Capacity Building for Sustainable Development

Valentine Udoh James

• Publisher: CAB International
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781780646169
• eBook ISBN: 9781780646671
• Topic: Economía
• Subtopic: Desarrollo sostenible

Capacity building is a topic of intense focus in many industrialized countries. This book explores the theoretical underpinnings of capacity building to sustain the natural, cultural and human resources of communities. It reviews the extensive literature on capacity-building strategies and policies and examines the implications of sustainable development in communities around the world. The book's approach is both theoretical and applied. It offers methods of operationalizing sustainable development and sustainability theories and explores capacity building methods at different levels of government. Successful practices in non-governmental and governmental agency roles are examined. By considering the path towards embracing whole, or partial, sustainability, it provides a comprehensive analysis and examination of how to build capacity in tackling many development problems, especially those linked to infrastructure accumulation and land-use development. Contributors shed light on the overall impact of globalisation and many concepts related to sustainable development and sustainability of the economic socio-cultural and environmental systems. This book: · Examines the links between environment and sustainable development; · Provides models for capacity building;· Considers the role of globalization in sustainable development;· Renders a theoretical and applied examination of the issues;· Provides multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches.This book is recommended for research libraries, for graduate studies in economic development, sustainable development, environmental management; and undergraduate studies relating to developing and emerging countries. It is also useful for government officials, researchers, decision makers and policy analysts involved in sustainable development.

1 Building the Capacities of Developing Countries to Protect the Environment

Valentine Udoh James¹

Clarion University of Pennsylvania, USA

¹E-mail: [email protected]

Introduction

The ideals of planning suggest that development and public infrastructure can be implemented in an atmosphere of complete harmony and that environmental, social and economic disruption can be minimized. This assumes that there is full knowledge of the social, economic, political and physical systems within which such development is operating and that assumes that development is generally biased toward the public interest rather than motivated by private or individual objectives and incentives. In the ideal atmosphere, development is weighted in favour of the benefits of future as well as current populations and such benefits tend to be available to all levels of society and not create a restriction to a part of society or present a barrier to a particular group.

In all development there is bound to be a segment of the population that suffers from negative impacts of development and some segment of the population that will benefit from the economic growth that results from the development. Practice, however, may dictate quite a different result as the differing social structures of a country may form the basis of the atmosphere in which development is produced and both how and by whom the resources of society are utilized. One must recognize that there are, in fact, differing levels of knowledge and expertise in the world and differing systems that will allocate resources for the development of a community. Such systems may value the environment differently and place varying importance on the elements that enable development to be sustainable rather than a depreciation of the community. In fact, the land and its use is the principal resource in the development process and it is definitely finite and scarce. The political process must allocate resources mindful of the capability of the community to sustain such activity and on the basis of the most appropriate public good for the future. As resources become more and more scarce and certain physical capacities approach depletion, the political process becomes more involved to determine how resources are distributed and who receives the opportunity on behalf of the public (Kaspirisin, 2011).

So far, in a global context, an ideal condition is presented in which theory and practice of planning seem to function as expected. The key is then how public resources are used and distributed within each community to sustain itself for the future. The process of decision making for development is often the governing factor rather than the capability of the physical systems or the availability of the resources to accommodate development. Focusing on the environmental and physical systems to assess sustainability will ignore the social and political climate within which the community and its adaptability (developmental change) exist. The political system of resource allocation and development approval is the determining force in community choices and the awareness and ability of this system to demand development responsiveness may be the key to sustainability in the future.

Which level of decision making has the most at stake in the development process – local, regional, or federal? Which level has the best capabilities to provide knowledge of the resources of development and which level is the best to identify and coalesce public needs into the proper vision and course for the community? The gradual integration of these concerns and the cooperation of effort between these levels of governance offer the greatest hope for the future (Hysler-Rubin, 2011).

The tenets of sustainable development suggest that any land use project, whether public or private, be implemented within the context of the limited capacity of the environment to accommodate such change and with full knowledge of the social and economic costs that may result from the development. This requires that the development be acknowledged to be a net benefit to the public and a contribution to the needs of the community without compromising community resources. It requires the coordination and cooperation of every level of the community – social, political, economic – to verify and integrate the differing systems that help to ensure sustainability. Rogan et al. (2012) provided sufficient argument to support the need to understand the carrying capacity of land before development begins.

Experience in the developing world (especially Africa) indicates that traditional development paradigms as dictated by Western ideas have not provided holistic solutions to Africa’s economic, social and ecological/environmental development. This chapter suggests that a shift in the paradigm is needed for development which incorporates environmental information, indigenous perspectives, environmental impact assessments, consumer interests and local people’s participation in all phases of development. Several examples from Nigeria are used to provide a theoretical and operational basis for a paradigm shift for sustainable development. The devastation of land due to haphazard development in Nigeria cannot be underestimated. The rapid rate of development has also caused a lot of environmental problems in Nigeria and many other parts of Africa.

Efforts to develop and grow are not made in a perfect world where there is full knowledge of the social, economic, political and physical systems within which such development is operating. The reality is that the choices of how a community’s limited resources are used and their distribution for development purposes are the prerogative of the governmental system that is unique to a particular country. One sector of that government may be isolated from a portion of the social or natural systems and select development that is not sustainable for the community or its future (Bass and Dalal-Clayton, 2002).

The political system of resource allocation and development approval is the determining force in community choices and the foresight, awareness and planning of this institution to manage development and respond to the natural, social and economic systems will be the key to sustainability in the future.

Urban planning is concerned with the comprehensive functional aspect of the city or town and its function is made of specializations within planning practice. In many Western countries, especially the USA, it is generally agreed that the most common functional planning areas are land use, real estate development, infrastructure, environment, transportation, housing, historic preservation and technology (Bullivant, 2012).

There are factors in the planning process such as the environment, society and resources that impact the pace, effectiveness and comprehensiveness of planning. Nonetheless, the following are the generally accepted steps in the planning process (modified from Cullingworth and Caves, 2009):

Step 1: Identification of issues and options.

Step 2: Establishing the goals, objectives, and priorities.

Step 3: Collection and interpretation of data relevant to the planning of the area of concern.

Step 4: Preparation of plans for the development of the area, town, city, or region.

Step 5: Drafting of programmes for the implementation of the plans. This is often more difficult to do because of all the interest groups.

Step 6: Evaluations of the potential impacts of the plan and implementing programmes. This step is crucial as it gives the communities the opportunity to make the right decisions about the course of actions they would like to take.

Step 7: Review and adoption of the plans. Plans have to be adopted in order to ensure the endorsement of all interested parties or vested interests in the communities.

Step 8: Review and adoption of implementing programmes.

Step 9: Administer implementing programmes and monitor their impact.

It must be recognized that the planning process makes room for modification and adjustment to occur in the future. In order to circumvent the problem of lack of clarity of solutions in planning by using the conventional linear model, an interactive process of planning is generally used. The process entails detailed concrete stages in each successive level. This approach requires an investment in the data collection phase of planning, which is one of the stages listed above. It is critical for planning and development to be based on solid data collection.

One of the areas of specialization in urban planning that places great emphasis on environmental issues is environmental planning and for many years the basic tenet of environmental planning paralleled that of environmentalism. The guidance of development attempts in post-independent Africa has been ideas coming from developed countries. These planning methodologies or paradigms were instituted during the colonial era and have persisted into the post-colonial era. Expatriates and African developers and planners have continued to use Western ideas in the development and planning of African towns and cities. There is the realization that African traditions and culture must be reflected in the planning of African urban centres.

Africa’s Landscape

In order to understand Africa’s landscape and the present environmental condition that the continent is in today, one has to understand the continent’s struggle for development.

Africa’s landscape has been affected by many factors that are the results of development. Competing land use activities that have not been properly examined, monitored and controlled have contributed to the alarming negative changes in Africa’s landscape. In the urban and peri-urban areas, spontaneous development or uncontrolled settlements are common features. Modern towns are loosely connected by deliberate planning. A particular reason for this problem, as one examines the different countries of Africa, is that the different cultures of colonial power left different legacies in terms of African urbanism. It is common knowledge that colonial rule and so-called progress, exacerbated the differences between urban and rural Africa. The rural–urban migration began as a result of the perception, in the rural areas of Africa, that there were abundant opportunities in the urban areas. With the large population influx into urban areas, unregulated development began to appear in Africa’s urban areas. Today, it is impossible for planning authorities to regulate development in order to make the environment aesthetically pleasing and to reduce damage to ecological systems and human health.

Growth and development in African societies have taken many forms. Both concepts (growth and development) can be explained in the light of what is going on in African countries. Economic growth as an indication of an increase in the volume of goods and services produced in a national economy can be attributed to the desire to create employment and sustainable development. It basically describes a process that indicates statistical increase in the volume of goods and services. On the other hand, development can be explained as qualitative and/or quantitative improvements in a society through the use of available resources. The resources could be in the form of human and natural/economic capital (Eade, 2005).

Transformations of African societies in the form of infrastructure (roads and telecommunications), housing and other land uses pose the following problems: (i) increasing pressure on natural resources from high population growth; (ii) soil erosion due to poor land management practices and overstocking; (iii) deforestation leading to scarcity of fuelwood, soil erosion, flooding and siltation; (iv) water pollution from agrochemicals and industrial and sewage effluent; (v) depletion of fish resources caused by water pollution and overfishing; (vi) loss of biological diversity; (vii) human habitat degradation; (viii) air pollution; and (ix) climate change (Connolly and Lukas, 2002).

Since the colonial period, transformation due to industrialization and the creation of urban centres for government offices have attracted large populations. Attempts by federal and local governments in Africa to provide services to meet the demands of the public have led to environmental problems and the fringes of cities have suffered from unplanned settlements. This problem has continued today because the trend of this type of land use has persisted.

Models for development and planning in the post-colonial era in Africa continue to emphasize ideas of the colonial era. Increasing trends in the involvement of multinationals in the extraction of exhaustible and renewable resources have continued to threaten the African landscape. The ideas of transforming Africa into a modern technological, industrial and commercial region could be successful if only the industrialization efforts paid attention to some pertinent indigenous culture, people and efforts rather than relying solely on Western concepts of planning. Planners are beginning to embrace the indigenous norms in their development. This is evident in the commercial land use and the mixed land activities in many parts of Africa.

Examples of Environmental Crisis

The ecosystems of the Niger Delta have been greatly damaged and the biodiversity is in a steady decline as well as the decline in cultural diversity. The torrential rainfall of the region, which is usually followed by flooding, has exacerbated the spread of about 5 million litres (1.3 million gallons) of spilled crude oil in a year (Environment, 2015) over several hundred square miles. The clean-up work by a few local people who are not given protective gear for this life-threatening work is very poorly conducted.

Another devastation worth mentioning is the Ogoni land in Nigeria. Here, 500,000 people have not received enough compensation for the devastation of their environment at the hands of the Shell Oil company’s efforts in drilling for oil. Vast areas of oil-drilling sites have been devastated as a result of the rupturing of pipelines. The air pollution and landscape transformation that occur from such incidents change the communities forever. An example is the Ejama-Eleme village in Nigeria.

There is no doubt that development predicated upon the extraction or the exploitation of natural resources has severe human and environmental consequences. The Nigerian examples clearly portray reasons why policies must be established and environmental laws enforced in order to have rational development and environmental protection.

One resource that is rapidly disappearing from Africa’s environment as a result of the rapid rate of development is the wetlands. Although this is a global problem, Africa cannot afford to lose this vital resource because Africa is in its early development stage. Most of Africa is rural and its people depend on simple ways of obtaining available freshwater and food supplies. Wetlands provide the freshwater and major food supplies upon which Africans depend.

Wetlands provide essential nutritional substances to humans and they absorb the waste that is generated by humans. Thus their two main purposes are: (i) to supply natu...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Dedication
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Contributors
• Foreword
• Acknowledgements
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• 1. Building the Capacities of Developing Countries to Protect the Environment
• 2. Operationalizing Concepts of Sustainable Development in Africa
• 3. Sustainability of Agriculture and Food Shortage: a Brief Analysis of the African Condition
• 4. Globalization and Sustainable Development in Africa: the Imperatives of Capacity Building
• 5. Understanding Capacity Building for Sustainable Tourism in the Niger Delta, Nigeria
• 6. The Link Between Environment and Development
• 7. Capacity Building for Environmental Impact Analysis in Nigeria
• 8. The Effect of Traditional Land Management Methods on Crop Yield in Betem, Biase Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria
• 9. Empowerment of Women and Sustainable Development in the 20th Century: The Yoruba Women Example
• 10. Capacity Building and Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa
• 11. Business Sector and Global Sustainable Future
• 12. Empowerment of Women and Sustainable Development
• 13. Subaltern Hydro-struggles Against Unsustainable Commercial Diamond-mining Practices in Chiadzwa, Zimbabwe (2009–2013)
• 14. Proactive Learning Framework: Educational Model for Capacity Building and Sustainable Development
• 15. Can Competitiveness be the Framework for Sustainable Electricity Supply in Nigeria?
• 16. Energy Production and Consumption for Sustainable Development
• 17. Climate Change and Coping Strategies for Sustainable Food Production Among Small-scale Farmers in Nigeria
• 18. Capacity Building for Rural Development in Nigeria: The Case of Rural Road Networks
• 19. Oil, Conflict and Sustainable Development in Nigeria
• 20. Energy Production and Consumption and Sustainable Development
• 21. The Challenges of Climate Change on the Livelihood and Sustainable Development of Selected Coastal Communities in Nigeria’s Niger Delta (1990–2015)
• 22. Human Rights Violation in a Bid for Sustainable Development: the Case of Tokwe-Mukosi Dam Construction in Chivi District in Masvingo Province in Zimbabwe
• 23. Relationships of Climate Variability and Change to Development
• Index
• Back Cover