ICSU-UNESCO Rio+20 Regional Science and Technology Workshop for Africa

Transcription

1 ICSU-UNESCO Rio+20 Regional Science and Technology Workshop for Africa 30 May 01 June 2011 Organised by the International Council for Science Regional Office for Africa (ICSU ROA) and the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Nairobi Office Environmental Affairs Science and Technology Social Development

2 ICSU-UNESCO Rio+20 Regional Science and Technology Workshop for Africa Workshop Organising Task Team: Dr. Daniel Nyanganyura (ICSU ROA) Dr. Achuo Enow (ICSU ROA) Ms Bridget Thovhakale (DST) Dr. Felix Toteu (UNESCO Nairobi Office) Mr Godfred Nyakhulalini (DEA) Ms Mapula Tshangela (DEA) Ms Mmampei Mabusela (DST) Ms Sadi Luka (DSD) Mr Tlou Ramaru (DEA) Dr Xola Mati (ASSAf) - Chair - Secretary - Member - Member - Member - Member - Member - Member - Member - Member International Advisory Committee Prof. Alice Abreu (ICSU Rio+20 Regional Coordinator) Dr Peter Bates (ICSU Secretariat, Paris) Dr Gisbert Glaser (ICSU Secretariat, Paris) Prof. Joseph Massaquoi (UNESCO Nairobi Office) Dr Edith Madela-Mntla (ICSU ROA) Workshop Secretariat Dr Daniel Nyanganyura (d.nyuanganyura@icsu-africa.org) Dr Achuo Enow (a.enow@icsu-africa.org) Ms Bridget Thovhakale (bridget.thovhakale@dst.gov.za) Mr Bongani Mahlalela (b.mahlalela@icsu-africa.org) Ms Ursula Weideman (ursula.weideman@icsu-africa.org) Dr Edith Madela-Mntla (e.mntla@icsu-africa.org) - Organisation and reporting - Organisation and reporting - Organisation and reporting - Logistics - Documentation - General Supervision i

3 Table of Contents Acronyms... iv 1 Introduction Opening and General Overview Opening Ceremony Welcome and Introduction (Edith Madela-Mntla) Remarks from ICSU (Ameenah Gurib-Fakim) Remarks from UNESCO (Joseph Massaquoi) Statement from International Social Sciences Council (Heide Hackmann) Statement from the Applied Centre for Climate and Earth Systems Science (Neville Sweijd) Official opening by the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs (Hon. Edna Molewa) General Overview Background and Introduction of Rio+20 Initiative (Alice Abreu) Overall Africa Regional Preparatory Process for Rio+20 (Charles M Akol) Keynote Lecture on Green Economy (Cecilia Kinuthia-Njenga) Keynote Lecture on Institutional Framework (John Mugabe) Keynote Lecture on New and Emerging Challenges (Hillary I Inyang) Parallel Sessions - Thematic Group Discussions Guidelines for the Break-away Sessions Green Economy Lead Presentation (Vuyani Lingela) Discussion Institutional Framework Lead Presentation (Elizabeth Rasekoala) Discussion New and Emerging Challenges Lead Presentation (Bob Scholes) Discussion Other Plenary Discussions and Dialogues Show-Casing Best Practices Best Practices in Green Economy (Dorah Nteo) Best Practices in Institutional Frameworks (Elizabeth Rasekoala) Group of Earth Observation: the African Water Cycle Coordination Initiative (Mr Imraan Saloojee) Major Group/Multi-stakeholder Dialogue High Level Policy Dialogue Lead Presentation (Joseph Massaquoi) ii

4 5 Special Sessions Welcome Reception Dinner Hosted by President / Chief Executive Officer of the National Research Foundation of South Africa ICSU Regional Office for Africa (Edith Madela-Mntla) Welcome Speech (Albert van Jaarsveld) Gala Dinner Hosted by the Minister of Social Development, South Africa Remarks by ICSU (Ameenah Gurib-Fakim) Remarks by National Research Foundation (Robert Kriger) Vote of Thanks (Joseph Massaquoi) Visit to the Sustainable Energy Project - Johannesburg Zoo Closing Session Concluding Remarks by ICSU Rio+20 Regional Coordinator (Alice Abreu) Closing Remarks by the Department of Science and Technology of South Africa (Imraan Patel) Annex 1: Appraisal of Rio+20 Issues and Recommendation of Follow-up Actions A. Preamble B. Recommendations on Cross-Cutting Issues C. Recommendations on Specific Themes and Responses to Questions on the Role of Science, Engineering and Technology C.2.1 Recommendations and Responses on Green Economy C.2.2 Recommendations and Responses on Institutional Framework C.2.3. Recommendations and Responses on New and Emerging Challenges Central Drafting Committee of the ICSU-UNESCO Rio+20 Regional Science and Technology Workshop for Africa Annex 2: List of Participants iii

5 Acronyms ACCESS AFWCCI ASSAf BMZ CDM DEA DSD DST GDP GEO GEOSS ICSU : Applied Centre for Climate and Earth Systems Science : African Water Cycle Coordination Initiative : Academy of Science for South Africa : German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development : Clean Development Mechanism : Department of Environmental Affairs of South Africa : Department of Social Development of South Africa : Department of Science and Technology of South Africa : Gross Domestic Product : Group of Earth Observation : Global Earth Observation System of Systems : International Council for Science ICSU ROA : International Council for Science Regional Office for Africa ICT IKS ISSC JPOI KZE MDGs NEPAD NRF R&D SET S&T STI : Information and Communication Technology : Indigenous Knowledge System : International Social Sciences Council : Johannesburg Plan of Implementation : Catholic Central Agency for Development Aid : Millennium Development Goals : New Partnership for Africa's Development : National Research Foundation : Research and Development : Science, Engineering and Technology : Science and Technology : Science, Technology and Innovation iv

6 UN UN GA UNCED UNCSD UNECA UNESCO UNEP WFEO WSSD : United Nations : United Nations General Assembly : United Nations Conference on Environment and Development : United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development : United Nations Economic Commission for Africa : United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation : United Nations Environment Programme : World Federation of Engineering Organisations : World Summit on Sustainable Development v

7 1 Introduction The United Nations is organising a conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on June This conference is taking place 20 years after the 1992 Earth Summit in the same city, hence Rio+20. A series of intergovernmental Regional Preparatory Meetings will be organised by the UN regional economic commissions in preparation for the Rio+20 conference. The International Council for Science (ICSU) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) decided to organise five regional workshops for science and technology (S&T) to seek inputs from the S&T community to the regional Rio+20 discussions. ICSU is the co-organizing partner, with the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO), of the Scientific and Technological Community major group (one of nine stakeholder groups that will fully participate in the Rio+20 process), and is therefore well placed to provide scientific and technological inputs to the regional intergovernmental meetings. UNESCO, as the only United Nations specialized agency with a specific mandate to promote science, is also well placed to bring this regionally specific information to the Rio+20 process. The Rio+20 Regional workshop for Africa was jointly organised by the ICSU Regional Office for Africa (ICSU ROA) and the UNESCO Science and Technology Regional Office in Nairobi, Kenya, in partnership with, and with support from the Applied Centre for Climate and Earth Systems Science (ACCESS), the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa, the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) as well as South African Departments of Science and Technology (DST), Environmental Affairs (DEA), and Social Development (DSD). Other partners at the global level, who brought in representatives to the workshop, include the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO) and the International Social Science Council (ISSC). The workshop, which was held at St. George Hotel, on 30 May - 01 June 2011 was attended by 69 participants from all over Africa and beyond. It was aimed at providing a platform for natural and social scientists, as well as engineers from Africa to prepare inputs from Africa s S&T Major Group towards a regional position statement to be presented during the intergovernmental Rio+20 Regional Preparatory Meetings which will be organized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) in October The main objectives of the workshop were: To prepare agreed upon positions as a concerted input by the regional scientific and technological community into the intergovernmental Regional Preparatory Meeting for Africa. To organize a science-policy dialogue at the regional level prior to the Regional Preparatory Meeting. To organize a multi-stakeholder dialogue with other Major Groups, including business and industry. To identify showcases to be featured at the Rio+20 Conference in 2012 to show the contributions of science to sustainable development. 1

8 This document is a compilation of the workshop proceedings and expresses the point of view of the African scientific and technological community regarding three main themes for Rio+20: i. Green Economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication; ii. Institutional Framework for sustainable development; and iii. New and Emerging Challenges for sustainable development. The four key questions that were addressed during the workshop to achieve the desired outcomes include: What are the priority issues for Rio+20, as seen by the scientific and technological community from the region, taking into account the United Nations General Assembly (UN GA) outline of Rio+20 in 2012? What are the needs of science and technology in the region, in order to be able to contribute best to sustainable development in the region and to international endeavours of sustainability science? What are the major contributions from science, technology and engineering to sustainable development at local, national, and regional scales? What role can the different stakeholders and Major Groups play in enhancing regional science and technology for sustainable development, and what are their needs from science and technology? The workshop was structured in five parts as follows: i. Part 1: Opening and general overview ii. iii. iv. Part 2: Parallel thematic group discussions Part 3: Other plenary discussions and dialogues Part 4: Special sessions (dinners and field visit) v. Part 5: Closing Session 2 Opening and General Overview 2.1 Opening Ceremony Welcome and Introduction (Edith Madela-Mntla) Dr Edith Madela-Mntla, the Director of ICSU Regional Office for Africa welcomed the participants and expressed appreciation for the effort they made to attend the workshop given their busy schedules. In her introductory remarks, she gave the background on Rio+20 going back to the 1992 Rio de Janeiro Conference. She pointed out that some progress has been achieved in addressing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) but also cautioned that there are several challenges faced especially in Africa. She further reemphasised that the Rio+20 Conference will be used to assess progress and gaps in achieving the MDGs; review the political commitment towards MDGs; and to address the emerging challenges associated with achieving the MDGs. 2

9 2.1.2 Remarks from ICSU (Ameenah Gurib-Fakim) Prof Gurib-Fakim, the Chairperson of ICSU Regional Committee for Africa, pointed out that the message of the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 has been a wake-up call for humanity and has called for nothing less than a transformation of our attitudes and behaviour as agents that will bring the necessary changes. Now twenty years after the Earth Summit was held, the UN is seeking to help governments rethink economic development and find ways to halt the destruction of irreplaceable natural resources and pollution of the planet. She recalled some major steps taken by the human family since the 1992 Earth Summit, which include the agreed definition and acceptance of the term sustainable development, the birth of Agenda 21 and boost for the environmental and conservation movement that gave a renewed appreciation for the fragility of the Earth system. She pointed out that major developments include creation of the Global Environment Facility, birth of the Conventions on Biological Diversity, Desertification, and Climate Change and agreement on the MDGs. She noted that despite these positive developments; newer, greater and more pressing challenges have arisen, stymieing progress toward achieving sustainable development. She pointed out that the moral and social imperatives for alleviating poverty need to be given additional urgency and attention, and foreign investment decisions need to increasingly take into account the balance between profits drawn from exploitation of natural resources and ecological sustainability vis à vis socio-economic development. She identified climate change as the single-most important development threat that is confronting humanity and reiterated the need for partnership to adapt to climate change and mitigate its impacts. She also pointed to the growing north-south knowledge gap that adversely affects scientific development and suggested that a multipolar world of science requires new types of scientific collaboration assisted by social media and the information and communication technology (ICT) revolution. Prof Gurib-Fakim also mentioned that ICSU, as a pre-eminent scientific body on the globe, is strategically poised to take on these new and emerging challenges. It can play a unique and pivotal role in mobilising science for the benefit of society, boosting scientific and participatory collaboration, addressing the gender dimension of science, and providing independent, quality advice to all stakeholders as well as ensuring that the policy recommendations integrate the best available knowledge across the natural, social and engineering sciences. She discussed ICSU and ISSC s Grand Challenges which are based on five principles: forecasting, observing, confining, responding, and innovating Remarks from UNESCO (Joseph Massaquoi) In his remarks, Prof Massaquoi, Director of the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Technology in Africa discussed the importance UNESCO attaches to the preparatory process for the UN Conference in Rio de Janeiro in 2012 and explained how all the programme sectors of UNESCO are involved in various consultations that are taking place in different parts of the world. He pointed out that the partnership between UNESCO and ICSU goes way back to the founding of UNESCO and that the two institutions have used their partnership to promote the growth and ethical use of science as well as to ensure that scientific knowledge and the opinions of scientists are taken into consideration at major conferences where global problems are discussed. He noted that this partnership has culminated in the co-organisation of several regional workshops to enable 3

10 scientists in the different regions to make inputs into the deliberations and outcomes of the Rio+20 meeting through integrating available science into the policy recommendations. Prof Massaquoi pointed out that the collective views of the African Scientific Community represented at the workshop will be presented at a preparatory high level meeting for African ministers and senior officials meeting that will be convened by UNECA before end of He noted that this workshop is the beginning of a process that will almost certainly lead to policies and statements from Rio+20 that will take into account Africa s scientific capacity and its needs for the pursuit of sustainable development. He mentioned that discussions of sustainable development at the global level touch on many issues that require multi-disciplinary approach involving the combined application of various forms of knowledge, skills and expertise. He pointed out that UNESCO is well placed to develop programmes that will address the problem of sustainable development and provide global leadership for the UN to bring together a variety of knowledge and professional skills. He noted that in recent years, UNESCO has focused a significant amount of its resources on environmental issues that relate to sustainable development. He discussed the work of UNESCO and highlighted some of its science programmes which include ecological sciences, geological sciences, hydrology, engineering sciences, sustainable energy as well as marine science. He also mentioned that UNESCO is providing technical assistance to enable member states to either review existing science, technology and innovation (STI) policies or formulate new ones if none exists as well as building capacity for government officials for the formulation, implementation and monitoring of policies. He reminded the participants that policies on various issues will be the outcome of the Rio+20 Conference and that the scientific community in each region has the responsibility to ensure those policies are based on sound science. It is therefore important that this workshop aims at making sure that policies emanating from Rio+20 can take into account the needs of Africa. He encouraged the participants to identify the sustainable development priority issues in the continent and address the issues of the weakness of science in the region Statement from International Social Sciences Council (Heide Hackmann) Ms Hackmann, Executive Director of the International Social Sciences Council (ISSC), highlighted the importance of the workshop as a platform for stimulating dialogue between natural and social scientists as well as for fostering collaboration between the different organisations and institutions involved. She mentioned some initiatives that have been launched over the last two years and that deal with issues related to global environmental change, earth system research, and vulnerability science, noting that the main purpose of these initiatives was to vision the research agenda for the coming decade, to foster the implementation and address the Grand Challenges. These initiatives have given birth to the recognition of social sciences as an important component in addressing global challenges, and of the need for social scientists to be involved at the infancy of any research project to help in framing research issues and work in constant dialogue with the natural scientists throughout the project. She described the ISSC as a membership based organisation whose role is to advance the practice and use of the social and behavioural sciences in all parts of the world, and to ensure their global representation. The members include international associations or unions, national academies of social science, national social science research councils, regional associations of 4

11 social sciences as well as other national and international agencies and foundations with major interests in the social sciences She pointed out that the ISSC is involved in other initiatives and works closely with other international organisations that include ICSU and UNESCO as well as with its humanities sister organisations. She noted that ISSC has its own initiatives where it is working with donor organisations such as Sida-Sweden in which it seeks to establish a way of strengthening activities of various social scientists around the globe Statement from the Applied Centre for Climate and Earth Systems Science (Neville Sweijd) In his remarks, Dr Sweijd explained why ACCESS is interested in issues to be tabled at Rio+20, a reason for which the centre decided to actively partner in organising the workshop. He discussed the concept of environmental change and vulnerability and explained how the changes in climate adversely affect the poor communities and economically disadvantaged people on the continent. He showed the reality of the devastation that result from global environmental changes and how communities are currently mal-adapted to the variability and change, a situation which is exacerbated by poor environmental management, bad developmental policies, the shifting baselines and the generational amnesia. He discussed the role of Centres of Excellence like ACCESS to assist in the mitigation and adaptation of the vulnerable communities to the adverse effects of environmental change. He further discussed the NRF/DST programme on the Global Change Grand Challenge Architecture designed to integrate the output from science to address global environmental issues and the people. ACCESS seeks to foster an African perspective on global earth system issues, and therefore would like to work with all African countries. ACCESS programmes for include education and training programmes, research and development programmes as well as services and products. The education and training programmes are expected to produce a new generation of earth system scientists Official opening by the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs (Hon. Edna Molewa) In her opening Address, Hon. Molewa indicated that the workshop came at an opportune time when the international community is working towards finding solutions to the challenges associated with implementation of sustainable development agenda. She indicated that since the adoption of Agenda 21 twenty years ago, the time was marked by a hard trial on implementing sustainable development programmes. She noted that at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg, South Africa, strides were made in establishing a clear course of action for the implementation of Agenda 21 known as the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI) and progress has been made in the implementation of some targets contained in the JPOI inclusive of the MDGs over the years. However, she noted that like many other regions, Africa lags behind on the attainment and implementation of Sustainable Development agenda particularly in relation to the MDGs. She noted that Africa s ability to achieve the MDGs requires continuous interventions at international, regional, national and local level supported by the science and knowledge economy. The minister pointed out that the current multiple challenges of food insecurity, global warming and the financial downturn reversed some of the gains made towards achieving Sustainable 5

12 Development Agenda, noting that Africa is at the receiving end of the intertwined impacts of these challenges. She appreciated the opportunity provided by Rio+20 to assess progress made thus far, identify some implementation gaps and agree on solutions to address new and emerging challenges. She recognised that the Rio+20 Regional Workshop for Africa provides a platform to the scientific and technological community from the continent to engage on themes and formulate policy options for policy-makers that are aimed at expediting practical implementation of the sustainable development agenda in Africa. The Minister called on workshop participants to formulate and provide measures, and innovative solutions which would be key for a shift towards a more resource efficient trajectory. She also pointed out that as the green economy concept (whose overall enablers of implementation include STI commercialization) is gaining momentum in the international space, there is need to explore in detail the tangible benefits of this transition towards achieving the overriding objective of sustainable development which is to eradicate poverty and contribute towards a Sustainable Development Agenda. She reiterated the need to explore further the potential of green economy to drive the convergence of the three pillars (economic, social and environment) of sustainable development. She highlighted the importance of the scientific research and policy interface as central in providing the necessary information, data and scientific analysis of the emerging challenges for enabling evidence-based policy-making processes. On institutional framework, the Minister emphasised the need to enhance coordination, alignment and collaboration among the United Nations agencies in order to accelerate the achievement of the goals and targets contained in the JPOI. She also expressed the need to strengthen the existing structures so as to develop a functional and efficient institutional framework that would ensure cohesion and collaboration of efforts without duplication. The Minister was positive that this workshop would attempt to provide models that will enhance institutional framework for sustainable development, taking into consideration the balance of both bottom-up and top-down approaches. She pointed out that sustainable development is probably the most daunting challenge that humanity has ever faced, and achieving it requires that the fundamental issues be addressed immediately at the local, regional and global levels. She stressed that at all scales, the role of science and technology is crucial; and that scientific knowledge and appropriate technologies are central to resolving the economic, social and environmental problems that make current development paths unsustainable. The minister cautioned that to bridge the north-south development gap and alleviate poverty as well as to provide a more equitable and sustainable future for all, an integrated approach that fully incorporates existing and new scientific knowledge is required. The Minister wished the participants success in their deliberations, with the full trust that they will provide concrete inputs into the African Regional Preparatory Meeting for Rio+20 ahead of time. She then declared open, the Rio+20 Regional Workshop for Africa. 2.2 General Overview Background and Introduction of Rio+20 Initiative (Alice Abreu) Prof Abreu, Regional Coordinator of the ICSU Rio+20 Initiative, presented a brief description of ICSU, its membership and its mandate. She explained that ICSU mobilises knowledge and resources of the international scientific community to strengthen international science for the 6

13 benefit of society and that its activities focus on three areas: International Research Collaboration; Science for Policy; and the Universality of Science. After discussing the objectives and themes of Rio+20, Prof Abreu mentioned that the Intergovernmental Preparatory Committee for the Conference held a series of preparatory meetings, and that five regional preparatory meetings will be organised by regional United Nations Economic and Social Commissions where all the Major Groups identified in Agenda 21 (Rio 1992) will participate. ICSU is the co-organizing partner, together with the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO), of the Scientific and Technological Community major group and as such wishes to ensure that the best available science, including social science, is integrated into policy recommendations resulting from Rio+20 and that relevant policies resulting from Rio+20 take account of the needs of international and national science. Prof Abreu presented ICSU s objectives for Rio+20 which include looking at the need for greater action on sustainable development, integrating the best available knowledge from across the natural, social and engineering sciences into policy recommendations, strengthening science and technology for sustainable development, and supporting research, training and monitoring programmes that address sustainable development. Prof Abreu outlined the activities of ICSU and its partners in preparation for Rio+20 which include, among others, five regional science and technology workshops (Asia Pacific, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, Arab Region, and Europe); the Planet under Pressure conference to be held in London in March 2012; policy briefs and white papers; and the forum on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development which will run in parallel with the Rio+20 Conference on sustainable development. She discussed the contribution of science and technology to sustainable development and pointed out that for the Rio+20 regional workshops, the two highly relevant questions to be addressed by the scientific and technological community were (i) how can the link between science, education and policy be strengthened in order to ensure early detection of emerging crises and quick response actions? and (ii) in addition to measures already being implemented by countries, what additional measures are needed to enable countries to strengthen resilience to shocks emanating from new and emerging challenges? She expressed confidence that the outcome of this workshop would be a document that expresses the point of view of the African scientific and technological community regarding the main themes of Rio+20 and that it will portray the agreed upon positions that will make a concerted input by the regional scientific and technological community into the intergovernmental Regional Preparatory Meeting Overall Africa Regional Preparatory Process for Rio+20 (Charles M Akol) Mr Akol gave background for Rio+20 starting with the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) where an agenda for environment and development (Agenda 21) was adopted. He recounted the events following the adoption of agenda 21, including the establishment of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) and the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, and events leading to the resolution to hold the Rio+20 conference. 7

14 He explained that the African regional preparatory process, which is led by UNECA, is meant to guide and prepare African countries to collectively articulate their concerns and priorities that should be reflected in the Conference outcomes. He pointed out that the regional preparations should aim at facilitating effective coordination and consultations to ensure that Africa adequately prepares for the Conference with a consensus on the continent s key priority areas for sustainable development. He noted that the implementation strategy of the regional preparatory process is intended to mirror the same process as the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). This process is coordinated by UNECA using a partnership approach that would involve continental bodies such as African Union Commission, the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) Planning and Coordinating Agency, the African Development Bank, Regional Economic Commissions, and UN Agencies as well as development partners. The main activities, roles, responsibilities and time frames of partners in the preparatory process have been clearly defined. As a way forward, Mr Akol stressed the need to strengthen the involvement of all partners and stakeholders to ensure Africa s concerns and priorities are adequately addressed, particularly in relation to bridging the implementation gap Keynote Lecture on Green Economy (Cecilia Kinuthia-Njenga) During her lecture, Ms Kinuthia-Njenga defined a Green Economy as one that results in increased human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities. She explained that the Green Economy initiative was born out of multiple crises and accelerating resource scarcity. It is an economic vehicle for sustainable development and can contribute to poverty reduction. It represents a new economic paradigm that can drive growth of income and jobs, without creating environmental risks. Ms Kinuthia-Njenga drew the attention of the participants to the Green Economy report of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) entitled Towards a Green Economy, Pathways to a Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication which has been launched in advance of Rio+20. This report focuses on innovative ways to reduce poverty and promote sustainable development. The report suggests that investing 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 10 key sectors of the economy - agriculture, buildings, energy supply, fisheries, forestry, and industry including energy efficiency, tourism, transport, waste management and water - can trigger greener, smarter growth, while fighting poverty. Such an investment would set up the transition towards a green economy, defined as low carbon, resource efficient and socially inclusive. The report also suggests that investing in natural capital, resource and energy efficiency can lead to higher rates of GDP growth over time, enhanced wealth, decent employment and reduced poverty. The green economy can create gainful employment in the sectors of agriculture, forestry, transport and energy. The report further indicates that over time, a green economy would stimulate economic growth that would exceed the business as usual economic growth while maintaining natural capital stocks. Ms Kinuthia-Njenga pointed out the need to develop and implement innovative and imaginative public policies that would create an enabling environment for the markets and direct private sector investments into a Green Economic transition. These conditions include sound regulatory frameworks, removing harmful subsidies, taxation and smart market mechanisms that shift 8

15 consumer spending and promote green innovation, and public investments in capacity building and training, alongside a strengthening of international governance. She noted the investment in key green sectors is growing and is currently at 19-22% of total global GDP per year but investment in greening key sectors on the continent needs further expansion. She expressed the need for additional innovative mechanisms and tools such as the Green Climate Fund, payments for Ecosystem Services as well as the environment, social and governance reporting Keynote Lecture on Institutional Framework (John Mugabe) In his review of institutional arrangements Prof Mugabe discussed the resurgence of interest and the deficits of STI initiatives since UNCED as well as the STI concepts, development and Africa s challenges together with the lessons to learn. He noted with concern that twenty years after Rio, there are no institutional arrangements for applying existing science and technology to address a wide range of challenges, especially human development challenges. He attributed wealth growth in Western countries to investment in research institutions and on experimenting with institutional diversity. He also mentioned that development is not about accumulating capital resources, it is about freedom and that science is a social issue. Prof Mugabe remarked that after UNCED 1992, the body of knowledge in relation to science, technology and innovation has increased greatly but more in some regions of the globe than in the others. He also noted the emergence of new disciplines as a result of merging of disciplines. At national level, he admitted that a growing number of African countries have created ministries and/or departments for STI issues over the last twenty years. However, Prof Mugabe also pointed out some challenges and deficits of STI initiatives that were launched since UNCED These include the lack of conceptual clarity and epistemic leadership or adequate expert support in the implementation of processes as well as policy inertia where it takes too long to develop, adopt and implement STI policies; limited and unreliable political commitment as well as institutional inadequacies; and the limitation of STI to research and development while neglecting the production and application of knowledge embodied in products and processes, and the introduction of new processes and/or products into a socio-economic system. He noted that in Africa, economic growth of the early and mid-2000s has not necessarily translated into human development. Poverty, hunger, political un-freedoms, insecurity, corruption, social and economic inequalities, disease, etc. still persist in most countries on the continent. He lamented over the fact that Africa exports raw material at low value and imports processed products at high prices. The development of ministries or departments in most African countries still focuses on narrow economic facets of development and STI are treated as add-ons or residual factors in development. They are not integrated into development policies and plans of most African countries. Another challenge is the over-reliance on external sources of capital for research and development as well as high exposure to new technologies but low innovative activity. Prof Mugabe emphasised the crucial need to get the concept of STI for sustainable development right, as this is important for guiding policy formulation, implementation and practice. There is need to build local ownership and effectively engage private sector which will increase focus on technology development, diffusion and innovation. 9

16 2.2.5 Keynote Lecture on New and Emerging Challenges (Hillary I Inyang) Prof Inyang pointed out the low life expectancy in Africa despite the increase in GDP recorded on the continent over the past twenty years. This low life expectancy is attributed to poor quality of life as well as physical and emotional stress, among other factors. To remedy the situation, some measures have to be taken to improve sustainable development, identify areas of concern as well as implement programmes to intervene with measurable effects. Prof. Inyang proposed key areas for sustainable development namely, socio-economic development, population management, environmental/natural resources stewardship and social equity. He explained how natural resources, physical infrastructure systems, process and decision support systems as well as service and governance systems are linked to systems planning, analysis design, maintenance and improvement. Prof Inyang demonstrated how Africa s economy has been performing between 2000 and 2009 with most economic growth ranging from 100% to 125%. He noted that despite the growth and stabilisation of African GDP at 5.0%-5.5%, there are evolving scenarios with major links to persistent and emerging sustainable development challenges on the continent. The evolving economic scenarios include increase in inter-linkages between financial systems, the dwindling stock of natural resources, widening gap between Africa and other regions of the globe in manufacturing as well as persistently low internal trade and investment among African countries. In terms of the science and technological base, the following scenarios were identified among others: degrading science and technology for supporting the base for economic development of Africa; growing population of qualified Africans in the Diaspora; intensifying competition globally in science and technology with Africa lagging behind; modest growth in networking of existing and planned tertiary institutions at the continental scale; advances in earth observation systems and cable ICT in Africa for data access/analysis; low and loss of awareness about Africa s technological heritage; and the evolution of strong professional societies with linkages to international agencies in the area of science and technology. Prof Inyang highlighted seven key areas to promote sustainable social economic development which include the development and implementation of sound policies; the development of technology guiding manuals; the promotion of market incentives; increasing the political will; implementation of the national and regional environmental plans; and promoting STI education programmes at all levels of the society. 3 Parallel Sessions - Thematic Group Discussions 3.1 Guidelines for the Break-away Sessions Setting the scene for break-away groups, Dr Madela-Mntla addressed the issues related to the three workshop themes as well as the four questions to be addressed. She explained the structure of the group discussions. Each group would address only one of the three themes. There would be a lead presentation on the theme, followed by open discussions moderated by the session chair. The discussions would seek to answer the following four questions: 10

17 i. What are the priority issues for Rio+20, as seen by the scientific and technological community from the region, taking into account the United Nations General Assembly (UN GA) outline of Rio+20 in 2012? ii. iii. iv. What are the needs of science and technology in the region, in order to be able to contribute best to sustainable development in the region and to international endeavours of sustainability science? What are the major contributions from science, technology and engineering to sustainable development at local, national, and regional scales? What role can the different stakeholders and Major Groups play in enhancing regional science and technology for sustainable development, and what are their needs from science and technology? The outcome from the break-away sessions would be used to draft the workshop recommendations that would be tabled to the Regional Preparatory Meeting for consideration when preparing the continent s position statement. In the plenary session that concluded the parallel sessions each of the break-away groups presented detailed reports of their discussions as well as the recommendations for inputs into the African Intergovernmental Rio+20 Regional Preparatory Meeting, which will be organized in October 2011 by UNECA. To facilitate the preparation of concerted input to the event, a Central Drafting Committee was setup to consolidate the proposed recommendations of the groups and draft the inputs to discussions and resolutions at the intergovernmental Regional Preparatory meeting. The summary report from this committee is presented in Annex Green Economy Lead Presentation (Vuyani Lingela) To lead the group discussions on Green Economy, Dr Lingela presented South Africa s experience in this initiative. He argued that Green Economy does not only present opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to reduce, reuse and recycle waste, but it also presents new opportunities for technology transfer and innovation to enhance a country s technological capability to create new industries. He indicated that Green Economy is one of the priorities of the South African government and that this can be linked to various South Africa s policies which include the National Framework on Sustainable Development approved by Cabinet in 2008; 2004 National Climate Change Strategy; 2010 draft National Climate Change Response Green Paper; December 2009 Integrated Resource Plan; the 2010 Industrial Policy Action Plan; Green Paper on National Strategic Planning; and the Carbon Tax and Framework for Environmental Fiscal Reform. In addition to this, he provided an overview of the Green Economy key focus areas and related programmes in the country. In relation to the potential of the renewable energy sector to contribute towards the transition to green economy, Mr Lingela indicated that wind, solar, hydro power, biomass and geothermal can significantly contribute to creation of green employment. Dr Lingela further shared the experiences on Green Economy from South Korea and Germany. This information was used to highlight the amount of international learning opportunities that can 11

18 be derived from other countries in terms of identifying what works and what does not work for a Green Economy, skills transfer, co-investment for environmental goods and services Discussion The discussion that followed the presentation focused on answering the four key questions raised above. A summary of the recommendations arising from these discussions has been captured in the report of the central drafting committee (Annex 1. C.2.1) 3.3 Institutional Framework Lead Presentation (Elizabeth Rasekoala) In leading to the discussions on the institutional framework group, Dr Rasekoala gave a brief background of what should be fed into the theme so that it can actually have an African flavour. She noted that Africa s challenges for sustainable development are increasing by the day and in a bid to have a more African flavour to the discussion of this theme, she recommended extra questions which should be looked into together with the four questions the workshop is meant to address. She suggested that the members of the group should also look into what are the limitations of the current system of governance given its failure to contribute to Africa s social, economic and environmental development. She questioned whether the current institutional framework on the continent embraces Africa s issues for sustainable development, and invited the group to interrogate the relevance of the current system in promoting socio-economic and environmental developmental needs of the continent, and also on Africa s position. In relation to the modalities of science-policy interaction, Dr Rasekoala pointed out that scientific advice, which exists in international environmental conventions and agreements at the global level, is fed into these institutions through two types of mechanisms, namely, scientific assessments and scientific advisory bodies. The scientific assessment mechanisms establish the state of the art of knowledge on a given problem while scientific advisory bodies provide, on a continuing basis, scientific advice for the implementation of a convention by the international convention implementation body. She suggested that impact and evolution should be studied and recorded in a report that is updated periodically to reflect the development of the problem. On multi-disciplinary knowledge and research, she invited the group to examine institutional frameworks on the continent that should facilitate best scientific knowledge and engineering expertise as well as involving scientists from developing and developed countries. She advocated for integrated research that is problem-oriented and interdisciplinary, seeking to address the socioeconomic and environmental pillars of sustainable development. This would promote links between the natural, social, economic, engineering and other major stakeholders. She emphasised that frameworks should seek to promote research agendas that are defined through broad-basedparticipatory approaches involving all stakeholders from the scientific community, public and private sector as well as civil society organisations. She suggested that, for sustainable development on the continent to succeed, the continent should develop coherent framework policies at national, regional and global levels that involve all sectors. These polices should be based on sound science and must reflect scientific advances and technological, economic and social innovation of the continent. She highlighted the importance of 12

19 political commitment, ambition and sense of urgency to address integrated socio-economic and environmental goals in both public and private sectors on the continent. She recommended that the international environmental and sustainable development institutions should support capacity-building initiatives in developing countries on the continent as well as the sharing of knowledge and technologies. She also pointed out that investment in higher education can be enhanced through bridging the North-South divide in scientific and technological capacity as well as building stronger bridges between the economic, environmental and social pillars of sustainable development and their respective institutions at global, regional, national and subnational levels Discussion A summary of the recommendations arising from the open discussions has been captured in the report of the central drafting committee (Annex 1. C.2.2) 3.4 New and Emerging Challenges Lead Presentation (Bob Scholes) In his presentation, Dr Scholes pointed out that Africa is exposed to and affected by matters of climate change that has accelerated biodiversity loss with detrimental effect to some of the African communities. He noted that there is very little progress in efforts to mitigate issues such as desertification, and stressed that this slow progress could be due to the absence of an established scientific advisory body to guide policy-makers. He noted that not much progress has been made on attaining sustainable development goals that have been set in previous gatherings and that no concerted effort has been made to engage scientists on issues of sustainable development. Considering that not much has been done to address challenges that have been in the spotlight for a while, Dr Scholes drew the attention of the group to the fact that identifying new and emerging challenges does not mean that the old ones are less significant. Among the challenges, he expressed the need to promote the status and participation of women in the different scientific, engineering and technological fields as well as mainstreaming indigenous knowledge systems into science education with proper documentation of processes and procedures for reproducibility or duplication. He highlighted the potential role of higher education and research in scientific discovery and dissemination of scientific and technological information throughout the main stakeholders on the continent. He recommended that the limited research activities going on in the continent should be documented and translated into policy and/or innovation. The disconnection between science, policy and understanding of the benefits of science to society is a need of concern and should be addressed as matter of urgency. He pointed out that the continent needs to reassess the mode of delivery of science education starting at primary school level and develop an enabling platform for effective communication of scientific and technological findings between scientists, policy-makers and the community. He emphasised that scientists on the continent need to develop their skills to better articulate themselves and communicate about their work and intentions itemising the roles each stakeholder would play. 13