Sustainable Development Strategies

A Resource Book

Barry Dalal-Clayton, Stephen Bass

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9781853839474
• eBook ISBN: 9781136555732
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: American Government
• Index: Biological Sciences

This book is a cornerstone resource for a wide range of organizations and individuals concerned with sustainable development at national or local levels, as well as for international organizations concerned with supporting such development. Whilst the focus is on integrated strategies for sustainable development, the approaches and methods covered are equally relevant to poverty reduction, environmental and sectoral strategies, programme development and review.

Agenda 21 called for all countries to develop sustainable development strategies. For such strategies to be effective there needs to be a real commitment. In every country, government at all levels, the private sector, and civil society, must work together in a true partnership, in transparent ways which enable genuine stakeholder participation. The necessary mechanisms and processes need to be coordinated to enable continuous learning and improvement.

This resource book provides flexible, non-prescriptive guidance on how to develop, assess and implement national sustainable development strategies. It sets out principles and ideas on process and methods, and suggests how these can be used. It is based on an analysis of past and current practice, drawing directly from experience in both developed and developing countries.

Following a discussion of the nature and challenges of sustainable development and the need for strategic responses to them, the heart of the book covers the main tasks in strategy processes. Individual chapters offer a rich range of guidance, ideas and case studies.

Chapter

1

About the Resource Book

Aims

This resource book provides guidance on how to develop, implement and assess national sustainable development strategies (NSDSs). It is based on an analysis of past and current practice, in both developed and developing countries, to undertake comprehensive approaches to sustainable development. In particular, it builds on dialogues and learning in the eight countries directly involved in a project on NSDSs undertaken by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (Box 1.1), as well as on the work of a wide range of organizations, such as the Capacity 21 initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), the World Bank, World Conservation Union (IUCN), International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and many other groups (see the extensive References chapter at the end of the book and sources of further information at www.nssd.net).

This guidance is based on experience of past and current practice in the North and South …

Box 1.1 The OECD DAC Donor-Developing Countries Dialogues Project

During 1999–2001, members of the Working Party on Development Cooperation and Environment of the OECD DAC worked in partnership with eight developing countries to assess experience of country-level strategies for sustainable development. In Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Namibia, Nepal, Pakistan, Tanzania and Thailand dialogues were held involving stakeholders from government, the private sector and civil society, past and existing strategic planning experiences were analysed, key issues and challenges identified, and principles for best practice developed. An iterative process involving in-country discussions and three international workshops led to consensus on the final text of Policy Guidance on strategies for sustainable development, endorsed by aid ministers at the DAC in April 2001

Source: OECD DAC (2001a)

There is a particular focus on tried, tested and practicable approaches that have been used successfully in strategic planning processes. As such, the book’s basis is ‘real world’ conditions rather than presenting approaches that could only be realized in an idealized or dream world. But it is well recognized that many previous approaches to strategies have failed – and even the successful ones have not worked well in all areas. We can learn from this: strategies need to experiment, wherever possible, with new ways of working; experience is evolving rapidly; and new methods for some strategy elements are being developed or tested. For instance, methods of participation, policy and scenario analysis and methods of monitoring and evaluation, which have been used successfully in other contexts, seem to hold promise for strategies as well. Innovative and cutting-edge approaches and methodologies that have potential are also included, although examples of their successful use may not yet be available. In practice, in many countries, unsettled political and social circumstances, difficult economic conditions and/or limited skills and capacity will determine what is actually practicable.

… emphasizing tried and tested approaches

Each country’s approach to developing its NSDS will be very different. In many countries it is likely to require the coordination of a suite of different processes, some existing and others new. Other countries may choose to prepare a single umbrella strategy. Whatever its format, a strategy will need to suit the nation’s individual set of ecological, socio-cultural, economic and institutional conditions. Any form of straitjacket is inappropriate, especially if imposed by external agencies. Governments should work in partnership with civil society and the private sector to establish the right system.

Each country will need to adopt an approach tailored to its own needs

Target Audience

This resource book is intended for a wide range of organizations and individuals in both developed and developing countries concerned with sustainable development at national, sub-national or local levels. These are likely to include the stakeholders in making strategy decisions – for example, people in government, NGOs, citizens’ and community-based groups, educational institutions and business – as well as external individuals in development cooperation agencies, multilateral development banks, international organizations and multinational companies.

A wide range of people and organizations involved in sustainable development will find this book relevant to their work

Layout

A flexible approach has been taken to the material in the resource book. It is intended to be informative and not prescriptive. It sets out principles and ideas on process and methods, and suggests how these can be used. Each chapter has been written so that it can be read, as far as possible, as a stand-alone section and used independently of others. This is a response to many requests for briefing notes and ‘how to’ guides on particular issues and methodologies. However, there is also considerable cross-referencing throughout the book to related materials in other chapters.

A non-prescriptive approach is followed – with principles and ideas on processes and methods, and guidance on the main tasks

This resource book contains a wealth of information and ideas in an extensive volume. No summary is provided since, to be effective, this would have required another substantial section of text. Instead, throughout the book, there are ‘summary’ comments in the margin. They aim to signal the essence of the text and enable the busy user to navigate quickly through chapters and sections, and find particular issues or discussions, which may be of interest and use. The ‘road map’ in Figure 1.1 shows how the different chapters relate to each other.

Figure 1.1 User’s road map to the Resource Book chapters

The ‘road map’ figure shows the relationships between chapters

Following this Introduction, Chapter 2 offers background on the rationale for strategies for sustainable development. It discusses the nature and challenges of sustainable development and the need for strategic responses to them, amplifying much of the OECD DAC policy guidance on NSDSs – and is aimed at those making policy decisions on them.

The rest of the resource book covers the practice of NSDSs. It offers guidance on the main tasks in strategy processes, with individual chapters dealing with:

• the nature of sustainable development strategies and current practices (Chapter 3);
• key steps in starting, managing and improving sustainable development strategies (Chapter 4);
• methods of analysis (Chapter 5);
• participation in strategies (Chapter 6);
• communications, information and education (Chapter 7);
• strategy decision-making and linkages (Chapter 8);
• the financial basis for strategies (Chapter 9);
• monitoring and evaluation systems (Chapter 10).

Chapters 3–10 are aimed at anyone engaged in planning, managing or reviewing a strategy process. For ease of presentation, they assume a logical sequence of steps, which might be followed if commencing a strategy process from an absolute beginning. In practice, very few, if any, strategies will need to start from scratch but should build on existing strategic planning processes and stages they have reached.

Finally, an extensive list of references is provided. Other sources of materials, as well as useful contacts with addresses and websites, are provided on the strategies website (www.nssd.net) and will be of use to those involved in NSDSs on a day-to-day basis as well as academics and researchers wishing to explore NSDSs further.

How to Use This Resource Book

The resource book offers material to inspire and assess specific local and national approaches. It is not a complete ‘construction’ manual. Nevertheless, it is recommended that users explore each chapter in sequence if they have not been involved in developing a strategy before, are in the early stages of preparing a new strategy or are considering revising an existing strategy to cover a more ambitious remit. Other users may find it more helpful to concentrate on chapters of particular interest or on particular elements of the strategy process, to consider their relevance and utility and the implications for their own conditions and available resources, and then to design an approach suitable for the purposes at hand.

The resource book is not a rigid manual – use it flexibly to suit your particular needs

Chapter

2

Sustainable Development and the Need for Strategic Responses¹

The Opportunity for a Strategic Approach to National Development

There has been unprecedented progress in development over the past 30 years. Life expectancy in developing countries has risen by more than 20 years, infant mortality rates have been halved and primary school enrolment rates have doubled. Food production and consumption have increased around 20 per cent faster than population growth. Improvements in income levels, health and educational attainment have sometimes closed the gap with industrialized countries. Advances have been made in the spread of democratic, participatory governance, and there have been forward leaps in technology and communications. New means of communication support opportunities for mutual learning about national development processes and for joint action over global challenges.

Much progress on many development fronts …

Notwithstanding this remarkable progress, there are also pressing constraints on development, and entrenched negative trends. These include: economic disparity and poverty; the impact of diseases such as HIV-AIDS and malaria; over-consumption of resources in the industrialized countries, contributing to climate change; and environmental deterioration and pollution of many kinds, including the impacts of intensive farming, depletion of natural resources and loss of forests, other habitats and biodiversity. The trends, and important international responses to them, are discussed in more detail later in the chapter.

… is compromised by entrenched poverty and environmental degradation, and other challenges

Negative trend...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Acknowledgements
• Contents
• List of figures, tables and boxes
• Preface
• Acronyms and abbreviations
• 1. About the resource book
• 2. Sustainable development and the need for strategic responses
• 3. The nature of sustainable development strategies and current practice
• 4. Key steps in starting or improving strategies for sustainable development
• 5. Analysis
• 6. Participation in strategies for sustainable development
• 7. Communications
• 8. Strategy decision-making
• 9. The financial basis for strategies
• 10. Monitoring and evaluation systems
• Appendix
• References
• Index