces of legislation and the emerging high level political will to support a number of unfolding information access initiatives for example allowing media in different government working fora. The assessment also found that, in practice, the right to participate in decision making is better implemented than the capacity-building for environmental management, which in turn is better implemented than the right of access to information. Access to information is mainly through general public or selected audience forum through meetings, conferences, seminars and workshops rather than through routine decisions made through correspondences, legal proceedings and so on. In terms of environmental decision making, the emerging Environmental Impact Assessment field 2 Ibid xiv has enshrined in the Environmental Management Act, (Act No. 20 of 2004) public hearing, which is a form of participation which is well utilized and increases access to information and decision making in environmental governance. Box 1: Summary of Progress Achieved in Implementing Principle 10 Access Rights Access to Information The legal position makes the right to information a Constitutional right, and requires that the government furnish a written reason for refusal when information is denied. Access to information provisions are incorporated in the EMA (2004). The law does not guarantee the right to information absolutely. The right is subject to certain limitations. There is a clear mandate including periodicity and means of dissemination that facilitates compliance reports and general information to be accessible to the public. There are no explicit rules that exist on the grounds of confidentiality of PRTRs. Community Access to information during project and investments made in a locality ICCMCA guarantees provision of and access to information in respect to chemicals, health or environmental protection. Access to Public Participation Capacity Building The right to public participation is well articulated in policy and legal documents including the Constitution, EMA (2004), NEP (1997) and NEAP (1994). The Constitution of Tanzania has a clause, which requires all people to safeguard and protect the natural resources of the country. This provision is interpreted to include guarantees for direct participation in natural resource management and decision-making on the environment. The NEAP requires that environmental analysis include the opinions of local people and site-specific knowledge from local groups, NGOs, and other institutions that conduct development projects in the particular area. The promulgation of EIA Regulations has strengthened the legal requirements for public participation in project designing, planning and decision making. EMA 2004 statutorily calls for community to be informed and consulted. It calls for any person aggrieved to sue. ICCMCA calls the public to participate fully in safe and proper handling of chemicals, proper disposal and in informing the body responsible about chemical xv Capacity building does not feature directly in Tanzanian laws. However, the EMA, has assigned NEMC new responsibilities that address capacity building which will be implemented when the Act comes into operation. The Wildlife Conservation Act, 1974 is proposed to be repealed and replaced by the Wildlife [Bill] Act, 2004. The proposed draft law has included provisions relating the need to educate people on wildlife management. The wildlife division has the administrative authority to build the capacity of its staff and other stakeholders. Capacity building through courts and case law is extremely low in Tanzania. The High Court’s registry does not have any particular statistics in relation to environment cases. Capacity building for facilitating EIA and public hearing at local levels is underway in several areas spillage. Overview of the main conclusions The assessment done by this study suggests that public participation rights are guaranteed in the Tanzanian legal framework. The new laws that have been enacted, and the older sectoral laws reviewed include provisions for public participation, however, in some cases this is limited to consultation. Though there were some differences in scoring, their general performance was good. The variability in quality might be attributed to commitment, resources and time invested by the Forestry and Beekeeping Division. In most cases that we examined, documents were available to the public through government offices and small departmental specialized libraries. However, the availability of the documents at the government offices did not guarantee that they would be readily accessible to the public. In the decision-making cases participation was weak/intermediate in both defining the project and in drafting the pertinent documents. Participation was much higher in the middle stages of decision-making, after the parameters of the problem or solutions were defined and before they were actually implemented or adopted. Additionally, the level of participation for different actors in policy, strategy, planning, and drafting legislation is vastly uneven. Some actors have disproportionate amounts of influence in certain policy–making processes. Other groups, especially those located in remote regions and districts in rural areas have little or no input into national laws and policies that may greatly affect them. From the findings obtained for the access to information aspect, it was noted that the laws in Tanzania guarantee the right to access environmental information. However, the right is not absolute as there are various claw back and derogation clauses which prevent the right from being fully realized. Much information is also withheld because of the state or public interests. While in Tanzania the law requires periodicity and dissemination of information, the xvi framework which exists is insufficient to enforce compliance. Some industrial facilities are required to report information on compliance with limits on air emissions and discharges to water in addition to producing PRTR or equivalent reports. It was observed that information on compliance from big producing industrial facilities was not submitted to NEMC. This has been addressed by EMA 2004 by making statutory that self monitoring and audit reports must be submitted to NEMC, failure of which legal action to be instituted. Whenever compliance reports were produced they were not sufficiently available. The Division of Environment, which is legally responsible does not prepare and/or publish reports concerning the state of the environment in Tanzania. The National Communication contains information of state of environment. xvii CHAPTER ONE CONTEXT AND METHODOLOGY 1.0. INTRODUCTION This chapter outlines the social and political context in Tanzania that affects access to information, participation, and justice, but has not been reflected or featured specifically in the indicators. 1.1. DISCUSSION OF INFLUENTIAL POLITICAL FACTORS In Tanzania there is general political will and infrastructure on the ground to improve access to information, participation, and justice. This is verified by the following factors: 1.1.1. Endorsement of Relevant International Commitments The international community has strongly affirmed the right to receive and give information, including environmental information. The Tanzanian government has endorsed the WSSD Plan of Implementation, which was entrenched in the National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP, 1994) and the National Conservation Strategy for Sustainable Development (NCSSD, 1995). In laying the foundation for the WSSD Plan of Implementation, the government established fully fledged ministries of the environment and environmental protection authorities or agencies in addition to improving its sub-regional and regional coordination of environmental management. Tanzania is a party to and signatory to the East African Community’s initiatives on access and the Statement on the implementation of WSSD. Moreover, it is a party to and signatory to Aarhus Conventions. To substantiate Tanzania’s endorsement of international commitments, its constitutional provisions conform to a number of international instruments that the government has signed and ratified, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the African Charter on Human 1 and Peoples' Rights3. Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides that "(e)veryone has a right to freedom of opinion and expression, this right includes freedom to hold opinion without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers" (UN, 1948). Article 19(2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provides that "(e)veryone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information4 and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of choice" (UN, 1966). Article 9(1) of African Charter on Human and People's Rights states that "(e)very individual shall have the right to receive information;" Article 9(2) provides that "(e)very individual shall have the right to express and disseminate his opinions within the law" (OAU, 1981). Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development upholds the freedom of access to information and declares that "states shall facilitate and encourage public awareness and participation by making information widely available" (UN, 1992a). By signing and ratifying these conventions and by partnering with the United Nations, European Community and other international bodies, the government of Tanzania has committed itself to ensuring citizen access to environmental information and to encouraging all holders of critical information to share it with citizens and society at large5. 1.1.2. Current decisions to promote or block legislation relevant to access In practice, much of the information that is requested by citizens is denied based on the pretext of guarding national security. In one case a senior government officer complained to one author that almost every document he receives is classified. Classified information 3 Ringia, D. W. and Porter, S. J., Access to Environmental Information in Tanzania, April 1999, found in http://www.leat.or.tz/publications/access.to.information/access.to.information.pdf 4 Ibid 5 Ibid 2 often makes it difficult for environmental and natural resource departments and government officials to meet their responsibilities. If an unauthorized officer needs to review a classified document to complete his work, he must either become authorized or have the document declassified, and both are long and complicated processes.6 A 1997 decision by the Tanzanian High Court in the case of Adam Mwaibabile v. Republic7, reinforced the notion that the government should not be permitted to classify documents to deny citizens access to information. In lower court, Mwaibabile, a journalist, was alleged to have violated the National Security Act (1970) by possessing a classified government document -- a directive from a regional commissioner to the Regional Trade Officer to deny the renewal of Mwaibabile's journalist's license. The High Court held that the directive was not a government document as defined in the Act because refusing to grant business licenses to citizens is not a government duty.8 The Tanzanian Newspapers Act (GOT, 1976) also hinders public access to information. The Act defines sedition as action taken with the intent to cause hatred or contempt of the government, or to excite disaffection against the lawful authority of the country or government. Thus, publishing a document that portrays the government negatively can be declared seditious even if the contents of that document are correct. According to the Newspapers Act (GOT, 1976), a publication is seditious if it intends to show that the government has been mislead or mistaken in any of its measures, points out errors or defects in the government, constitution, or any other law, or attempts to persuade inhabitants to procure by any lawful means the alteration of any matter in Tanzania.9 Although some court decisions have ignored constitutional claw back clauses such as those in the National Security Act and the Tanzanian Newspapers Act, others have not. In 6 See note 3 High Court of Tanzania at Songea, Criminal Appeal No. 13, 1997 (Unreported) 8 Ibid 9 See note 3 7 3 the case of Rev. Christopher Mtikila v. Attorney General10, the High Court declared the Police Force Ordinance unconstitutional for, among other reasons, violating the constitutional right of freedom of peaceful assembly and public expression. The judge ruled that "fundamental rights are not gifts from the state11.” 1.1.3. Levels of corruption According to Transparency International the level of corruption in Tanzania has declined both in absolute terms (as measured by the index) and in relative terms (ranking in relation to other countries) over the period of 1998 – 2002. Tanzania’s score over the five year period shows a clear trend, with the score improving from 1.9 in 1998 and 1999, to 2.7 in 2002.12 The institution responsible for curbing corruption and promoting accountability in Tanzania is the Prevention of Corruption Bureau (PCB). 1.1.4. Special interest groups that influence decisions Special interest groups that influence decisions range from Opposition Political Parties, Non-Governmental Organisations, and Higher Learning Institutions to individual groups of intellectuals. These groups influence decisions by airing their views through publictalk-gatherings, demonstrations, advising and strikes where the need arise. Typical example is a strike of Muhimbili University College interns (in 2005) who wanted an increment in their monthly allowance and improvement of working conditions. As a result the government granted their requests. 1.2. SOCIAL FACTORS According to year 2002 Population and Housing Census, Tanzania has a total population of 34,443,603 people13. The level of illiteracy in Tanzania is currently rapidly declining. 10 High Court of Tanzania at Dodoma, Civil Case No. 5, of 1995 (Unreported) Ibid 12 The State of Corruption in Tanzania, Annual Report 2002, Economic and Social Research Foundation & Front Against Corrupt Elements in Tanzania, October 2002, p. 18 13 Tanzania Population and Housing Census of 2002, http://www.tanzania.go.tz/census. 11 4 Statistics show that the total population literacy level is currently 78.2%14. With regard to internet access, internet cafés play an ever more significant role in facilitating access to information to the general public. Technologically, Tanzania is not well developed compared to First and Second World Countries. Our Information and Communication Technology (ICT), though advanced, is not widespread and only a few citizens who are educated, have good income and who live in urban centres can access internet services. Although 65% of Tanzanians live in rural areas, most internet cafés are found in the capital Dar es Salaam and other urban areas, as well as tourist destinations such as Zanzibar and Manyara. Most of the customers are students, employees and businessmen.15 In Tanzania, one of the enabling factors for accessing information is the use of Swahili as an official language. In some countries, access to information is barred by the lack of one common official language. For example in Uganda there are over 50 languages. 1.3. POLITICAL AND SOCIAL INFLUENCES OVER ACCESS TO INFORMATION In addition to those imposed by law, political and social factors also prevent the general public from having full access to information. Of course the right to information is not absolute; it is subject to certain limitations, which include state interest, public interest and/or national security. However, by law, the government body that classifies a document is the same body to whom the information is requested. This leads to an increase in the number of documents which are classified as confidential, and further limits access to information. Because internet use is not widespread, the internet is not a reliable source of information. This is because most organisations, government ministries, and intellectuals 14 UNESCO; United Nations http://esa.un.org/unsd/pubs/gesgrid.asp?mysearch=pocketbook and http://esa.un.org/unsd/pubs/gesgrid.asp?comp=compend; World Bank; CIA World Factbook, March 2005; Household survey data, net enrolment data from UNESCO, and data from UNICEF country offices; UNESCO Institute for Statistics. 15 Percentage of people living in rural areas (2003), http://www.nationmaster.com/country/tz. 5 do not create databases or put information on the internet. The most reliable channel of communicating information in Tanzania, particularly environmental information is the media. If other channels are used to communicate information there is a likelihood that a great number of people will not get the information communicated. 1.4. DESCRIPTION OF THE METHODOLOGY USED FOR THE ASSESSMENT The methodology developed by the Access Initiative is a set of instructions and questions which allowed the assessment team to determine the government’s public participation system. These research questions generated over 100 indicators of Tanzania’s performance in providing access to information, participation, and justice in law and in practice. The law indicators were used to evaluate the general framework for guaranteeing access while practice indicators were applied to selected case studies to assess the performance on the ground. These indicators have been divided into four categories: Category I: Access to Information Category II: Participation Category III: Access to Justice Category IV: Capacity Building The Access Initiative guided the choice of sectors, case studies and areas of focus. The study used the following approaches to collect data: Documentary review. Reviews of websites. Development of research tools: one set of questionnaire was developed for ministries, departments, and other government agencies The questionnaire was discussed and agreed upon by the Tanzania Coalition before the final set was adopted. Interviews conducted with government officials and potential participants, and in some cases we requested information electronically. Field work. 6 The Research Team reviewed documentation in English and Kiswahili. It conducted interviews with government/non government officials and potential participants, and requested information if an interview was not possible. The Research Team has endeavoured to make this assessment as comprehensive as possible, however, the Team was not able to visit all projects, programmes and activities in the field. In conducting this assessment both primary and secondary methodologies were employed. The primary (field survey) involved interviews with several private and government departments and institutions/organisations. The interviews were guided by the priority indicators and other checklists created out of the TAI database out of which questionnaires were designated. Primary methodology was done by assessing capacity building in five chosen case studies and three Non-Governmental Organisations. Secondary methodology was accomplished through library search of laws, policies, rules, guidance, policies, regulations, websites (internet) and other literature. The following laws were reviewed: The Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977 (as amended time to time), Interpretation of Laws and General Clauses Act, 1972/1996, The Income Tax Act, 1973 (together with other tax codes), The Non-Governmental Organisations Act, 2002, Societies Incorporation Ordinance, Cap. 18, The National Environmental Management Act, 1983, The Finance Act(s), and The National Environmental Management Act, 2004. Additionally, case law was reviewed. Some of the government strategies, policies and statements that were reviewed are: the National Environment Management Policy of 1997, the National Wildlife Policy of 1998, 7 the Public Expenditure Review of Environment, Financial Year 2004, and national (Tanzanian) websites such as www.tanzania.go/government/vpoffice.htm, www.Tanzania.go.tz/environment.htm, etc. Although the Research Team attempted to comprehensively analyze access to information in Tanzania, the Team encountered considerable hardship in making appointments with many officials, especially with regard to air and water regulations. 1.4.1. Modifications to the methodology Although the assessment team adapted the methodology developed by the Access Initiative Guide it did make minor modifications in order to facilitate data collection. The Team developed questionnaires which were submitted to the respondents in order to get first hand data. Additionally, The Team could not respond to all of the indicators that were stipulated by the Access Initiative, due to time limitation. Instead, The Team chose to focus on a core set of priority indicators.CHAPTER TWO ACCESS TO INFORMATION In sustainable development, everyone is a user and provider of information considered in the broad sense. That includes data, information, appropriately packaged experience and knowledge. The need for information arises at all levels, from that of senior decision makers at the national and international levels to the grassroots and individual levels. (Agenda 21, Chapter 40) 8 2.0. INTRODUCTION Information is the cornerstone of decision-making; it provides knowledge and evidence that enables good decision-making and close monitoring of the environment. Access to environmental information is integral to meaningful personal and organizational choices and decisions. Environmental information can be of great urgency and importance or can be important to long-term planning and policies. Environmental information can be used to: Protect human lives, biodiversity and the environment in urgent situations such as chemical accidents. Shape daily decisions: for instance, whether to drink water from local well, whether to go for a walk on a day with high level of air pollution, or whether to buy a certain product. Support decision-making that has long-term impacts, such as changing policies on facility reporting requirements or increasing general awareness of environmental issues. Public access to certain types of environmental information urges better environmental performance. For instance, public oversight of how facilities comply with environmental standards or what they discharge in the environment is a powerful motivator for improved environmental performance by industry. The information assessed includes the right to access public interest information and the provisions for keeping information of state interest confidential. The team assessed much information that concerned the provisions for confidentiality because there is a robust body of law in this area, namely the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania, 1977, the Environmental Management Act, 2004, the Newspaper Act, 1976, and the National Security Act, 1970. The laws assessed shows that much information is withheld from the public in the name of state security or interests. 9 2.1. ASSESSMENT OF LAWS REGARDING ACCESS TO INFORMATION The Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania, 1977 contains two articles (18 (1) and 27) that guarantee the right to freedom of expression; this includes the right to seek, receive and impart or disseminate information. The articles grant all citizens the right to information about the country and the world at large. This is contradicted by the below paragraphs. The Environmental Management Act, 2004, that repealed the National Environmental Act, 1983, provides that one can get information from the National Environmental Management Council (NEMC). Further, the law provides that the Council has the duty to disseminate the findings of any research it conducts. On the other hand The Director of the Environment is only allowed to publish information that “he considers” necessary for the public. Although EMA allows anybody to search information related to EIA for developmental projects, attachment of a cost related to such searches can be a hindrance to free access to such information. On the other hand, the Newspaper Act, 1976 limits access to information by regarding information that in any way jeopardizes the interest of the state as seditious. The Act even provides a punishment of imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, a fine not exceeding 20 United States dollars or both for the publisher of anything deemed seditious, and for anyone found with the publication in question. The National Security Act, 1970 hampers the right to information by classifying some information as only accessible to “authorized officers.” This prevents the public from accessing the information. Laws which guarantee sound and clear procedures for enforcement of the right to information especially information on human health and environmental protection should be enacted. Moreover, information on human health and environmental protection should be accessible to the public. 10 2.2. ASSESSMENT OF PRACTICE 2.2.1. Basic Information This study predominantly focused on access to environmental information in (1) environmental emergencies, (2) monitoring systems, (3) state of the environment reports (SOE) and (4) industrial facilities. Eleven case studies in total were assessed. 2.2.2. Case studies description Environmental emergencies were split into two categories: large scale and small scale. Improper management of pesticides (dumping in residential areas) was assessed as a large scale environmental emergency because it involves human activity, has had a measurable impact on the human population, the environment, and biodiversity, and had a response by national authorities (See appendix 1, Form 1A). The poisoning accident at Arusha flower cuttings farm (which happened in March 11th, 2004) was assessed as a small scale emergency because it occurred at a private facility, impacted humans and the environment outside of the facility, and it involved dangerous substances that could cause harm to the environment (See appendix 1, Form 1A). In its review of monitoring systems, the study examined air and water quality. For air quality the study examined the National Environmental Management Council (NEMC) pollution control monitoring. Unlike most African countries, there is no national air quality monitoring system in Tanzania. In Tanzania, air quality monitoring is done in patches for specific purposes. For water quality the study assessed the Lake Victoria Environmental Management Program. It was chosen because is operated by the government and is a representative of monitoring systems in jurisdictions of similar size. The State of the Coast Reports of 2001 and of 2003 that were prepared by the Tanzania 11 Coastal Management Partnership were used to assess state of the environment reports. These were chosen and assessed because there is no country-wide State of the Environment Reports are prepared by the government (See appendix 1, Form 1B). Five facilities were selected for assessment of industrial facilities, two mining industries and three manufacturing factories. These are Africa Mashariki Gold Mine, Kahama Mining, Shely’s Pharmaceutical Limited, ASBESCO and Afro-Tanneries Limited. The study assessed the Environmental Impact Audit reports of the above facilities, reviewed relevant documents, and conducted interviews. The study chose the facilities because they belonged to two or more economic sectors, performed one or more types of reporting (compliance, or PRTRs), and are representative of their respective sectors in size, environmental performance, and reporting. 2.2.3. ANALYSIS OF THE FINDINGS The strengths of the framework for access to environmental information are the clear mandate that details periodicity and means of dissemination that makes compliance reports available to the public. The mandate comes from section 172 of Environmental Management Act and Article 18 of the 1977 United Republic Constitution. THE WEAKNESSES IN THE FRAMEWORK LIE IN THE CLAIMS OF CONFIDENTIALITY WITH RESPECT TO COMPLIANCE ABOUT AIR AND WATER POLLUTION REGULATIONS. COMPLIANCE REPORTS AND POLLUTANT RELEASE AND TRANSFER REGISTERS (PRTRS) ARE AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET BECAUSE THERE ARE NO EXPLICIT RULES ABOUT THE CONFIDENTIALITY OF PRTRS.GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION OF THE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF THE FRAMEWORK FOR ACCESS TO ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION (SOURCE: Indicators Scores) 12 Scores Strongest and Weakest points in the Framework for Access to Environmental Information Figure 1. Strongest and Weakest points in the Framework for Access to Environmental Information KEY: 1. 2. 3. Mandate to make compliance reports accessible to the public. Mandate to make Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers accessible to the public. Claims of confidentiality regarding compliance with regulations on discharges of pollutants to air and water. 4. Claims of confidentiality regarding Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTRs) or equivalent. 5. Types of compliance data. 6. Production of Pollution Release and Transfer Register (PRTRs). 7. Compliance reports available on Internet. 8. Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) reports available on the Internet. 9. Quality of information accessible to public in compliance reports. 10. Quality of information accessible to public in Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) reports. 11. Timeliness of compliance report data. 12. Timeliness of Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) data. 2.3. COMPARISON OF CASE LAW FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF INFORMATION The assessment recognized common threads among different cases. The assessment determined that there is no indicator for which all of them have strong or weak performances. 13 The cases indicate that the government has working systems for: Disclosure of information, Active dissemination of information, and Protocols for responding to requests for some types of information. These include: a. Environmental and health impacts information during an emergency, b. Information from an ex post investigation, c. Information on air quality, d. Information on drinking water quality, e. Information on state of the environment, f. Information showing facilities’ accountability for their environmental performance, and g. Information on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers. The cases do not explicitly indicate that systems for disclosure and active dissemination or response to requests are absent for other types of information. In addition, these cases indicate that access depends on the agency responsible, the affected people, the cause for pollution, the sensitivity of the information, and the possible liability issues. The information which is made available to the public is often irrelevant because it is outdated. The compliance reports which were assessed are between three and ten years old. More recent reports are unavailable, reminding citizens of the legal aphorism “the right delayed is the right denied.” The public has the right to access relevant and timely information. Though not explicitly shown in the assessed data, there are some groups of people that have no access to certain information because either it is sensitive or the 14 agency responsible wants to limit liability.CHAPTER THREE PARTICIPATION 3.0. INTRODUCTION Participation allows citizens to express their opinions, challenge decisions, and shape the policies that affect their communities and environment. The importance of public participation was a consistent theme in many of the major international agreements such as the Rio Declaration, Agenda 21, the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, and the Millennium Development Goals. The Rio Declaration, the Tanzanian National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP, 1994), the National Conservation Strategy for Sustainable Development (NCSSD, 1995), and the National Environmental policy (1997) declare that environmental issues are best decided with full participation of the public. The National Environmental policy (1997) outlines the importance of public participation in decision making. The policy states that one of the “fundamental prerequisites for the achievement of sustainable development is broad public participation in decision-making, including the participation of individuals, groups and organizations in environmental impact assessment issues and in decisions, particularly those which potentially affect the communities in which they live and work.” Sustainable development is greatly linked to decentralized control over natural, social, and economic capital. Development cannot be sustainable without significant, substantive community input and control over decisions. The depth of participation reflects the long-term success of a project. Moreover, public participation is important as it: Empowers local people and provides them with the opportunity to voice their concerns. Creates a greater sense of ownership on the part of stakeholders. Improves the quality of decisions and solutions. Strengthens collaboration and partnerships between governments, and civil 15 society. Increases transparency and public understanding of government processes. Increase all parties’ commitments to solutions, since all parties played significant roles in crafting those solutions Provides a mechanism for stakeholders to influence and share control of development initiatives, decisions, and resources. This chapter presents experiences about public participation in decision making in national policies, strategies, plans, programs, legislation and specific projects. The aim is to show how the laws and policies guarantee public participation and the extent to which the government promotes meaningful public participation at various levels. The analysis included a review of the general legal framework that supports participation in decisionmaking that affects the environment in Tanzania, followed by an evaluation of participation in practice that examined actual decision-making experiences in five case studies. The case studies represented decision-making process on policy, strategy, plan, program and legislation. To gain more insight into the system for public participation two more cases that demonstrated decision-making process at the project level were added to the survey, bringing the total types of decision-making cases to six and the total case studies to seven. The selected decision-making cases cover different types of decisions, i.e. national and sub-national (meaning regional). The decision-making cases were drawn from major sectors such as Forestry, Agriculture and Energy, which are responsible for major economic production in Tanzania. 3.1. LAWS SUPPORTING PARTICIPATION Tanzania has recently passed several new laws that address environmental and social issues. These include legislation that requires public participation in planned development activities and how decision-making affects people’s livelihood. The most important laws, bills and guidelines assessed by the research team are the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania (GOT, 1977), the new Environment Management Act (EMA) of 2004 and the EIA Regulations (NEMC, 2005). These Acts and EIA 16 Regulations make public participation and consultation a pre-requisite for all development projects or programmes that are intended to take place. In assessing the presence and quality of legislation and the degree to which it supports participation in decision-making the research team applied indicators in three subcategories: (1) the general legal framework's support for access to information; (2) participation in national or sub-National policies, strategies, plans, programs, or legislation; and (3) participation in project-level decisions. These subcategories were divided into two parts: (1) laws and regulations governing public participation and (2) practices. The indicators for practices were organized along three topics: (1) access to information about decision-making processes, (2) opportunities to participate, and (3) the outcome of participation. Assessment of access to information in decision-making processes focused on notification, availability of documents, quality of information supporting participation, timeliness of the communication of final documents, and communication tools used to disseminate drafts, as well as the participation of marginalized socio-economic groups. Assessment of the opportunity to participate focused on the degree of consultations, comprehensiveness of consultations, duration of public comment period and participation in implementation and review of decisions. Assessment of the outcome of participation included research questions on timeliness of information given to the public about the consultation process and an incorporation of public input in decision. Additionally the research team focused on the degree of participation by affected parties or public interest groups in implementation or monitoring of compliance with decisions. Assessment of participation at all levels of the decision-making cycle is important to measure how systematic government efforts incorporate public participation and at what point in the decision-making processes the government seeks public input. 3.2. FINDINGS The Constitution of Tanzania has a clause that requires that all people safeguard and 17 protect the natural resources of the country. This provision can be extended to include guarantees for direct participation in natural resource management and decision-making about the environment. Article 18 (2), 20 (1) and 27 (1) provides a clear constitutional basis for the freedom of direct participation in public matters. Box 2: Constitutional guarantees to public participation Article 18(2): Every citizen has a right to be kept informed of developments in the country and in the world which are of concern to the life of the people and their work and of question or concern to the community. Article 20 (1): Every person is entitled to freedom, subject to laws of the land, to freely and peaceably assemble, associate and cooperate with other persons, express views publicly, and more specially to form or join associations or organizations formed for the purposes of preserving or furthering his beliefs or interests or any other interests. Article 27 (1): Every person has the duty to protect the natural resource of the United Republic, the property of the state authority, all the property collectively owned the people… According to the National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP, 1994), the key policy instruments and strategies for achieving sustainable development are environmental impact assessment, environmental legislation, economic instruments, environmental indicators and standards, and public participation. The NEAP states that an effective environmental analysis cannot be undertaken in isolation of the opinions of local people or the valuable site-specific knowledge that can be obtained from local groups, NGOs, and other institutions that conduct development projects in the area. It is a requirement under the EIA Regulations (NEMC, 2005) that the public actively participate in the EIA and the project planning process. Paragraph 2.3.1 of the regulations, states that the overall purpose of involving the public and affected persons is to incorporate their views into the EIA study. To ensure that members of the public are 18 fully involved in the process, the project proponent is required to initiate a public information campaign in any area likely to be affected by the proposed project, to record any concerns raised by members of the public, and to address such concerns in the EIA. The project proponent must provide background information on the nature of the proposed project that will help interested and affected parties comment constructively from an informed position. The regulations also require that public concerns, interests, and aspirations feature in the record. The regulations are supported by the EMA (2004) to provide redress when the public consultation process is ignored. In Tanzania at present the most powerful bill providing a basis for public participation in environmental decision-making is the Environmental Management Act of 2004 (GOT, 2004). This Act repealed the National Environmental Management Act, 1983 and it provides for the continued existence of the National Environmental Management Council (NEMC). Under this Act NEMC facilitates public participation in environmental decision-making. It requires that project proponents conduct EIAs, and it grants all persons the right to participate in the EIA process. The Act requires that environmental committees be formulated at all levels of the local government structure, including regions, districts, wards, villages, and Kitongoji. Under part XIV of the Act the public has the right to both participate in decision-making about the design of environmental policies, strategies, plans and programmes and to participate in the preparation of laws and regulation relating to the environment. This is in accordance with principle 10 of the Rio Declaration. Tanzania scored highly for public participation in the drafting of legislation because it has a framework for participation at all levels of the government. At the village level the institutions that formulate village-by-laws are: the Village Assembly (VA), Village Council (i.e. the village government (VG), and Ward Development Committee (WDC). There is a formal channel for public access to legislative processes at the village and ward level. At the district/municipal level the public can access drafts of legislation via the elected Councillors and other-informal channels to the Council. The Council, which is 19 a body of elected representatives, drafts by-laws that are based on the submissions and proposals of its statutory committees. The statutory committees formulate proposals based on demands from affected or interested individuals or groups. The full council makes decisions on Council by-laws. Public participation in drafting legislation at the national level is not formal. The process involves four steps and the public does have access, albeit informal access. Overall scores for public participation for the cases assessed are strong. See Table 1 below. Table 1: Tanzanian Participation in Constitutional and Legal Frameworks Indicators Score Reasons Freedom of direct participation in public matters Public participation in drafting legislation Strong Constitution explicitly guarantees the right to public participation Strong Rules in administrative laws relevant to environmental protection Public participation in administrative procedural law Strong In Tanzania now there is a framework provided for the public participation from the village level to the national level. Many sectors policies and legislations relevant to the environment were reviewed in Tanzania to provide the public to participate in decisions in those administrative areas. It is a requirement under the National EIA Procedure and Guidelines (NEMC, 1997 Draft) and the new EMA (2004) that the public actively participate in the EIA and project planning process. Strong In Tanzania there are some weaknesses in the development of the legal framework for participation. Capacity for developing the legal framework is one of the major weaknesses. This includes the human and financial resources needed to engage in policy and law making. The general public lacks information about the current legal framework and their right to participate in decision making about environmental matters. Although the Environmental Management Act is a good law, the institutions required to enforce it are under-funded. NEMC has only one office, located in Dar es Salaam, which may tempt developers in Kagera or Kigoma to ignore the guidelines or to offer misleading information to NEMC. In government, participation is lacking and so many decisions are taken by a few officials who may not involve civil society and the general public. 20 3.3. Tanzanian Priorities for Developing a Legal Framework for Participation Appropriate information dissemination techniques and consultation mechanisms should be adopted to sensitize stakeholders to regulations and to ensure that all groups have opportunities to give feedback on issues of concern to them. Local populations should be given information about the present legal status and the environmental situation in Tanzania, as well as the legal and management changes that have been proposed over time. Greater participation of Civil Society Organizations is needed in Tanzania because a participatory approach that involves civil society increases ownership of the development strategy and enhances accountability and transparency of the government. 3.4. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN PRACTICE In the mid 1990s Tanzania modified its policies, strategies, plans, programs and legislation to allow participation during all stages of the legislative process. Various mechanisms and processes have been institutionalized at the village, ward, districts, municipality, regional and national levels to enable public access and participation. Because of the change in the legal paradigm, the Study focused on cases from the mid 1990s up to present. For each of the decision-making categories, the research teams applied the indicators to the specific cases. The research teams examined seven cases: public participation in policy, programs, and legislation related to forestry, agriculture, energy, Marine Parks and Reserves, and management of the environment. The cases were further separated into those related to management and conservation of the environment, and decision-making related to sectoral policies that govern infrastructure development or natural resource exploitation. 3.5. CASE STUDY DETAILS 3.5.1. Forestry The research team examined public participation in policy-making related to forests. The 21 forestry sector in Tanzania has undergone a great deal of change in recent years. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism (MNRT) through the Forestry and Beekeeping Division (FBD) developed the National Forest Policy in 1998 with the assistance of the relevant stakeholders. The policy was based on an analysis of the ecological and economic needs of the country and the availability of humans and other resources. The revised Tanzania Forestry Action Plan (TFAP, 1989) provided the basis for the policy review. The policy was formulated using both sectoral and cross-sectoral stakeholder contributions. The cross-sectoral stakeholders ensured that the proposed policy would conform to the overall framework of the nation's forestry-related sectors. The policy provides a better environment for widespread participation among stakeholders with regard to forestry activities. The policy encourages participatory forest management, providing for joint forest management inside forest reserves and for community-based forest management outside the reserves. This way, poor local communities are able to gain control of, and benefits from, forest resource use. The National Forestry Policy recognizes that community participation in forestry is part of an overall rural development strategy by calling for integrated natural resources extension services, including agriculture and livestock. The main findings from this research indicate that government efforts to solicit public comments for the forest policy proposal/draft proposal were generally very good. In most cases public interest groups were given at least 30 days to comment on policy proposals, and several consultations took place. Sector documents, such as the Tanzania Forestry Action Plan (TFAP 1989), and forest policy documents were widely publicly accessible in many offices, including the Catchments project offices, Forestry Project Offices, Zonal Publicity Offices, Regional and District Natural Resource Offices (DED, DNRO, DFOs). Also the FBD provided the policy draft at relevant offices for public comments and feedback. The public input was incorporated into the final policy document. Public interest groups and potential stakeholders were consulted and sufficient lead-time was 22 provided for public comment. Similarly, different communication tools were used to disseminate the information on policy formulation and the outcomes of the policy (See annexture IIA: Summary of Communication and Awareness Creation Activities for the forest Sector). The Forestry Policy scored highly on access to information, opportunities to participate, and the outcome of the participation. In other words the policy scores highly on both quality and accessibility. 3.5.2. Agricultural Sector Development Strategy (ASDS, 2002–2007) Agricultural Sector is the leading sector of the economy of Tanzania and accounts for over half of the GDP and export earnings. Over 80% of the poor are in rural areas and their livelihood depends on agriculture. Moreover, about 80% of the population live and earn their living in rural areas with agriculture as the mainstay of their living. The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security developed the Agricultural Sector Development Strategy (ASDS) as a step forward towards laying the foundation for the ways to develop the agricultural sector, hence the national economy at large as well as poverty reduction especially in the rural areas. Preparation of the Agricultural Sector Development strategy began in the year 1998, after the finalization of the Agricultural and Livestock Policy and the Cooperatives Development Policy of 1997. The overall objective of ASDS is to create an environment that improves agricultural productivity and profitability, improves farm incomes, reduces rural poverty and ensures household food security. The Government developed the strategy through a broad stakeholders' consultation process. Between 1998 and 2000, the Government conducted various studies and intensive participatory consultations with stakeholders at national and grass-roots levels in order to review sector performance, determine which factors contributed to the dismal performance of the sector, and recommend any strategic interventions that were necessary to restore profitability. The project team also made consultations in connection with specific projects such as the Agricultural Sector Management Project and the National Agricultural Extension Project. 23 The draft ASDS was submitted to the Government in September 2000, and after consultations, the team concluded that it should conduct further consultations, especially in rural areas, at the grassroots level, in order to enrich the ASDS document. The team conducted four zonal workshops where 40 percent of the participants were women and 53 per cent were farmers and farmer representatives. The team then submitted a revised document in another round of stakeholder’s workshops held on 7 and 8 June 2001. They then finalized the document, and presented it to a workshop of Inter-ministerial and development partner representatives on 27 September 2001. Analysis of participation on this strategy found out that in the initial stage of preparations access to information in decision-making was weak. However, with time the situation improved as the Government sent the draft document back to stakeholders to solicit input. Similarly, ASDS scored highly in its incorporation of public comments and in providing information to the public about the outcomes of consultations. However in terms of communication tools used to disseminate information, the strategy only received an intermediate score. The communication tools used were mostly workshops and seminars, and this limited the involvement of marginalized socio-economic groups. The strategy document is publicly accessible in many places, including the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security Head Quarter, the Regional and District Agriculture offices, Agricultural Development Projects, NGOs Offices. However, there is a limited stakeholder involvement in implementing the strategy and limited feedback from the implementers to the stakeholders. 3.5.3. General Management Plans – Mafia Island Marine Parks The Ministry of Natural Resource and Tourism adopted the General Management Plan (GMP) of Mafia Island Marine Parks in 2000. Preparation of this plan was based on the Marine Parks and Reserves Act No. 29 of 1994, which established the Mafia Marine Park Reserves. The Act provides that a General Management Plan shall be adopted for each marine park. The GMP strongly recommends collaborative management and community participation. It emphasizes that all development and activities in the Marine Parks or 24 Reserves should have a large public participation component. The affected groups and local NGOs should be informed about decisions, and should be consulted in a meaningful way. This includes: information dissemination, consultation and public participation prior and during any activities planned for the marine parks. The scorecard for this case study indicates that there was an increased focus on sharing information early in the process. The documents which were analyzed indicate that the management plan was developed in close collaboration with all groups who had an economic or cultural interest in the Marine Parks area, especially resident communities. The planning process was participatory and it started as early as 1991. The public was given sufficient notice about the intent to develop the plan, and the case study scored high in this area. The case study also scored high for public involvement as this was one of the requirements. The processes allowed for 3 to 5 years for reviewing the plan. The plan's documentation is currently available at district level government offices and at the head office in Dar es Salaam. The study obtained a weak score for communication and inclusiveness, because it did not sufficiently communicate the outcome of the consultations, nor provide the final draft to the public. Additionally, throughout the preparations, the study used communication tools at meetings and seminars that were inaccessible to a wide range of potential stakeholders, especially those from marginalized socio-economic groups. The case study scored strong for external consultations as consultations with several local and international organizations, such as the WWF, IUCN, and FAO were conducted. 3.5.4. National Forest Programme The Government of Tanzania endorsed the National Forest Programme (2001- 2010) on November 7, 2001. The Forest and Beekeeping Division of the Ministry of Natural Resource and Tourism (“FBD”) led this process. The National Forest Programme (“NFP”) aimed to implement the Forest Policy by enabling active participation of 25 stakeholders in the resolution of cross-sectoral issues, particularly those regarding use, water, agriculture, poverty alleviation, energy needs, and environmental protection. The NFP attempted to realize its vision by promoting private sector and community participation through participatory management techniques that addressed gender issues. The NFP included Joint Forest Management (JFM), Community Based Forest Management (CBFM), commercialization through concession, and private sector involvement in the management of industrial plantation forests. The framework that the NFP developed was used to create the Participatory Forestry Management component (2003- 2007). The NFP had a condensed time frame in which to conduct its participation (See box 3 below). In some cases these time constraints reduced the programme's accessibility to the public, and this was reflected in the scoring. The programme scored high for both 'notification of the intent to develop the programme', and 'availability of documentation that supports participation' because the processes started shortly after the policy was passed in 1998. Indeed, the programme was formulated to implement the policy. Once the document was ready there was a planned and systematic effort to enable marginalized socio-economic groups to comment on the document. Various communication tools were used to disseminate the programme document (See annexture IIA: Summary of Communication and Awareness Creation Activities for the forest Sector). Moreover periodic newsletters, handouts and other FBD publications were produced that discussed the programme. Using these methods and tools, the FBD was able to inform the public about comments and the consultation process within a reasonable time. Unfortunately, however, the limited time frame that was provided for the formulation process meant that communication of the draft and final decisions to the public was expedited. Despite the limited time, external consultations were done adequately. Box 3: NFP Formulation Processes 1. Jan-March 2000- A forest sector analysis by four Forest Policy areas 2. February – Apr 2000- National Stakeholders orientation workshop in 4 FP 26 areas 3. June 2000-Categorising and defining the forestry issues raised in the workshop 4. June to Aug 2000- Baseline study and a National Workshop on best practices and lessons learned from the consultative processes 5. August – Sept 2000 - Local level consultative workshops in six regions 6. June–Dec 2000 - Special studies on areas which need in depth analyses 7. October –Nov.2000 - Further work with major forestry issues 8. Dec-Feb 2001 - Preparation of NFP Framework document 9. 9. March Finalizing the NFP framework doc and starting the adoption of the NFP document by the GVT and other stakeholders. 3.5.5. The Forest Act - Legislation The research team selected the Forest Act No. 14 of 2002 to analyze legislation. This Act governs forests throughout mainland Tanzania and it repealed legislation that was propagated during the colonial era, such as the Forest Ordinance. The Forest Act, 2002 is the major legal instrument of the Tanzania forest policy. The Act was prepared by the MNRT - Forestry and Beekeeping Division (FBD). The Act aims to encourage and facilitate the active participation of the citizens in the sustainable planning, management, use and conservation of forest resources through the development of rights and responsibilities to use and manage forest resources at the lowest possible level. It supports environmental management by enabling local communities to declare – and ultimately gazette – Village, Group or Private Forest Reserves, and provides for three categories of Community-based Forest Management (CBFM): (i) Village Land Forest Reserves (VLFR) managed by the entire community, (ii) Community Forest Reserves (CFR) managed by a particular designated group in the community, and (iii) Private Forests (PF) managed by individual designated households. The Act also provides for registration and other procedures through which villages, groups or individuals may secure local jurisdiction over forests or take on management functions in government reserves through the establishment of Joint Forest Management Agreements (JFMA) with the government. 27 The indicator scores for the Forest Act (2002) were similar to those of other forest-related cases. In consultation and degree of external consultations the Act scored highly as the Act was prepared using a wide participatory dialogue within government and with a broad range of stakeholders. In addition, a series of meetings, workshops and consultations were held with people outside of the project, both to provide information on the Act and to solicit input and define the parameters of the Act. Additionally the case study scored strong on accessibility of the information, but weak on feedback provisions to the public. This was due to fact that the Forest and Beekeeping Division (FBD) did not have feedback mechanisms in place during or after the Forest Act formulation process. Moreover public participation was strengthened by the availability of the TFAP policy and programme, which supports public participation. Communication tools used for advertising and disseminating information were not fully employed. This adversely impacted the Act's ability to reach marginalized groups. Some official documents at the FBD mention that consultations were held and public input incorporated. 3.5.6. Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project (LVEMP) The Lake is a joint initiative of the three East African countries: Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania for the environmental management of Lake Victoria. It was a five-year project, which was later extended for two and half years ending 2005. The objective was to strengthen regional coordination in the management of Lake resources, including fisheries management, control of water hyacinth, management of water quality, and land use management, including wetlands. The LVEMP has attempted to integrate community participation across all of its project components. These attempts have been met with varying amounts of success, depending on the nature of the component activities undertaken and the extent to which the implementers understood participatory approaches. The research team concluded that the extent and nature of participation ranged from little input and feedback on the initial LVEMP drafts to substantial contributions, especially for micro-projects, throughout all stages of formulation, including organizing and 28 facilitating consultations with other stakeholders. Local communities, rural associations, women’s groups, NGOs, and others were invited to the workshop/seminars and were given an opportunity to comment and suggest recommendations on the various elements of the LVEMP. The document which mentions how the public consultations were conducted was available at LVEMP office. The research team was only able to find the parties who participated in the implementation and monitoring for an LVEMP Micro Project. In several important areas of the micro projects, the dialogue with the public led to adjustment and reformulation of the approach proposed in the initial LVEMP document. Additionally a wide range of communication tools, such as newsletter, radio, TV, workshops, and seminars were used to reach the general public. For the microprojects the outcome of the consultations were given to the public within 1 month of the decision and so they generally scored strong. 3.5.7. The Lower Kihansi Environmental Management Project (LKEMP) The Lower Kihansi Environmental Management Project (LKEMP) was approved in July 2001, to assists the long-term conservation of the Kihansi Gorge ecosystem and upstream catchment areas. The project was developed in response to concerns raised by the government, academics, and environmental NGOs about habitat loss due to the operation of a hydroelectric facility located in the Lower Kihansi Gorge. The Lower Kihansi Gorge, is located in the Eastern Arc Mountains along the eastern escarpment of the southern Udzungwa Mountains in South Central Tanzania. The Lower Kihansi facility is operated by the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO) and it began producing power in December 1999. The project is comprised of four components: (1) habitat and species conservation and management; (2) establishment of definitive water rights; (3) implementing an Updated Environmental Management Plan; (4) Strengthening Institutions. The project also compliments ongoing conservation work, such as the captive breeding of the Kihansi Spray Toad, installing artificial spray irrigation systems, and evaluating intermittent bypass flows. The scorecards for this case study indicate that participation was much stronger during 29 the information gathering and formulation stage of the project cycle, and weaker during project implementation and monitoring. Also there was little input and feedback on the project drafts document. The LKEMP scored low in accessibility of project information to the affected communities. Through local consultation it was found that the people in the local communities know very little about the LKEMP components, except for the endangered Kihansi Spray Toad. The local populations expressed strong feelings about what they called a "communication deficit'. They complained of not having access to the comments that resulted from the public consultation. In reviewing newspaper clippings, the research team found that the Villagers around Kihansi Hydro Power Station have complained about being excluded from the implementation of the LKEMP. Additionally the public is concerned that there is no proper mechanism for including them in subsequent reviews, extensions and modifications to the project. Further, project documents were not available at the public registry so it scores low in that category. Regarding communication, the LKEMP secretariat reported that radio, workshops and indigenous media such as cultural shows and interactive dramas had been used in disseminating project information and decisions reached and this score strong. Table 2: Overview of Cases Assessed on Decision-Making Case Coverage Type Quality Accessibility The National Forest Policy (1998) The Agricultural Sector Development Strategy (2002–2007) The General Management Plan of Mafia Island Marine Parks (2000) The National Forest Programme (2001- 2010) The Forest Act No. 14 of 2002 The Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project The Lower Kihansi National Environment Strong Strong National Sector Intermediate Strong Regional Environment Strong Intermediate National Sector Strong Strong National Sector Strong Intermediate Regional Environment Intermediate Strong Regional Environment Strong Weak 30 Environmental Management Project (LKEMP) 3.6. Comparison of findings for different types of decisions In all cases that were studied the majority of the consultations took place during the initial analysis and formulation stages, with some consultations occurring during the implementation, approval and evaluation stages. The LVEMP and ASDP scored intermediate with regard to participation at the initial stages of the decision-making cycle (notification); some respondents felt excluded from the actual drafting of the documents, as they were mainly written by a few people from the government and Civil Society Organizations. However, with time the LVEMP seriously improved its involvement of the public in the implementation of its micro-projects. For the General Management Plan of the Marine Parks and Reserves there was a high commitment to ensure public participation during the initial analysis phase, and there was some effort to ensure participation during the implementation stage. The strong performance of the forestrelated cases was due to the government’s commitment of ensuring that natural resources are managed at the national and local levels. The scorecards show that there was little public participation at the implementation stage. This was either due to the lack of a Participation Action Plan prior to the commencement of the process, lack of political will, lack of technical capacity to implement participatory processes at later stages in the cycle or lack of follow up strategy. The respondents also mentioned poor information flows, lack of time, and lack of resources. The government sometimes neglected to provide information to local people in appropriate formats, and some blamed the government for what they believed was a severe lack of information. Other respondents reported that agendas and documents were not disseminated before the meetings, and so local people were incapable of preparing properly. In order to enable a genuinely participatory process, the government must design strategy that provides necessary and timely information to people in appropriate formats. The involvement of marginalized socio-economic groups such as women, local groups, and disabled people 31 demonstrated the overall quality of participation. However, for the cases assessed, participation did not go much beyond consultations; all the consultations, except for the Forestry related cases and the micro projects of LVEMP had representatives from the rural areas and from marginalized socio-economic groups. Consultation was often limited, and participation tended to occur late in the decisionmaking process. However, in some cases there was a deliberate effort to ensure that women participated. Further, in the forest-related cases there was a deliberate effort to disseminate drafts or outcomes of consultations to the public, and the research team concluded that information about decisions on forest related cases was accessible to the public. More important to mention, the study found that documentation of public consultations is still weak, even when public consultation was well done. Some of the documents that were assessed had some discussion of the public consultations, but very few had complete, detailed records on either the process itself or the insights that were gleamed from the process.CHAPTER FOUR CAPACITY BUILDING 4.0. INTRODUCTION The team assessed the government’s initiatives in building the capacity of the institutions and agencies at both the individual and the institutional levels. The rationale for this was that environmental management is best handled when people have the capacity to manage it. 32 4.1. DESCRIPTION OF THE METHODOLOGIES AND CASE STUDIES INVOLVED In conducting this assessment both primary and secondary methodologies were employed. The primary (field survey) involved an interview with several private and government departments and institutions/organisations. The survey team designed the questions from the interview by incorporating the priority indicators and checklists from the TAI database. The primary methodology for the study was to assess the issue of capacity building in five chosen case studies and three Non-Governmental Organisations. The study chose a central government ministry / department that is involved in environmental issues, and other sectors and institutions that were either environment-related, or were engaged in capacity building. As such the following case studies were chosen: the National Environment Management Council (NEMC), the Department of Environment and the Department of NonGovernment Organisations both of the Vice President’s Office, the Ministry of Tourism and Natural Resources, specifically the wildlife division, the Ministry of Education and Culture, the Tanzania Revenue Authority, the department of Income Tax, and three NGOs. The secondary methodology was accomplished through a library search of laws, policies, rules, guidances, policies, regulations, websites, and other documents. The following laws were reviewed: The Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977 (as amended); Interpretation of Laws and General Clauses Act, 1972/1996; The Income Tax Act, 1973 (together with other tax codes); The Non-Governmental Organisations Act, 2002; Societies Incorporation Ordinance, Cap. 18; the National Environmental Management Act, 1983; the Finance Act(s); the National Environmental Management Act, 2004. Case laws were also reviewed. 33 Some of the government strategies, policies and articulations that were reviewed are: the National Environment Management Policy of 1997; the National Wildlife Policy of 1998; the Public Expenditure Review of Environment, Financial Year 2004; Tanzanian government websites such as www.tanzania.go/government/vpoffice.htm, www.Tanzania.go.tz/environment.htm; “The Kakakuona”, the magazine produced by the Ministry of Natural Resources; and Newsletters of the NEMC. The study reveals that the process for building capacity, and capacity building itself is done in one or more of the following ways: Through legislations within related environmental laws. Through office/departmental arrangements. Such as special need of a certain expertise. Here, the government locates budget for that purpose. Through trainings as specialization of individual person before and when he/she is employed. Through educational and informational materials such as posters, brochures and leaflets. Through other ways. 4.2. ASSESSMENT OF THE LAW 4.2.1. Description of Legislation In assessing the law regarding the issue of capacity building on environment, we were guided by indicators such as: freedom of association, the right to a clean environment, proper governance of NGOs dealing with environment, tax incentives for environmental protection, and financial assistance for environmental cleanup. The primary question asked was: does Tanzania's legislation provide for all of this? Note that until 8th February, 2005, Tanzania did not have a unified environmental legislation. Environmental issues were scattered throughout legislation, policies and 34 guidelines depending on the sector. Environmental law was found in the National Parks Ordinance, Cap. 412; the Mining Act, 1998; Fisheries Act, 1970; the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority Ordinance, Cap. 413; Marine Parks and Reserve Act, 1994; Forest Act, 2002; Wildlife Conservation Act, 1974 and the like. On February 8th, 2005 the President assented to the Environmental Management Act, 2004 Act No. 20 of 2004. The law was still not in operation, as of April, 2005. The above mentioned laws provide very little information about the primary issues raised above. However, both the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania, 1977, and the Income Tax Act, 1973 provide some protections. In the future, the Environmental Management Act, 2004 will provide for many of the indicators that were examined. For instance, the right to a clean environment is now expressly provided under Section 4 (1) of this Act. 4.2.1.1. The Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania, 1977 The 1977 Constitution has been amended periodically. One of the major amendments was the 1984 amendment to incorporate the bill of rights and duties in the Constitution. The Bill of Rights includes 'freedom of association', but the Constitution does not explicitly address the other indicators, such as the right to a clean environment. The Courts sometimes read rights that are not explicitly included in the Constitution from other explicitly provided-provisions. For instance Justice Lubama speculated that the right to a clean environment was provided by Article 14 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to life.16 4.2.1.2. The Income Tax Act, 1973 The Income Tax Act, 1973 provides for all matters relating to charging, assessing and 16 Festo Balegele and 794 Others v. The Dar es Salaam City Council, High Court of Tanzania at Dar es Salaam, Miscellaneous Civil Case No. 90 of 1991 35 collecting income taxes. The 1st schedule to the Act, paragraph 5 provides, that charitable organisations (NGOs) are exempted from taxes on income which is accrued in their dayto-day business. The money received from the tax exemption should be wholly and exclusively used for that particular organization’s purposes. 4.2.1.3. The National Environmental Management Act, 1983 The National Environmental Management Act, 1983 established the National Environmental Council (NEMC). It did not contain any provisions relating to capacity building, and none of the above-listed indicators were featured in it. A new law has been proposed which would have a profound impact on the operation of the council, as issues of public education and empowerment would be added to the work of the NEMC. 4.2.1.4. The Environment Management Act, No. 20 of 2004 Act No. 20 of 2004 was assented by the President when the assessment was in progress. It is not operational as of April 2005. Section 4 of the law provides that everyone living in Tanzania has the right to a clean, safe and healthy environment. The law also creates the right to bring an action on behalf of the environment under Section 5. Furthermore, Section 6 provides that everyone has a duty to protect the environment. Section 176 contain provisions, which direct that the public should be educated and informed of matters pertaining to the environment. It states that: “The Director of Environment shall, in consultation with the relevant Sector Ministries, take appropriate measures for the integration of environment matters in schools, colleges and institutions of higher learning. The Director of Environment shall plan and conduct programmes aimed at raising awareness of the people on sustainable development and environmental management” 4.3. Summary of the Laws The issue of capacity building does not feature directly in our laws. However, some of the indicators are found in the laws as explained above. 36 The Environmental Management Act, 2004 gives the citizenry new responsibilities, and it will address the issue of capacity building in the NEMC. The Wildlife Conservation Act, 1974 may be repealed and replaced by the Wildlife Bill/ Act, 2004. The proposed law has incorporated many important goals, including provisions relating to the EIA and the need to educate people on wildlife and environmental management. The Department of Wildlife will have these responsibilities. 4.4. THE CASE LAW There is very little case law in Tanzania that addresses environmental issues. Hence, capacity building through the courts has been extremely low. The High Court itself does not have any statistics relating to environmental cases. In both Joseph Kessy17 and Festo Balegele 18 the court prohibited pollution and held that because pollution endangers people’s lives it is contrary to Article 14 of the Constitution which guarantees the right to life. Most of the cases, which are brought in court, are requests for orders of injunction to prevent certain institutions or persons from polluting the environment in a certain vicinity. 4.5. IN PRACTICE: CASE STUDIES 4.5.1. Government - Wildlife Division The Wildlife Division is a government department within the Ministry of Tourism and Natural Resources. The department is responsible for the management of wildlife and natural resources relating to wildlife in Tanzania. The Wildlife Division oversees several wildlife authorities, including Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) and the Ngorongoro 17 Joseph Kessy and Others v. The City Council of Dar es Salaam High Court of Dar es Salaam, Civil Case No.299 of 1988 (Unreported). 18 Festo Balegele and 794 Others v. The Dar es Salaam City Council, High Court of Tanzania at Dar es Salaam, Miscellaneous Civil Case No. 90 of 1991 37 Conservation Area Authority (NCAA). Each of these authorities is governed by an Act of Parliament. Both of the authorities have planning and conservation programs. For instance, the TANAPA has a Wildlife Management Areas (WMA) program, which was made under the Wildlife Conservation Act, 1974. According to an interview (through a questionnaire) with the Director of Wildlife, the Division has an administrative program to build the capacity of its staff and the public. Table 3: Chart showing questions asked and their responses Question Response/ Answer Does the government (through the Yes, the division has a training programme for the wildlife division) have any last 5 – 10 years aimed at building capacity of her administrative program to build its staff in order to increase their abilities. own capacity – to provide Capacity building through trainings started long time information, utilize public a go, however, more emphasis has been seen since participation and institutional support 1999 when the Research, Statistics and Training to the public? For instance in training Section was established for that purpose. its staff to increase their abilities? The program targets operational, technical and professional workers. That, there are three academic Institutions for that purpose. That the Wildlife Division Staff have capacitated through short and long term courses covering various fields including wildlife and environmental managements, biodiversity conservation, wetlands, land use planning, ecosystems, project formulation and management. Do you have any person or office There is Publicity and Extension Subsection under who or which is specifically assistant director of wildlife. There are officers for responsible for making sure that communication, Education and Awareness programs. people/public get their right to know The subsection has radio and TV programs, which laws, participation regulations in all ensure a wide spectrum of people/public is reached. matters about wildlife and environment generally? How does (s) he or it operate? How do you increase the capacity of Through strengthening the publicity unit, section, understanding of people in protected community based unit and environmental clubs areas? and committees. Local people are involved in the process of gazetting protected areas, where they have to agree to set out land for conservation. 38 4.5.2. Government Agency- National Environmental Management Council (NEMC) This is the sole government body, which is responsible for management of the environment in Tanzania. Its function is, inter alia, ensuring that government policies take environmental effects into account. It has four units: the Environment Impact Assessment, Information, Communication and Outreach, Environmental Planning and Research, and Environmental Compliance and Enforcement. We assessed the capacity of the NEMC unit-by-unit. Much of the information we gathered was found in the Vice President’s Final Report of Public Expenditure Review of Environment for the year 2004. The following table is an overview of the state of capacity building in each section of the NEMC: Table 4: Capacity (Building) Summary Chart for NEMC Departmental Answer/ Response Question Are you harnessing new technologies/methodologies in your department? Has your budgetary allocation been increasing/ decreasing in real terms in supporting capacity building? Do you have any human capacity to provide effective and efficient services in terms of number and skill types? Is the work force in your department well trained? Do you have any appropriate equipment and resources? Environmental Impact Assessment Information, Communication And Outreach Environmental Planning and Research Environmental Compliance and Enforcement To some extent To a large extent To some extent To some extent Decreasing Inadequate allocation Decreasing Decreasing Not at all To some extent To some extent Not at all Fairly Trained Well trained but understaffed Yes but inadequate Fairly Trained Well trained but understaffed No No 39 No Is there an imbalance in your ability to supply the services and the demand of them? Is there an imbalance in the allocation of your resources between services and between types of expenditure, e.g. on salaries and operating costs? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes SOURCE: Final Report of Public Expenditure Review of Environment for the year 2004. 4.5.3. Government Agency: Department of Environment - Vice President’s Office The Department of Environment is in the Vice President's office, and is headed by the Director of the Environment. It has three sections: Environmental Pollution and Control, Policy Planning, and Research and Environmental Impact Analysis (EIA). The study used the VP’s Office's Final Report of Public Expenditure Review of Environment for the year 2004, as despite repeated requests for interviews, the assessment team was unable to meet with anyone. The team also met with government departments and non governmental organizations that were helpful in assessing the capacity of the office based on the indicators provided. The information that we compiled indicated that the Department of Environment had similar approach to the NEMC, above. The major differences were that the workforce in the Department of Environment was quite well trained, and had no imbalance in the ability to supply services and the demands. 4.5.4. Government Agency: Department of NGOs – Vice President’s Office The Department of NGOs is headed by a Director of the Department, and is charged with administering NGOs in Tanzania. The team found that the Department of NGOs does not have any program for capacity building. 4.5.5. Government Agency: The Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) The Tanzania Revenue Authority is entrusted with collecting, and assessing various taxes 40 in the country. It was established by the Tanzania Revenue Authorities Act, 1995. The team assessed the issue of capacity building in relation to tax incentives to NGOs that deal with environment environmental issues. Per the Income Tax Act, 1973, we found that there are tax incentives for charitable organizations as expressed above. 4.5.6. Government Agency: High Court Registry of Tanzania The High Court Registry is the custodian of all records and statistics for all court cases throughout Tanzania. The team aimed to secure statistics on environmental related cases, which have been decided, or are pending before courts of law, but found that there are no landmark cases on this issue. Note that, in Tanzania, while there are specially designated labour, land, tax, and commercial courts, there is no court specifically designed to hear environment-related cases. 4.6. SUMMARY OF RESULTS 4.6.1. Overall Strengths The government departments, overall, were strong in that they had Training Programs for their staffs on capacity building, and awareness programs for the public, using the media, newsletters, etc. The departments have been increasing their staffs in order to meet needs. For example, in the NEMC, technical and support staff have grown since 1986. In 1998 the number of technical staff increased from 4 to 47, and then again up to 56 in 2004; the number of support staff has risen from 5 to 44. 4.6.2. Overall Weaknesses There continues to be an imbalance between the available capacity and the demand for services from the departments. The survey of government departments has indicated that 41 there is an absence of a clear strategy to rectify this problem. There is no good monitoring mechanism. The review of the sectors has revealed that there is inadequate capacity to monitor and sustain the environment. The study shows that most sectors rely on the NEMC and the VP's office as the focal points for environmental assistance and advice. The laws are inadequate on these issues. N.B: None of the government departments have clear and affirmative strategies for capacity building. Most of the offices just have administrative arrangements for their staff. These sorts of arrangements do not cover the general public. The public is covered through sporadic campaigns, which are short lived and reactive to a given problem. The laws should support and develop a clear strategic policy for capacity building on environmental issues. CHAPTER FIVE CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 5.0. CONCLUSIONS The assessment done by this study suggests that public participation rights are guaranteed in the Tanzania legal framework. The Constitution has a clause that guarantees direct participation, and the National EIA Procedure and Guidelines (1997) emphasizes active public participation in the EIA and in the project planning process. These guidelines are now supported by the new EMA (2004), which guarantees the public the right to participate in decision-making on the design of environmental programmes as well as the right to participate in the preparation of laws and regulations relating to the environment. Many new laws that have been enacted, and other sectoral laws that were reviewed included provisions for public participation. However, some of these laws limit 42 participation to consultation. The Forestry sector cases that were assessed on decisionmaking recorded the strongest rankings for quality and accessibility. Though there were some differences in scores, their general performance was good. The variability in quality may have some relationship with the commitment, resources and time that is invested by the responsible government agency i.e. FBD. Also, this solid performance may be attributed to recent significant donor support and the sector's major overhaul. All of the cases that were examined were accessible to the public through government offices. It is worth bearing in mind that a document's availability at a government office does not guarantee its accessibility to the public. The quality of effort to promote participation was recorded as 'strong' for the forest related cases and 'intermediate' for the plan and strategy. The LVEMP (Project-level decisions) had highly variable public participation scores in terms of both quality and accessibility, and in the earliest stages there was very limited participation: only notification of the draft project document. Though the LVEMP did not involve an EIA, its micro projects demonstrated wide opportunities for the public to participate and influence the project. Although some cases scored 'weak' and 'intermediate' at the earliest stages of decision-making, LKEMP scored 'strong' because An Environmental Assessment for the Lower Kihansi Hydropower Project carried out in 1992 was of poor quality. This attracted many interested parties and another EIA was commissioned. Because they did not want to repeat the mistake in inception of the LKEMP several consultations were done. However in the monitoring of implementation and the review of performance LKEMP scored 'weak'. In the decision-making cases assessed participation was weak/intermediate in the process of defining the project and at the drafting stages. Participation was much higher in the middle stages of decision-making. At this stage, the parameters of the problem or solution were already defined and before they are actually implemented or adopted. Additionally, except for the Forest related cases during implementation and monitoring the public was partly excluded from the process. Whenever participation was encouraged there was a remarkable improvement in resource management and support from the 43 communities. It is worth mentioning that the level of participation for different actors in policy, strategy, planning, programme and legislation, as it occurs today in Tanzania, is vastly uneven. Some actors have considerable influence in certain policy–making processes, which may be disproportionate to their size or their constituency. On the other hand, other groups, especially those located in far regions and districts in rural areas have little or no input into national laws and policies that may greatly affect them. It goes without saying that in Tanzania there is a clear mandate, including periodicity and means of dissemination that facilitates making compliance reports and general information accessible to the public. Though there is a mandate which provides for access to information, the framework which is in place today is not efficient enough to enforce compliance. Some industrial facilities report information on compliance, with little on air emissions and discharges to water, and produce PRTR or equivalent reports. It was observed that information on compliance from big producing industrial facilities was not submitted to NEMC and whenever compliance reports were present one could hardly get them. Relevant information on the SOE could not be available because the Division of the environment does not prepare or publish reports concerning the state of the environment in Tanzania. From the findings, the team noted that while the laws in Tanzania guarantee the right to access environmental information, the right is not absolute as there are various claw back and derogation clauses which prevent the right from being fully realized. Besides, much information is withheld because it is allegedly in the state or public interest. 5.1. RECOMMENDATIONS 5.1.1. Legislation on information The government should enact laws that guarantee sound and clear procedures for enforcing the right to information whenever it is breached or refused under the umbrella of public interest or national security. For instance, there should be ‘The Right to Information Act’, which will establish the regulatory, and enforcement 44 machinery for the said right. The law also should be restrictive for the government not to abuse the right to information. The ‘principle of maximum disclosure’ should be a guiding principle and should be adhered to by the government and various institutions. In enacting laws, the government should keep the people's needs in mind. However, this can only be achieved through a consultative process prior the enactment of the laws. This consultative process involves the collection of opinions from the people and considering the obtained opinions during drafting the pieces of legislation. In addition, the government should have a full and effective information management system. The government should implement policies that will allow the public to have sufficient environmental information if there is an emergency. Specifically, the policy should touch ‘environmental emergence situation report’. The policies should be explicitly enough to allow the government and other responsible organs and institutions to make public the occurring hazardous substances and develop emergence preventions and response plans. Existing laws, like the Newspaper Act, 1976, that limit access to information should be amended. There should be an awareness raising campaign to ensure that the public knows their rights to access environmental information; mere enshrinement in the Constitution is not enough to make the right meaningful. There should be sensitization and the government should produce a citizen’s guide to access to information The government should join a global coalition that works to increase public access to decisions affecting the environment by making specific commitments to implement the access rights or join Partnership for Principle 10 (PP10) 5.1.2. Public Participation This study found that even experienced government agencies, like the Forestry and Beekeeping Division have weak documentation of public consultations. In some cases the public consultation was well done, but the information provided during 45 the assessment was incomplete, and did not detail how the processes were conducted or the insights that were gleaned from the process. Without documentation of the consultative process or an alternative means of obtaining the information, it is difficult to determine whether the affected individuals had meaningful participation and consultation. The public consultation process and its outcomes must be properly documented carefully. This study found that even experienced government agencies, like the Forestry and Beekeeping Division have weak documentation of public consultations. In some cases, the public consultation was well done, but the information provided during the assessment was incomplete, and did not detail how the processes were conducted or the insights that were gleaned from the process. Without documentation of the consultative process or an alternative means of obtaining the information, it is difficult to determine whether the affected individuals had meaningful participation and consultation. The public consultation process and its outcomes must be properly documented. Each project should develop a Participation Action Plan that details who will be involved at each stage of the project. The Action plan is a road map for the implementation of the activities addressing an identified priority issue. A well prepared action plan outlines specific goal and objectives to be achieved, related activities to be taken, time frames, resource requirements, stakeholders and their responsibilities at different levels and evaluation details The Government should provide information in a way that encourages people to contribute their views and opinions. Additionally, it is very important not to create the expectation that just because people are consulted their demands will be met. Information/dissemination should itself be considered one of the building blocks of the participatory process. Participation should mean more than simply obtaining input from participants. The assessment done by this study indicates that in Tanzania there are various levels or degrees of participation ranging from simple consultation to joint decision making to self-management by stakeholders themselves. It is recommended that the degree 46 of participation should be increased in all policy, strategy, programmes, and projects processes. Participation of the most excluded groups in society, such as women, indigenous groups, or disabled people, sheds light on the quality of participatory process. Ideally, this means putting the beneficiaries at the centre of a process that they will drive and continuously adjust, according to their own learning processes and needs. The Government should provide information in a way that encourages people to contribute their views and opinions. Additionally, it is very important not to create the expectation that just because people are consulted their demand will be met. Information/dissemination should itself be considered one of the building blocks of the participatory process. 5.1.3. Government capacity There should be a clear and strategic policy for capacity building on environmental issues to support the laws that are passed. The strategy that will indicate (in the National Environmental Policy) how information and data on environment would reach people at different levels so that they can take measures on their own. Policy that will consider how NGOs would be mainstreamed in the government programs in order to have uniformity and wider awareness of environment management. Information which is intended to build the capacity of people should be disseminated as widely as possible. Each department that the team assessed has brochures and a newsletter, yet most offices were found in Dar, where only 30% of the people live. A clear dissemination strategy should be adopted for environmental related policies. The media is the most reliable channel of communicating information in Tanzania, particularly environmental information. If other channels are used to communicate information there is a likelihood that a great number of people will not get the information communicated. 47 APPENDICES APPENDIX 1: ACCESS TO INFORMATION Form IA: Information about Environmental Emergencies Before assessing the indicators for Subcategory B (Information/Emergencies), please record the following information for each of the emergencies you have chosen. Duplicate or add forms if you assess more than two case studies. Type of emergency: How typical a case is this for your country? How often do similar emergencies occur? Is it comparable to other recent emergencies in terms of size, scale, type, performance by responding agency, and impact? Duration of event (give starting and ending date, to best of knowledge): Location of emergency City: Province/Region: Country: Other features of area: Description of event (a paragraph explaining the course of the emergency): Impact of emergency Human impact (# of deaths, injuries, illnesses, evacuation, etc.): Biodiversity impact (damage to or Emergency 1: Large-Scale, National Improper management of pesticides (dumping in residential areas) at Vikuge state farm Emergency 2: Small-Scale Poisoning accident at Arusha cutting flower farm 1986 to date 11th March 2004 Coastal region-Tanzania Arusha –Tanzania Flower farm Government of Tanzania received a ‘donation’ of pesticides in different forms such as liquid, powder, pellets and sprays from Government of Greece. It has been noticed that since government of Tanzania did totally not expect such amount of pesticides, no preparation was made to receive consignment and decided to stock them at Vikuge hay farm. Pesticides therefore were exposed to direct to sunlight, rain, and other climatic variations. Pesticides has numerous effects both to human health and environment as well On 11th March 2004, a pesticide poisoning accident happened in one of the flower FarmsArusha cutting LtdTanzania. Is the serious accident in which 15 workers (Pickers harvesters) affected by chemicals knows as (Methomex 90 SP) which was used in the green house. They developed symptoms such as Nausea, headache, Sough, Dizziness and vomiting Human impact: 15 workers collapsed and felled sick. Adverse health effects such as eyes infections, persistent skin disease, respiratory track infections and body swelling 48 death of local species): Environmental impact (water or air pollution, soil contamination, destruction or damage of forest or other ecosystem, etc.): Responsible party: Responding agency: Level of government responding: Ministry of Agriculture Vikuge Community Is very low Responsible Party: Arusha Cuttings Ltd Responding agency: Tanzania Plantation and Agricultural Workers Union, Tanzania Level Government responding: was very low Form IB – State of the Environment Reports Before assessing the indicators for Subcategory D (Information/SOE), please provide the following information about your case selections. Duplicate or add forms if you assess more than two case reports. Report (or series) 1 Report (or series) 2 Name/title of report: State of the Coast Report 2001: the National ICM Strategy and Prospects for Poverty Reduction State of the Coast Report 2003: the National ICM Strategy and Prospects for Poverty Reduction Publishing authority, body, or agency: Tanzania Coastal Management Partnership Tanzania Coastal Management Partnership Jurisdiction/geographic coverage of report (national, state/province, regional): Dates of publication and time periods covered by the reports: Tanzania coastal and Marine environment Tanzania coastal and Marine environment October 2001 August 2003 Number of volumes (if a series) and length of report: Volume 1 50 Pp Volume 1 62Pp Means of accessing report (online, library, by request from government, etc.): Library, request form TCMP Library, request form TCMP Main contents of report (consult table of contents for major sectors and trends represented): Coastal environment (coral reefs, mangrove ecosystems, marine fisheries, other marine living resources, water quality, coastal erosion); Marine protected areas and conservation efforts, coastal people(demographics, economic status, infrastructure, health, education, gender equality, governance and community organization) Coastal ecosystem and environment (coral reefs, mangrove ecosystems, marine fisheries, water quality, shoreline change, shoreline coastal ecosystems and environment in the ICM strategy); Marine protected areas and conservation efforts; Marine life as a resource(Marine mammals, Sea turtles, Plankton, seagrass and Marine life in the ICM strategy); 49 Coastal people( Coastal Population growth, Access to social services, Gender equity and Coastal management, coastal people in the ICM strategy); Emerging economic opportunities( Seaweed farming, Coastal tourism and Economic opportunities in the ICM strategy) Is this SOE report representative of SOE reports published in your country (if others are published)? N/A N/A N/A N/A Why or why not (length, publishing authority, depth, format, etc.)? Other notes: Appendix 2: Participation Form IIA: Participation in Decisions on National or Sub-national Policies, Strategies, Plans, Programs and Legislation Before assessing the indicators for Subcategory B (participation/Policy), please record the following information about the decision-making processes you have selected as case studies. Sectors Selected Forestry Agriculture Marine Parks Rationale for choosing sectors (percentage of GDP, percentage of labour force, regional impact etc) Tanzania has about 33.5 million hectares of forests and woodlands. The forests offer habitat for wildlife, beekeeping, unique natural ecosystems and genetic resources. It was estimated in 1998, that the sector’s contribution to the Gross Domestic Product was 3.3%. The sector employs about 3% of paid labour and even a bigger proportion of people in the informal forestry Agricultural Tanzania coastal Tanzania has about Tanzania has about Sector is the strip has historically 33.5 million 33.5 million leading sector of been a centre of hectares of forests hectares of forests the economy of wealth creation, and woodlands. The and woodlands. The Tanzania and through trade, forests offer habitat forests offer habitat accounts for over extraction of natural for wildlife, for wildlife, half of the GDP resources, and most beekeeping, unique beekeeping, unique and export recently from natural ecosystems natural ecosystems earnings. Over tourism and and genetic and genetic 80% of the poor mariculture. The resources. It was resources. It was are in rural areas areas are also rich in estimated in 1998, estimated in 1998, and their biological diversity, that the sector’s that the sector’s livelihood harbouring a wealth contribution to the contribution to the depends on of species of fishes, Gross Domestic Gross Domestic agriculture. marine Product was 3.3%. Product was 3.3%. It is also the invertebrates, The sector employs The sector employs major source of marine mammals, about 3% of paid about 3% of paid food supply and reptiles, birds and labour and even a labour and even a raw material for plant life. Mafia bigger proportion of bigger proportion of the industrial Island is the first people in the people in the sector. marine park in informal forestry informal forestry 50 Forestry Forestry Case Studies related sector activities. Case 1 Case (Policy (strategy) Name/title of policy, strategy, plan, program, or legislation National Forest Policy Decision-making Authority/Developer (government or private agency leading project) Ministry of Natural Resource and Tourism, Forestry and Beekeeping Division Dates (give planning stages, start, and completion, as applicable) The Tanzania Forestry Action Plan (TFAP) was completed and adopted by the Government in 1989 as a basis for the development of the forest sector. Between 1992 and 1994 the TFAP was revised, including the assessment of policy related issues, as a result of the macro and socioeconomic policy reforms implemented in the country. Location City: Dar es Salaam City Province/Region Scale (national, sub-national – state, regional, local) Dar es Salaam Region National Tanzania to be gazetted. 2 Case 3 (Plan) related sector activities. Case 4 (Program) related sector activities. Case 5 (Legislation) Agricultural Sector Development Strategy (ASDS) Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security Mafia Island Marine National Forest The National Park Programme in Forestry Act No 14 General Tanzania of 2002 Management Plan Ministry of Natural Ministry of Natural Ministry of Natural Resource and Resource and Resource and Tourism, Board of Tourism, Forestry Tourism, Forestry Trustees, Marine and Beekeeping and Beekeeping Parks and Reserves, Division Division Tanzania. Marine Parks and Reserves Unit The process of Early draft 1992, The NFP Formulation (2001 preparing ASDS Implementation formulation process April 2002); began in the year plan endorsed by planned for one National Forestry 1998. Between Advisory year (Jan. 2000 – Act Implementation 1998 and 2000, Committee of Jan. 2001 was the Government MIMP on May followed by a conducted 2000, approved by bridging phase various studies as Board of Trustees (March to Dec. well as for MPR in June 2001) NFP participatory and 2000; and adopted Implementation intensive by the Minister of Phase 2002. consultation with NRT Sept. 2000 stakeholders at all levels. Dar es Salaam City Dar es Salaam Region National Mafia Island Dar es Salaam City Mafia District, Coast Region Dar es Salaam Region Dar Regional National National Dar es Salaam City es Region Form IIB. Participation in Decisions on National or Sub-national Policies, 51 Salaam Strategies, Plans, Programs or Legislation Before assessing the indicators for Subcategory C (participation/Project), please record the following information about the decision-making processes you have selected as case studies. Sectors Selected Rationale for choosing sectors (percentage of GDP, percentage of labour force, regional impact etc) Case Studies Name/title of project, concession, permit, etc Decision-making Authority/Developer (government or private agency leading project) Dates (give planning stages, start, and completion, as applicable) Location City: Province/Region: Scale (national, sub-national – state, regional, local) Economic sector Lake Victoria is the second largest fresh water in the world. It is an international water body that is of great economic value for riparian countries Kenya Tanzania and Uganda. The gross economic product of the lake catchment is in the order of US$3-4 billion annually, and supports an estimated population of 25 million people at incomes in the range of US$90-270 per capita p.a. The lake catchment thus provides for the livelihood of about one third of the combined populations of the three countries, and about the same proportion of the combined gross domestic product. Case 1 Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project The Lower Kihansi Enviro was approved in July 2001 the Kihansi Gorge ecosyst the project support the dev legal and institutional fram resources management. Vice President Office, LVEMP Regional/National Secretariat Vice President Office, Na Council Formulation of the Programme started in 1992, a tripartite Agreement signed in August 1994 and was completed in December 1995. Project document was published in 1996 and commenced in March 1997. It was a five-year project (1997-2002) The Tanzania Power VI p producing power in Decem approved a US$6.3 millio for the Lower Kihansi Env ensure the long-term cons and upstream catchment a Mwanza, Musoma, and Kagera Mwanza, Mara, and Kagera The Lake Victoria Environmental Management Programme is a joint initiative of the three East African countries Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. Environment Management The Lower Kihansi Gorge Case 2 The Lower Kihansi Enviro Regional Environment Managemen Annexture IIA: Summary of Communication and Awareness Creation Activities for the forest Sector. Case National Forestry policy formulation (1986 under TFAP – March 1998 Purpose of communication activity Platform for various stakeholders to contribute in designing the policies. Sharing information and experience; feedback and/or stakeholders input. Endorsement of proposed action Target audience Decision makers at National level and local authorities and Technicians Stakeholders and General public 52 Tools used for communication Cross Sectoral Workshops Workshop for verification of issues and action by stakeholder Draft endorsement Policies implementation National Forest Programme formulation (Jan.2000 – March 2001) Decision makers at National level and local authorities e.g. Member of Parliament, Technical staff Action Plans for Implementation of the Policies Distribution of Policy Document Politicians (DC), DED, Technicians, NGOs, projects, Institutions, District department. Stakeholders and General public Publicizing the Policies Platform for various stakeholders to contribute in designing the programmes. Sharing information and experience; feedback and/or stakeholders input Publicizing the programme Workshop/seminars Media participation Newspapers articles 8 Zonal Awareness Raising Workshops, Distribution at different fora of Swahili and English Version, 3 abridged versions (NGO, Private Sector, Communities), Misitu ni Uhai Radio Program, Through communication activities on PFM, Forest Act, CBFM Guidelines, NFP etc Stakeholder – Foresters (District, Catchment, NGO/Project) Staff from related sectors (agriculture, community development, Planning) Stakeholders and General Public Stakeholders and General Public Ministers/Permanent Secretaries, Directors Six Zonal Orientation Workshops. 2. Four Local Cons…. Six workshops for decision makers at for local authorities 3 issues of NFP Newsletter; 2 issues of handout; Several newspaper articles; Website Address list of FBD; Workshops; Personal contact; 2 workshops for decision makers for National level Dissemination of documents/print materials NFP/NBP bridging phase (June 2001 – Dec. 2001) Disseminate and publicize to stakeholders for action at national level. Disseminate NFP information and promote start up of district NFP planning and implementation DCs, DED, Councilors and Technical Staff Introduction of NFP to development partners Development partners Annual consultation meetings Publicity/promotion of NFP documents Stakeholders and General public 32 Radio programmes 8 TV programmes Management of Internet and NFP web page 53 National Forest Programme Implementation Phase Forestry Act Formulation (2001 - April 2002) Forestry Act Implementation Distribution of NFP documents DC, DED, NGOs, Projects, Institutions, District departments, Platform for various stakeholders to contribute in designing the act. Sharing information and experience; feedback and/or stakeholders input Publicity of the Act NFP awareness workshops Consultative workshops Distribution at government bookshop (AG Chambers), Through communication activities on PFM, CBFM Guidelines, NFP etc, Source: FBD 2003 54 Annexture IIB: Participatory Process for the Preparation of the Agricultural Sector Development Strategy CHAPTER 0: The Preparatory Phase A long participatory consultative process amongst a wide range of stakeholders in the sector began in 1995 with the preparation of the Agricultural and Livestock Policy and the Co-operative Development Policy, and their finalization in 1997. The Government, between 1998 and 2000 conducted various studies and participatory consultations at grassroots level, which were also made in connection with specific projects such as the Agricultural Sector Management Project and the National Agricultural Extension Project. Concurrent with the preparation of the ASDS, the President of the United Republic of Tanzania appointed a Task Force on Cooperatives in April 2000. After wide consultations with stakeholders in the cooperative movement, the Task Force made specific recommendations for strengthening the cooperative movement in the country. Strategy development also benefited from the following reports that were prepared by MWLD on the basis of special consultations with stakeholders in the livestock sub-sector undertaken in the first quarter of 2001: Tanzania Agriculture: Performance and Strategies for Sustainable Growth, of February 2000, that was jointly prepared by MAC and the WB. URT (1999) Report of the Special Advisory Committee on Agricultural Development in Tanzania, Issues and Recommendations. World Bank 2000) Agriculture in Tanzania since 1986: Follower or Leader of Growth. World Bank/IFPRI. CHAPTER 1: Stakeholders’ Workshops Two rounds of stakeholder workshops were held in Bagamoyo. The first from May 29 to June1 2000 and the second on September 11 and 12 2000. In the first workshop a total of 50 stakeholders participated in the preparation of the strategy document, while during the second workshop, 59 participants reviewed the strategy. The stakeholders were drawn from different Government Ministries, public agencies, educational institutions, donor agencies and international organizations. After the workshop, a team of consultants went through all the workshop reports, the available Ministry documents and other sources of 55 information, which were helpful in formulating the draft strategy document. Further Consultations with Grassroots Stakeholders The draft ASDS was submitted in September 2000. To enrich the ASDS document, further consultations with grassroots stakeholders in the rural areas were done through four zonal workshops: Mwanza Centre (27-29 March 2001) 53 participants from Kagera, Mara, Shinyanga and Mwanza regions. Kigoma region did not send participants. Njombe Centre (27-29 March 2001) 55 participants from Iringa, Mbeya, Morogoro, Rukwa and Ruvuma regions. Bagamoyo Centre (3-5 April 2001) 50 participants from Dar es Salaam, Mtwara, Pwani, Tanga regions; Lindi region did not send participants. Dodoma Centre (3-5 April 2001) 37 participants from Arusha, Dodoma, Kilimanjaro, Singida, Tabora. 40 percent of the workshop participants were women and 53 per cent were farmers and farmer representatives. Final Consultations with National Stakeholders Final stakeholder’s workshop was held on 7 and 8 June 2001 to review the revised ASDS document. This was followed by a process of fine tuning and finalizing this document, which was presented to a workshop of Inter-ministerial and development partner representatives on 27September 2001. Annexture IIC: Kihansi villagers complain of being sidelined in a project 2003-12-13 09:43:02 By Lwaga Mwambande, Bagamoyo Villagers around Kihansi Hydro Power Station in Iringa Region have complained of being left out in the implementation of the Lower Kihansi Environmental Management Project (LKEMP). Speaking on behalf of leaders of four villages of Ukami, Uhafiwa, Mugugwe and Udagaji, the Ukami Village Chairman, Ledson Kihwelo, criticised the 56 project for involving them only during the preparation stages, but sidelining them during its implementation. He was speaking at a two-day National Workshop on Preparation of Updated Environmental Management Plan of the LKEMP, opened by the Deputy Minister for Energy and Minerals, Dr Ibrahim Msabaha, at Livingstone Hotel, here on Thursday. Kihwelo wondered that when employment opportunities occurred at the project- say for watchmen and drivers - the villages, despite having many qualified members of the militia and drivers, were being bypassed in favour of people from other places. “People do not understand us when we talk about conservation of the spray toads when the four guards at the site have been recruited from afar,” he said, adding, “and they are being picked to and from the work site by motor vehicles when there are qualified people within the vicinity.” He insisted that since the commencement of the project two years ago, nobody has been employed from his village, save for casual labours that last for a day or two. Kihwelo told the meeting organised by the National Environment Management Council (NEMC), the implementers of the project that, “the people have directed us that we should go back home with what has transpired here and whether their complaints have been taken into account.” However, Kihwelo showered praise on the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO) that owns the Lower Kihansi Hydro Power Station for involving them 100 per cent in all their projects, saying they had no reservations at all. Other village leaders also invited by LKEMP to the workshop that concurred with the Ukami leader are the Chairman of Mugugwe village, Augustine Madenge, Uhafiwa Chairman, Edward Lubida, and the Executive Officer of Udagaji Village, Norbert Mpangile. Responding to the villagers’ concerns, the LKEMP National Project Coordinator, Dr Wilfred Sarunday, admitted that the project had shortcomings in terms of social and economic mitigation measures. He said whereas the previous projects under TANESCO and NORPLAN had components for mitigation measures like public health mitigation and conservation of village areas (catchments management), the one-year 57 Immediate Rescue and Emergency Measures Project (IREMP) for rescuing the spray toads, which led to the long-term LKEMP, did not have funds for the social component. Dr Sarunday also said LKEMP co-opted the workforce left by the IREMP. However, he said the project is up for review next April when social and economic issues and poverty eradication would be included. The NEMC Director General, Dr Magnus Ngoile, told the village leaders that effective next year a project for conservation of the whole of the Udzungwa area aimed at increasing the water for power generation would take off and that they would be fully involved. Earlier, welcoming the deputy minister, Dr Ngoile said they had invited the representatives of villagers from in and around Kihansi area, though very late, in order to enrich their discussions because they live in the area. Minister Msabaha said the villagers should have been involved in all the processes of the project. “Next time make sure that villagers living around any project under implementation are involved from the word go,” he directed. “One important lesson from other countries is that without having effective conservation instruments and efficient institutional…it is indeed difficult to achieve sustainable resource management objectives. He said because Tanzania is a mega biodiversity country, the Kihansi experience can provide powerful insights on how similar water resource development projects can be dealt with in the future and therefore serve as a model for hydropower development initiatives in the country. SOURCE: Guardian Appendix 3: Capacity Building Annexture IIIA: Capacity (Building) Summary Chart for NEMC Departmental Answer/ Response Question Environmental Impact Assessment To some extent Are you harnessing new technologies/methodologies in your department? Has your budgetary allocation been Decreasing increasing/ decreasing in real terms in supporting capacity building? 58 Information, Communication And Outreach To a large extent Environmental Planning and Research To some extent Environmental Compliance and Enforcement To some extent Inadequate allocation Decreasing Decreasing Do you have any human capacity to Not at all provide effective and efficient services in terms of number and skill types? Is the work force in your department Fairly Trained well trained? To some extent Well trained but Fairly Trained understaffed Well trained but understaffed Do you have any appropriate equipment and resources? Yes but inadequate No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Is there an imbalance in your ability to Yes supply the services and the demand of them? Is there an imbalance in the allocation Yes of your resources between services and between types of expenditure, e.g. on salaries and operating costs? To some extent Not at all Source: Final Report of Public Expenditure Review of Environment for the year 2004. Annexture IIIB: Capacity Building – Wildlife (Environment) Division S/N 1. 2. 3. Question Does the government (through the wildlife division) have any administrative program to build its own capacity – to provide information, utilize public participation and institutional support to the public? For instance in training its staff to increase their abilities? Do you have any person or office who or which is specifically responsible for making sure that people/public get their right to know laws, participation regulations in all matters about wildlife and environment generally? How does (s)he or it operate? How do you increase the capacity of understanding of people in protected areas? Response/ Answer Yes, the division has a training programme for the last 5 – 10 years aimed at building capacity of her staff in order to increase their abilities. Capacity building through trainings started long time a go, however, more emphasis has been seen since 1999 when the Research, Statistics and Training Section was established for that purpose. The program targets operational, technical and professional workers. That, there are three academic Institutions for that purpose. That the Wildlife Division Staff have capacitated through short and long term courses covering various fields including wildlife and environmental managements, biodiversity conservation, wetlands, land use planning, ecosystems, project formulation and management. There is Publicity and Extension Subsection under assistant director of wildlife. There are officers for communication, Education and Awareness programs. The subsection has radio and TV programs, which ensure a wide spectrum of people/public is reached. Through strengthening the publicity unit, section, community based unit and environmental clubs and committees. Local people are involved in the process of gazetting protected areas, where they have to agree to set out land for conservation. Source: Primary Data 59 BIBLIOGRAPHY BOOKS Forestry and Beekeeping Division, “National Forest Programme final document”, Ministry of Natural Resource and Tourism, Dar es Salaam, 2001. Forestry and Beekeeping Division, The Tanzania Forestry Action Plan, 1989. Forestry and Beekeeping Division, “Handout: Forest/Beekeeping Policy Areas: Major findings of Status Reports and Summary of Principle issues Raised at Orientation Workshops”, Forestry and Beekeeping Division, Dar es Salaam, January 2001. Forestry and Beekeeping Division, “National Forest Programme Bridging Phase Action Plan”, Ministry of Natural Resource and Tourism, Dar es Salaam, 2001. Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project, “Proceedings of the Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project Tanzania, 2001 Scientific Conference”, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 2001. Marine Parks and Reserves Unit, “Guidelines for Investment and Environmental Impact Assessment in Tanzania Marine Parks and Reserves”, Ministry of Natural Resource and Tourism, Dar es Salaam, 1998. National Environmental Management Council, “The National Environmental Impact Assessment Procedure and Guidelines (Draft)”, 1997. National Environmental Management Council, “National Conservation Strategy for Sustainable Development”, 1995. Tanzania Marine parks and Reserves, “Mafia and Kilwa; Mafia Island Marine Park”, African Publishing Group, Zimbabwe, 2002. The Marine Parks and Reserves Unit, “General Management Plan: Mafia Island Marine Park”, Ministry of Natural Resource and Tourism, Dar es Salaam, 2000. 60 The United Republic of Tanzania, The Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project, 2005. The United Republic of Tanzania, Public Expenditure Review of Environment, Financial Year 2004, Vice President Office, 2004. The United Republic of Tanzania, The National Environmental Action Plan, 1994. The United Republic of Tanzania, “Agriculture Sector Development Strategy (2002 – 2007)”, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, 2002. The United Republic of Tanzania, “The Lower Kihansi Environmental Management Project”, October 2003. The United Republic of Tanzania, The Lower Kihansi Environmental Management Project: Communication Strategy and Implementation Programme (Draft Report), Vice President’s Office, 2004. Maina, Chris P., Human Rights in Africa: Selected Cases and Materials, Rudiger Koppe Verlag, Köln, 1997. Reed, D. and Rosa, Economic Reforms: Globalization, Poverty and the Environment, (Undated). UNPUBLISHED MATERIAL Afrika Mashariki Gold Mining Limited, Supplementary Environmental Management Plan (Nyabirama), August 2002. AGENDA for Environment and Responsible Development, Vikuge Preliminary Site Report, Coast Region, Tanzania, 2004 Barrick Gold, Environment, Health, Safety and Social Responsibility Report, 2003. Environmental Association of Tanzania, Final Report on Environmental Survey of Shely’s Pharmaceutical Company Limited, National Environmental Management Council, December 1994. 61 Masanja, E. and Katima, J.H., Environmental Impact Audit for ASBESCO, National Environmental Management Council, February, 1995. Masanja, E. and Katima, J.H., Environmental Impact Audit for Afro-Tanneries, National Environmental Management Council, February, 1995. Ubwani, Z., Tanzania Probes Pesticide Poisoning on Flower Farms, July 2004 Websites http://easd.org.za www.barrick.com/5_Corporate_Responsibility/en/Barrick_EHS_2003_E.pdf www.tanzania.go.tz/environment.htm www.tanzania.go.tz/government/vpoffice.htm www.newctz.org www.nationaudio.com/News/East www.lvemp.org www.arc.un.edu STATUTES The Constitution of United Republic of Tanzania, 1977 (as amended). The Forest Act, No. 14 of 2002. The Newspapers Act, 1976. The Newspapers Regulations of 1977, G.N.No. 166 of 1997. The National Forest Policy of 1998. The National Security Act, 1970. The Environmental Management Act, No. 20 of 2004. 62 The Marine Parks and Reserve Act, No.29 of 1994. The National Environmental Policy of 1997. The Non-Governmental Organization Act, 2002. The Industrial and Consumer of Chemicals (Management and Control) Act, No. 3 of 2003. The Income Tax Act, 2004. The Marine Parks and Reserves (Declaration) Regulations of 1999, G.N. No.84 of 1999. Interpretation of Laws and General Clauses Act, 1972/1996 Societies Incorporation Ordinance, Cap. 18 CASES Adam Mwaibabile v. Republic, High Court of Tanzania at Songea, Criminal Appeal, No.13 of 1997 (Unreported). Festo Balegele & Others v. The City Council of Dar es Salaam, High Court of Tanzania at Dar es Salaam, Miscellaneous Civil Cause No.90 of 1991 (Unreported). Joseph Kessy & Others v. The City Council of Dar es Salaam, High Court of Tanzania at Dar es Salaam, Civil Case No.299 of 1988 (Unreported). Rev. Christopher Mtikila v. Attorney General, High Court of Tanzania at Dodoma, Civil Case, No. 5 of 1995 (Unreported). OTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION The “Kakakuona Magazines” of the Ministry of Natural Resources. Newsletters of the National Environmental Management Council. TCMP (Dec 2000) Pwani Yetu, No. 010 63