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October 2009: Volume 2

POLICY WORK & MAINSTREAMING

Poverty Environment Initiative in Bhutan

Bhutan has earned an enviable reputation for its leadership role in forestry and environment conservation and its rich culture and history which has just recently included the country’s first democratic national election.  However, Bhutan faces many challenges to retain its constitutionally mandated 60% forest cover while ensuring economic development for the many rural people who still live below the poverty line.  Bhutan’s development remains focused on natural resources through hydro power development to export electricity to India, expansion of the tourism sector, as well as agricultural development.  

Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness Commission or GNHC (formerly the Planning Commission) coordinates the implementation of the Poverty Environment Initiative (PEI).  PEI is now being expanded in its second phase starting next year which has been designed as a joint support programme of $5 million with Danish support.

Over the last year, the PEI programme (USD $3.8m) has focused its support on four main outputs:

·         Promoting local level planning and development based on sustainable use of natural resources through the government’s Rural Economy Advancement Programme (REAP).   The REAP was identified in the 10^th five year plan as a targeted poverty reduction programme which has a high national priority.   Participatory assessments in 10 targeted villages of poverty environment livelihood options have been undertaken to identify interventions to reduce poverty.  This has led to the piloting and dissemination of guidelines for participatory village planning.  A Village Development Plan framework has been developed and once finalized will be used to formulate integrated plans for the next batch of 100 villages identified for targeted poverty intervention in the 10^th Plan. Funds have also been mobilized to undertake income enhancing interventions in some of the poorest villages.  

·         Sectoral and subnational planning have been promoted by supporting the Gross National Happiness Commission (GNHC) and the National Environment Commission with mainstreaming guidelines for sectors and local governments on why the environment matters for pro-poor growth and how this can be operationalised in policies and programmes. These guidelines will be widely disseminated in the next phase of PEI and applied at sectoral and subnational level. 

·         Increased allocation of government funds have been encouraged through support to the Department of Public Accounts to undertake an environment public expenditure analysis. The analysis has revealed that while environmental spending remains higher than most countries at national and subnational level, there has been a slight decline.  In the next phase of PEI will assist in identifying activities to increase government spending on pro-poor environment programmes in the 11^th five year plan.

·         PE Mainstreaming Guidelines have been developed to put into perspective poverty and environment issues in the context of economic development. The guideline is intended to provide technical advice and guidance on mainstreaming poverty-environment issues into plans, and demonstrate the possibility of meeting both social and economic needs of the people – alleviating poverty and conserving environment at the same time. The guideline will be finalized through a series of consultation within sector agencies by the end of December 2009. In the 2nd phase, the guidelines will be piloted in sector ministries and also at the local level (district and block). Once this is realized, GNHC will include the guideline as part of the overall guidance issued to line ministries on preparing five-year sector development plans starting with the 11^th plan.     

The next phase of PEI will continue to be coordinated by the GNHC, but with a strong focus on local government and broader range of partners from the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Finance and the National Environment Commission as well as elected representatives, the private sector and civil society. The focus of PEI in Bhutan will remain strengthening capacities of central and local governments to improve pro-poor environment outcomes through planning and budgeting.

Decentralisation is now entering a key phase in Bhutan with local elections coming up and more spending power now delegated to the local level.There is also an urgent need to ensure that the majority of the country’s rural population benefit from its rich natural resources through increased benefit sharing. This will ensure that Bhutan can retain its rich natural heritage while reducing the significant poverty that still exists.

Contact Karma L. Rapten (UNDP Bhutan, karma.rapten@undp.org), Tashi Dorji (UNDP Bhutan, tashi.dorji@undp.org) or Paul Steele (UNDP-RCB, Paul.Steele@undp.org). For more information on PEI in Bhutan go to the country profile: http://www.unpei.org/programmes/country_profiles/bhutan.asp

 

Mainstreaming Chemicals

A UNDP-UNEP Partnership Initiative was established to support International Chemicals Management (SAICM). This is  a policy framework adopted in February 2006 by the International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM). SAICM was developed by a multi-stakeholder and multi-sectoral preparatory committee and supports the goal agreed to at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development: that by the year 2020, chemicals will be produced and used in ways that minimize significant adverse impacts on  the environment and human health.  The primary objective of the Partnership Initiative is to facilitate the integration of sound management of chemicals into national development planning processes. In Asia we are working with the Government of Cambodia in collaboration with UNEP on Mainstreaming the Sound Management of Chemicals into their national development plan.  At the end of the project we will have a list of national priorities for achieving SMC in Cambodia which have been arrived at by economic analysis.  A list of funding options will be developed as well.  In partnership with UNEP we are currently developing a similar program for Laos which will be funded from the SAICM Quick Start Trust Fund.  Our focus in the near and medium term will be working with LDC so that it links in with other UNDP/UNEP initiatives especially the PEI.

Contact Anil Sookdeo (UNDP-RCB, Anil.Sookdeo@undp.org) for further information.