Maghreb Enforcement Network Moving Forward
Source: Mohamed Rida Derder and Jo Gerardu, Email: inece@inece.org.

Essaouira, Morocco Photo by Tom Maslany

Practitioners from Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia met in Tunis, Tunisia, last December to plan the launch of the Maghreb Regional Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement at the International Symposium on Environmental Law, Good Governance, and Sustainable Development.  The Symposium was sponsored by the Government of Tunisia and by Deutsche Gesellschaft Fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), a key INECE partner in establishing the Maghreb Network.

The event offered a perfect setting for individuals and organizations from across the region to share ideas and prepare for the first regional meeting of the Network. With assistance from INECE, participants agreed upon a work plan and network guidelines.

Several nations of the Maghreb region are already taking steps to address the environmental enforcement and compliance challenges facing the region.

Algeria adopted a number of environmental protection initiatives in the last few of years, including the National Environmental Action Plan. Unfortunately, these measures face serious obstacles, including civil unrest, political turmoil, and the continuing economic crisis throughout the country. These major impediments are compounded by other factors, including vague definitions of roles and responsibilities within existing environmental institutions.

Morocco, where most of the national laws relating to the environment were enacted almost a half century ago, recently took a number of steps to address these issues, including: creating a new Ministry specializing in environmental protection; harmonizing old and new environmental texts; incorporating international commitments into national law; and streamlining the process of enforcement of environmental laws. In addition, a host of new environmental laws were adopted by the Parliament on 23 January 2003: Dahir1-03-59 (Law 11-02) sets forth the general principals of the national environmental policy; Dahir 1-03-60 (Law 12-03) sets forth the rules and procedures of the EIA; and Dahir 1-03-61 (Law 13-03) aims to combat air pollution.

Tunisia, long regarded as a leader in environmental protection in the Middle East/North Africa region, set up a strong institutional and legislative framework to tackle its environmental challenges.

The idea for a network in North Africa was born at the 7th International Conference on Environmental Compliance and Enforcement held in Marrakech, Morocco, in April 2005. The Maghreb regional participants concluded that a regional enforcement network, in partnership with INECE and other international organizations, is necessary for targeted capacity building. In addition, they agreed that the new network should capitalize on lessons learned from existing networks, with the goal of convergence with E.U. environmental standards.

In response to the concerns expressed by the regional participants at the Conference, INECE took several steps to assist the embryonic network:

• Followed up with conference participants and conducted discussions with capacity-building and donor institutions including the Dutch and U.S. governments, European Commission, the World Bank, and others;

• Sent INECE Special Counsel to Morocco to communicate with key stakeholders, identify local needs and interests, and begin planning for future activities;
• Facilitated Principles of Environmental Enforcement trainings in Jordan and Bahrain that also include participants from Algeria, Egypt, and Tunisia;
• Defined the geographic scope for the Regional Network, considering a phased approach for North Africa starting with Maghreb then expanding to other North African countries and creating linkages with Middle East and European networks;
• Communicated with potential partner organizations, and created a work plan and guidelines to build the new Network;
• Evaluated examples of other networks and similar initiatives that are successfully working in North Africa in order to apply lessons learned in Network development process; and
• Identified inspectors, prosecutors, judges, policy makers, local government officials, donors, and other relevant stakeholders from Maghreb countries for participation in the Regional Network.

For more information, please see the INECE Middle East and North Africa Regional Page at http://inece.org/mena/.

Ugandan Judicial Symposium Focuses on Environmental Law
Source: Donald Kaniaru, Kenya's National Environment Tribunal

Greenwatch, UNEP, the Judicial Studies Institute of Uganda, and the Ugandan Ministry of Water, Lands and Environment hosted the Judicial Symposium of the Judges of the Uganda Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, 11-13 September in Entebbe, Uganda. The purpose of the symposium was to familiarize the judiciary with the intricacies of environmental law in order to promote sustainable development.

The event addressed numerous topics: the state of the environment in Uganda; an introduction to environmental law; monitoring and enforcement; international environmental treaties; access to environmental justice; and public interest litigation. The Symposium concluded with a live simulation exercise followed by discussion and recommendations.

Donald Kaniaru, former Director of the Environmental Policy Implementation Division of UNEP, praised Uganda for the symposium and their other work to improve the effectiveness of environmental law. He noted that "Uganda is a shining example in the implementation of the [Partnership for Development of Environmental Law and Institutions in Africa, (PADELIA)]. Indeed, of the thirteen countries, Uganda has been rated number one, and many other states are keen appraisers of the Ugandan environmental materials such as the Casebook on Environmental Law in Uganda (volume one), the Handbook on the Practice of Environmental Law in Uganda, and Environmental Legislation of Uganda (volume one) – all constructive initiatives that other states should emulate."

The event sponsor, Greenwatch, is a Ugandan-based non-governmental environmental rights advocacy organisation. Its mission is to increase the public's participation in the sustainable management of their environment and natural resources and in enforcement of their right to a clean and healthy environment. Since 1998, Greenwatch has developed its training programme to promote and strengthen the legal and institutional framework for the effective management of the environment. Through this activity, Greenwatch has built the capacity of NGOs and government officials in the protection of the environment and has presented innovative ideas and solutions to current environmental issues.

Kenyan Environmental Tribunal Convenes for First Time
Source: Donald Kaniaru, Kenya's National Environment Tribunal

Kenya 's National Environment Tribunal began hearing cases for the first time this year. The Tribunal was established under the Environment Management and Coordination ACT(EMCA) of 1999. The Act took effect in 2002, but it took three years to put the personnel and procedures in place before the Tribunal could convene to hear a matter.

Veteran INECE Executive Planning Committee Member Donald Kaniaru was named the Tribunal's second Chairman. Mr. Kaniaru is the former Director of the Environmental Policy Implementation Division of the United Nations Environment Program.

The EMCA establishes several administrative bodies. The National Environment Council has responsibility for formulating policies, setting national goals, and promoting cooperation among stakeholders. The National Environment Management Authority supervises and coordinates overall matters relating to the environment and is the principal instrument for implementation of all policies relating to the environment.

The Tribunal is an independent body charged with reviewing the administrative actions and decisions of the National Environmental Authority (NEMA). In any appeal, the Tribunal may exercise the same powers as NEMA in the determination of proceedings. In addition, it can respond to certified questions regarding legal interpretation posed by NEMA. So far the Tribunal has issued rulings in three appeals and is in the final stages of the fourth.

The Tribunal consists of five members: a Chairman, appointed by the Judicial Service Commission; two lawyers, one nominated by the law society of Kenya and the other appointed by the Minister for Environment and Natural Resources; and two persons, appointed by the Minister, with competence in environmental conservation.

UNEP Launches National Legal Database Project in Africa

The Project on Development of National Legal Databases on Environmental Law Information in Africa held its inaugural workshops this summer. The main objective of the project is to develop national legal databases that will enhance access to environmental law information by promoting methods for using information technology to enhance the capacity of selected countries in Africa to access environmental law information. It is envisioned that it will provide environmental law resources in one central location in each of the participating countries.

In many countries of Africa , government officials, legal practitioners, judicial officers, environmental managers, non-profit institutions, and academics do not have adequate access to the environmental law information needed for developing and implementing the legal tools that promote sound environment management. Where environmental law information exists, such information is scattered in different institutions and also is difficult to access even for those whose profession is to develop and implement national laws.

Although there are some countries in Africa with laws that provide for public access to environmental information from public authorities, in practice even these countries face difficulties in retrieving information, because such information is not well organized nor is it easily retrievable. This problem, which is caused by low capacity to organize, retrieve environmental information and consequently to enforce the laws, causes difficulties for the public and decision-makers to ensure sound environment management.

The project will work with partners who are already carrying out similar activities to build capacity and to develop national databases of the project countries. In addition, the project will build on the framework of the global environmental information portal, UNEP.net, as well as the Joint UNEP/IUCN/FAO work on global access, also referred to as ECOLEX.

The first workshop, for English speaking countries, met in Nairobi, Kenya, in June and included representatives from Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, and Tanzania. The second workshop, for French speaking countries, met in Sénégal in August and included representatives from Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Mali, Congo, Central African Republic, Gabon, Chad and Cameroon.