The 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment placed the issue of environment squarely on the agenda of the world's governments. Twenty years later the Rio UN Conference on Environment and Development has sharpened the focus on the key issue of sustainability and has led to a renewed interest in and commitment on the part of the United Nations and its member states to environmental planning for sustainable development. In the same year the 1992 World Development Report prepared by the World Bank evaluated the linkages between environmental change and economic development. The report concluded that not only were environment and development mutually reinforcing and essential, but also that with effective planning it is possible to obtain both environmental and development benefits.
That planning is the focus of this timely book. It describes the process of incorporating environment into the economic and social development of African nations. Working from their combined experience of nearly 65 years in environment and development, Francois Falloux and Lee Talbot have analysed the history of such eftorts and have focused on National Environmental Action Plans (NEAPs), a recent process of environmental planning developed in Africa, largely by Africans, which is now being undertaken in other developing and developed countries throughout the world.

Preface vii

Acknowledgements ix

"Letter from ti Mother" xi

Introduction xiii

PART 1 NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION PLANS IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA: ORIGINS, DESCRIPTION AND

PRESENT STATUS

      Summary 1

      1 Past attempts at environmental planning in Africa 3

      2 What is a NEAP and why is it different? 19

      3 The pioneers: the NEAP of Madagascar 31

      4 Forging the NEAP approach: Lesotho 52

      5 Forging the NEAP approach: Mauritius 70

      6 Green plans of the north 81

      7 Over thirty African NEAPs 88

PART II THE NEAP PROCESS, ITS COMPONENTS AND ITS PROBLEMS

      Summary 99

      8 Political involvement and popular participation 101

      9 A dynamic and evolving institutional framework 117

      10 Indispensable environmental information 129

      11 An economic foundation: guarantee of credibility 143

      12 Education, training and public awareness 158

      13 The inescapable population problem 175

      14 Land tenure and the environment 186

      15 The vital challenge of conserving biodiversity 200

      16 Urban cancers, an inevitable problem 217

      17 African culture: opportunities and dangers for the environment 228

      18 Rural development revisited in the era of environment 239

      19 A path full of obstacles: lessons from a learning process 249

PART III RESULTS AND IMPACT TO DATE

      Summary 259

      20 Environmental programs at work 261

      21 Green opportunities tor private enterprise 269

      22 NGOs: from confrontation to cooperation 274

      23 The environmental revolution of the donors: a continuing process 283

PART IV FUTURE DIRECTIONS

      Summary 295

      24 The Club of Dublin, now called NESDA 297

      25 Local, national and continental green plans 306

      26 A new north-south relationship 312

      27 Who listens to Africa? 319

      28 A continental plan for environment and sustainable development? 322

A Presidential Memorandum 331

Glossary of acronyms 348

References 350

Index 355

Dr Lee M. Talbot is an ecologist and specialist in international environmental affairs, with over 37 years' experience involving work on environment and development in 120 countries. He has served as Senior Environmental Advisor or Consultant to the World Bank, the Asian and Inter-American Development Banks, UN bodies, governments and universities. He was formerly Director-General of the IUCN, was Chief Scientist and Director of International Affairs in the President's Council on Environmental Quality for three US presidents, and was head of environmental sciences at the Smithsonian Institution. He has received a number of major awards for his work, and has written widely on the issues of environment and development.

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