Access International Development Training Programme MODULE 1 Exploring the Challenges of Working in Cross Cultural International Development Settings
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Table of contents Module 1 • Exploring the Challenges of Working in Cross Cultural International Development Settings • Rationale for the Module • Aims • Content
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Unit 1: Contrasting the Global North and the Global South • Aims • Learning Outcomes • Going from a World of 20:80 to a 80:20 World • The Bottom Billion
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Unit 2: Exploring Poverty and Justice • Aims • Learning Outcomes • Poverty Facts and Figures
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Unit 3: Culture and Stereotyping Page 6-8 • Aims • Learning Outcomes • What is Culture? • Values and Beliefs Affect Behaviour • Culture Shock • Some Common Causes of Shock • Strategies to Adjust to Culture Shock • Skills that make a difference in adjusting to culture/culture shock • The Magic Bus Unit 4: Personal Health and Safety • Aims • Learning Outcomes • Responsibility for Personal Health and Safety • Potential Threats to Physical Health • Returning Home • Caring for Your Mental Health • Concluding Remarks • Readings, References and Resources • People in Aid Publications
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Unit 5: Safety and Security • Aims • Learning Outcomes
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Unit 6: Coming Home and Learning • Aims • Learning Outcomes
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Module 1
and keeping safe and secure. The module content will cover: - Going from the Global North to the Global South - Exploring global poverty and justice - Key challenges to personal stereotypes, attitudes and behaviours: adaptability, empathy, embracing equality and diversity - Personal health and safety
Exploring the Challenges of Working in Cross Cultural International Development Settings
Please note that a number of the links provided in this training manual are available in English only. Where possible, resources available in other languages have been identified as well.
Rationale for the Module Anyone working in, or hoping to working in the field of international development, particularly in an overseas position, must be aware of the wide range of personal challenges they will encounter. These will bring them face to face with their own stereotypes of ‘the other’ and the need to embrace diversity, demonstrate adaptability and communicate effectively in a development context. This module will serve to clarify the role and the appropriate attributes expected of those working in development contexts. Such personal challenges will be determined by the particular context and an understanding of how an individual is responsible for their own safety in their new context is an important aspect of developing the self-awareness needed to be an effective aid/development worker. This module is designed to help in developing a greater awareness and understanding of the behavioural/personal demands on an aid/development worker when working in the Global South and how to develop an initial understanding of context and taking personal responsibility for staying safe in new development environments.
Aims This module aims to encourage students to reflect on their own cultural values and predispositions and how they may react to encounters with new and very different cultures and people in a development context. It is important that students arrive at an understanding of the roles those from the Global North play as development workers in the Global South and how the experience may affect them when they return home. Using scenarios supplemented with related activities and self-reflection questions, students will become more aware of the types of attributes and skills required to be an effective development worker and will be encouraged to be self-critical in analysing their reactions to unfamiliar settings.
Content This module is based on highlighting the key challenges to developing intercultural competence and encouraging self-reflection on the values and attributes required to be a responsible development worker. There will be a focus on developing an understanding and knowledge of the tools required to ensure responsibility for situating oneself in context Page 3
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Unit 1: Contrasting the Global North and the Global South
Reflection Exercise What did you find surprising? Is there anything you found out that was confusing to you? How does that make you feel? What does it make you think about? What does it mean for your everyday life compared to someone in the Global South?
Aims To understand the comparative differences in commonly used indicators of development between the Global North and the Global South. To reflect on your understanding of the inter-connectedness of life in the Global North and the Global South.
Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this unit you should: 1. H ave a greater awareness of the contrast in the ‘development’ of the Global North compared to the Global South. 2. H ave reflected on the inter-connectedness of how we live our lives in the Global North and how people live their lives in the Global South.
Going from a World of 20:80 to a 80:20 World - 80% of the world’s resources are accessible to 20% of the world’s people. - 80% of the world’s people have access to only 20% of the world’s resources. Why after at least 50 years of development work and $2.3 trillion spent on development efforts are there still children dying for lack of medicines that cost a few pence? Why are there so many people still living on less than $1 a day without clean water, food, sanitation, shelter, education or medicine? And yet at the same time more people than ever before are wealthy beyond any reasonable need for a good life. Video: Watch this short film. http://www. developmenteducation.ie/video-animations/poverty.html (from the website:www.developmenteducation.ie) Activity 1: Look over the United Nations Human Development Reports (HDRs). They provide a picture of development indicators across the globe. These can be accessed in a variety of languages at http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/ (English) or http://hdr.undp.org/es/informes/ (Spanish) or http://hdr.undp.org/fr/rapports/ (French)
*Paul Collier 2008 – The Bottom Billion
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You may use other pages of the Global Sherpa website and/or the 2011 UN Human Development Report http://hdr.undp.org/ en/reports/global/hdr2011/ to help you answer the questions: After taking the quiz and having reflected on the issues, go to the IRIN Humanitarian News and Analysis website: http:// www.irinnews.org/ (English) or http://www.irinnews.org/fr/ (French). This will introduce you to credible web based news sources bout the Global South. Ask yourself these questions: How does the standard of living you expect in your cultural context compare to that of countries based in the Global South and; What, if any, are the connections between my life and the lives of those who live in the Global South?
It is generally accepted that:
Select a few countries you are interested in, make sure to include at least one from the Global North (a term used for those countries in the world that are economically rich) as well as some from the Global South (a term used for those countries in the world that are economically impoverished).
Activity 2 Take some time to complete the following quiz which will help you think about the key issues in international development related to sustainability and equity - . http://www.globalsherpa. org/hdr-2011-quiz-equity-sustainability (English only)
You may find it useful to use the following as a guide but feel free to add as many other comparisons and contrasts as you wish – infrastructure, utilities and standards of housing access to employment opportunities, education and healthcare
The Bottom Billion “The Third World has shrunk. For forty years the development challenge has been a rich world of one billion people facing a poor world of five billion [..].Most of the five billion, about 80 per cent, live in countries that are indeed developing, often at amazing speed […] The countries at the bottom co-exist with the twenty-first century but theirs is a fourteenth century reality: civil war, plague, ignorance […] We must learn to turn the familiar numbers upside down: a total of five billion people who are already prosperous, or at least on the track to be so, and one billion who are stuck at the bottom. […] This problem matters, and not just to the billion people who are living and dying in fourteenth-century conditions. It matters to us. The twenty-first century world of material comfort, global travel, and economic interdependence will become increasingly vulnerable to these large islands of chaos. And it matters now. (Extract from Paul Collier (2008), The Bottom Billion, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 3-4) Thinking Point: Do you agree or disagree with Collier’s assertion? Do you see yourself as part of the problem or part of the solution?
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Unit 2: Exploring Poverty and Justice Aims 1. To begin to explore the nature of poverty in the international development context. 2. T o begin to understand that poverty eradication is not merely a matter of charity but rather is an issue of justice.
Learning Outcomes
a right implies an equivalent obligation on the part of each person. To the local, national, global society that provides this right is owed an obligation to extend this right to all others. As we benefit from this right, so too do we come under an obligation to struggle for its wider enjoyment.’ (Christian Aid, International Development NGO) ‘The right to development is a fundamental human right rooted in international law. Individuals, states, local organisations and authorities, private companies, aid donors and international institutions all have a role to play in helping people achieve that right.’ (Dochas, Network of Development NGOs in Ireland) Readings, References and Resources UNDP Fast Facts (2011) Poverty Reduction: http://www.undp. org/content/dam/undp/library/corporate/fast-facts/english/ Poverty%20Reduction.pdf (English)
On successful completion of this unit you should: 1. H ave a better understanding of the issues of poverty and justice as issues to be addressed by international development work. 2. H ave reflected on the nature of poverty and injustice and some appropriate responses to these important issues.
http://www.undp.org/content/undp/es/home/ourwork/ povertyreduction/overview.html (Spanish)
Poverty Facts and Figures Read this article: http://www.globalissues.org/article/4/ poverty-around-the-world (English) Activity: Have a look at the compendium of statistics and information about world poverty on the Global Issues website to reinforce your reading: http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-andstats.
Chapter One of the Office of the United Nations High Comission for Human Rights (2003) publication, Los Derechos Humanos y La Reduccion De La Pobreza , pp.5-12: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/ (Link to publication in other languages can be found under drop down menu Publications and Resources: Special Issues section) Christian Aid’s 2008 position paper on Poverty and Justice: http://www.christianaid.org.uk/images/doing-justice-topoverty.pdf (English only) Caterina Ruggeri Laderchi, Ruhi Saith and Frances Stewart, ‘Does it matter that we do not agree on the definition of poverty? A comparison of four approaches’, Oxford Development Studies 31 (3) 2003, pp.243-274. Access at http://www3.qeh.ox.ac.uk/pdf/qehwp/qehwps107.pdf (English only)
Then go on and have a look at this link to the World Poverty organisation. You can see what they have to say about some of the reasons for World Poverty. There are other links on the lefthand side of the webpage that you can look too if you are interested http://world-poverty.org/ Activity: Try this short quiz about world poverty to test your perceptions about poverty: http://compassionquiz.com/ poverty-quiz/poverty-quiz.html Charity versus Justice “Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of fundamental human rights. Everyone everywhere has the right to live with dignity, free from fear and oppression, free from hunger and thirst, and free to express themselves and associate at will.” (Nelson Mandela (2006) Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience Award acceptance speech) Thinking Point Consider the following statements and then address the question: Does it matter whether we see eradicating poverty as a matter of charity or a matter of rights? Why? ‘Poverty is disempowerment and the injustices that result. […] we would cast this empowerment as a right – a right to power over their own lives, a right to live outside of poverty. Such
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Unit 3: Culture and Stereotyping Aims The aims for this week are: 1. T o understand the types of attitudes and aptitudes required of effective development practitioners 2. T o explore your understanding of culture 3. T o begin to examine aspects of stereotyping and racism 4. To explore your own tendencies to stereotype and your attitudes to racism
Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this week you should have: 1. D eveloped an understanding of some of the intercultural competences that are required to be an effective development practitioner 2. G ained a better understanding of your existing attitudes towards culture and the role it plays in your identity 3. D eveloped an initial understanding of how stereotyping and racism pervade our views of ‘the other’ 4. Reflected on your awareness of your own attitudes to stereotyping and racism
What is Culture? Culture is “[…] an integrated system of learned behaviour patterns that are characteristic of the members of any given society [...] the total way of life of particular groups of people. It includes everything that a group of people thinks, says, does, and makes, its customs, language, material artefacts and shared systems of attitudes and feelings. Culture is learned and transmitted from generation to generation.” (L. Robert Kohls, Survival Kit for Overseas Living, Maine: Intercultural Press, Inc. 1996:23.). Culture is not fixed or rigid, even though cultural norms and values can often seem that way. Culture is dynamic and its norms and values are constantly being refreshed or challenged by members of the groups of people who belong to the culture in question. It is for this reason that cultural change and adaptation is an inalienable feature of all cultures. Culture has been aptly compared to an iceberg (cf. Edward T. Hall 1976 Beyond Culture). Just as an iceberg has a visible section above the waterline, and a larger, invisible section below the water line, so culture has some aspects that are observable and others that can only be suspected, imagined, or intuited. Also like an iceberg, that part of culture that is visible (observable behaviour) is only a small part of a much bigger whole.
WHAT YOU SEE
DEEP STRUCTURE IS
WORDS TONALITY BODY LANGUAGE GESTURES BELIEFS VALUES BIASES PREJUDICES
EXPERIENCES FEARS DREAMS FEELINGS
Source: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Edward+t+Hal ls+Iceberg+Model&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=A7n&rls=org. mozilla:en-GB:official&channel=fflb&prmd=imvnsb&tbm=isch& tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=JC98UOmGDKnA0QXu1YDYBg &ved=0CD0QsAQ&biw=1280&bih=846
Values and Beliefs Affect Behaviour The values and beliefs you cannot see affect behaviour. To understand where behaviour comes from - to understand why people behave the way they do - means learning about values and beliefs. The reason any behaviour makes sense is simply because it is consistent with what a given person believes in or holds dear. Conversely, when we say that what someone has done “makes no sense,” what we mean is that that action contradicts what we know that person feels or wants. People from different cultures have different values. This may sound patently obvious but its implications for working in different cultural contexts to your own are significant and challenging for everyone who crosses cultural contexts.
Culture Shock Culture shock is defined as a psychological disorientation that most people experience when living in a culture markedly different from one’s own. Culture shock occurs when our “... cultural clues, the signs and symbols which guide social interaction, are stripped away. ...A difficult part of this process for adults is the experience of feeling like children again, of not knowing instinctively the ‘ right’ thing to do.” (Piet-Pelon & Hornby, 1992:2). Symptoms of culture shock include: • Homesickness • Boredom • Withdrawal • Excessive sleep • Compulsive eating/drinking • Irritability • Stereotyping host nationals • Hostility towards host nationals
*L Robert Kohls - Survival Kit for Overseas Living, Edward T Hall 1976 Beyond Culture, Piet-Pelon & Hornby 1992: 2
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Personal Reflection: Note down what you personally think the causes of culture shock are or might be? Have you ever experienced any form of culture shock? What caused you to feel culture shock (or if you haven’t experienced it personally, what do you think might cause it in general terms?).
• • • •
Some Common Causes of Shock For more information on culture shock see: http://www. peacecorps.gov/wws/educators/enrichment/culturematters/ ch1/tocch1.html (English only) Some common causes of culture shock include: • The actual situation not matching preconceived ideas of what it would be like • Unrealistic goals • Not being able to see results (because of the enormity of need, the nature of the work, the shortness of time of your involvement) • Using the wrong methods to achieve objectives i.e. inappropriate to the culture
Strategies to Adjust to Culture Shock • •
Be aware of your own ethnocentrism – and the fact that people of the host country are also ethnocentric Try not to make comparisons – your culture is ‘different’
• • •
not ‘better’ Avoid generalising (stereotyping) where possible Learn as much as you can about the country and culture you are going into Associate with local people Keep a journal - this will help you to track your learning journey and be more critically reflective as a practitioner Observe without making value judgements Don’t disparage the host culture Have faith in yourself!
Skills that make a difference in adjusting to culture/culture shock • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Tolerance for ambiguity and for difference Open mindedness Non-judgemental Empathy Communicativeness Flexibility and adaptability Curiosity Sense of Humour Warmth in Relationships Motivation Self-reliance Strong sense of self-awareness Perceptiveness An ability to fail and learn from it
September 21 The saga continues at the clinic. I think I understand better how things work around here, but I have to say I’m not happy with my progress, or lack of progress. I’ve made some very good friends, one or two of whom even confide in me, but I didn’t come to this country just to make friends. The problem seems to be a lack of funds to buy the materials I need to get started. Actually, that’s not 100 percent true; the money is there, but it’s not coming to me. I’ve asked several times, but everyone says it’s up to Mr. Beton, the clinic manager, with whom I’ve never even had a one-on-one meeting. I did meet him in the beginning, when I first came here, but he was with a lot of other people, so I didn’t get to discuss my project. I did meet his boss one afternoon, though, when she was on a tour of the clinic and passed by the office they let me work in. She asked me how things were going, and I said fine, except I had no money to buy materials. She said she would check into it, but nothing has happened. A few days after that, I asked for a meeting with Mr. Beton, but so far, he hasn’t responded. While I’m waiting for some movement, I’ve stumbled across another job I can do. I noticed one day that the clinic has no sign-in forms to record the number of visitors each day. I know the clinic needs this information because the ministry asks for these numbers every quarter, and the clinic’s annual budget allocation is based in part on this information. The clinic used to have a form, someone told me, but ran out of copies several months ago, so the receptionist just keeps track with tick marks on a piece of paper. I asked what the old form looked like and then designed a new one and showed it to the man in charge of volunteers. He said it was nice and took it away for approval. I expect it will show up any day now at the front desk. I guess the lesson in all this is that you have to make your own work, not wait around to be told what to do (like most of the staff here seems to do). Once you start looking for ways you can make yourself useful, there’s no end to what you can do. At a staff meeting they invited me to the other day, I explained about the new sign-in form and asked people in other departments to let me know if they had similar things I could do for them. I then mentioned again that since I wasn’t getting the money I needed for my primary project, I had plenty of time to work on other things. A funny thing happened at that same meeting. Mr. Beton wasn’t there, so his deputy ran the meeting. One item on the agenda was a report on the progress of the addition that’s being built on the back of the clinic, to consist of two more examining rooms and two waiting rooms. Ground was broken last month, but nothing-and I mean nothing-has happened since. But in his report, the deputy said we had made great progress on the addition. When I asked him when construction was going to start, he said he didn’t know! Source: this extract is taken from http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/educators/enrichment/culturematters/ch1/ betweenthelines.html Page 7
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Activity 1 Read the passage below and as you read Jan’s journal, mark where you think the author has misunderstood workplace norms or projected some of her own attitudes and values on to the host culture. Jan has now been at her site a little over a year. In this excerpt from her journal, she writes about her experiences at the local AIDS clinic where she volunteers one day a week. Her task there is to work with a local health educator and design posters and illustrated pamphlets to use in AIDS education talks at the clinic and in nearby villages. In her interactions with clinic employees, she has run into a number of workplace issues. Activity 2: Any Baggage? This exercise helps you reflect on some of the stereotypes you may hold without realising it and your cultural preferences. It is best done by first providing a set of photos after participants decide who they want to sit beside. The photos challenge the descriptions.
The Magic Bus You are on a long bus ride and your fellow passengers include the following: • A couple celebrating their anniversary • An athlete • Someone with a mental illness • Three asylum seekers • A convicted criminal • A farmer • A Muslim • A single parent • An international student studying in your country • A refugee
Fritz Heider asserted that we are all naïve psychologists who try to make sense of the world so that we can make predictions about people and/or situations that we find ourselves in or observing and therefore increase our comfort or ease. To do this humans have developed a range of strategies for simplifying things and the process known as categorisation, which includes stereotyping, is one of these strategies (cf. Heider 1958, The Psychology of Interpersonal Relations). Stereotyping is a process based on the idea that certain groups of people (religious, gender, social ethnic) share a common set of identifiable characteristics. This form of categorization makes people that we don’t otherwise know personally, predictable. One of the most notable psychologists of the twentieth century, Elliott Aronson argued that we are social animals in a complex and unpredictable world (cf. Aronson 1972 The Social Animal) and yet we like to feel secure, thus we use stereotypes to help us make judgements about people and/or situations that we do not know personally or intimately. Stereotyping performs an important psycho-social function as we cannot know everything about everybody in the world. The tendency towards categorisation is common to all humans and again, is not merely a personal characteristic of particular individuals. The stereotypes we hold may be positive or negative, based on what we think we know about “the other”. Negative views that are held of “the other” are an expression of prejudice, often based on ignorance that is perpetuated by a lack of engagement with anyone from “the other” group of people. Such ignorance can therefore be addressed by creating situations of contact, which is the premise of much cross community peace building work. This kind of work is an example of contact hypothesis theory being put in to practice.
Who would you most like to sit beside? Who would you least like to sit beside? Rank all the above in preference of who you would like to sit beside on the journey, with #1 being your most preferred companion. Just note down your answers for yourself on a piece of paper. When you’ve made your decisions, look at the answer sheet with the description belongs with each picture. For example, the couple are a lesbian couple, the person with the mental illness is a Hollywood movie celebrity, the athlete is a ParaOlympian, the asylum seekers are Albert Einstein, the Dalai Lama and Sigmund Freud, the criminal is actor Hugh Grant. (The answer sheet is provided in another document called Answers to the Magic Bus Activity).
Prejudice is a type of attitude and involves affect (feelings), behaviour (actions) and cognition (thoughts). Bias and/or prejudice can be located at all three levels – societal, organisational and individual – you could theoretically have a biased system and the people working in it might be unbiased – but it is unlikely – this can be related to the claim that Nazi soldiers were just doing their jobs but were not anti-Semites, discussed in Daniel Goldhagen’s book ‘Hitler’s Willing Executioners’.
Personal Reflection: On what basis did you make your decision of who you would most and least like to sit beside? Do the photos/descriptions cause you to change your mind? Have you ever been in a position where someone ‘stereotyped’ you? How did it make you feel? Basic Social Psychological Perspectives on Attitudes and the Social Nature of Humans
The Magic Bus exercise was designed to draw out and challenge some of the characteristics that you may normally ascribe to groups/types of people like those listed on the bus.
Important to note that stereotypes and prejudice affect us all – where do you sit on the bus, in the doctor’s waiting room – what do you do when you see someone collapse in the street? A typical answer from a social psychologist would be that it depends on each scenario fits your categorisation system. Stereotyping can lend itself to racism if and when we hold on to negative and derogatory notions of groups of people based on their cultural membership, despite being presented with the
*Heider, 1958 The Psychology of Interpersonal Relations, Aronson 1972 The Social Animal
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opportunity to have prejudicial values challenged and changed through greater awareness of and interaction with members of the group that we have stereotyped. To help you better understand race and racism please read the following: Angela Harris, ‘Critical Theories of Race and Racism in World Perspective’. provides a good academic definition of race and racism as well as a historical overview of some key related themes. Accessed here: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers. cfm?abstract_id=1954726 (English only) And ‘The construction of race and racism’ accessed here: http://www.ncnonprofits.org/sites/default/files/public_ resources/WesternStates-ConstructionOfRace.pdf (English only)
Unit 4: Personal Health and Safety Aims The aims for this week are: • To understand the key ‘threats’ to physical and mental health • To understand that your are responsible for your own health and how your health contributes to collective health and safety • To familiarise yourself with actions you can take to help ensure your health and safety
Learning Outcomes
Hall, E.T. (1976) ‘Beyond Culture’ overview http://region10.acui. org/region/10/conference/2011/presentations/Hall%27s%20 Iceberg%20Model%20handout.pdf (English only)
On successful completion of this week you should have: • Identified the key threats to your health, safety and security • Reflected on your responsibility to take due care of your own physical and mental health and personal safety • Explored the ways in which you can maximise your chances of staying healthy and safe
Responsibility for Personal Health and Safety A sending organisation or employer has the responsibility to ensure you are healthy before departure and that your living and working environment is as safe and secure as possible. Most do that and have sophisticated measures in place for doing so, including pre-departure check-ups, medical insurance, health policies and guidelines, security guidelines and possibly a security officer at your location/who has at least visited your location. For what to expect see People in Aid Code of Good Practice: http://www.peopleinaid.org/publications/ codeofgoodpracticeenglish.aspx (English only) However, you have a responsibility to take due care with your personal safety and physical and mental health – just as you would at home. Activity 1 Make a note of any potential threats to your health that you think you may encounter while working in the Global South/ away from home?
Potential Threats to Physical Health In your list you might include: Malaria, Dengue fever, Diarrhea , Cholera, Dysentery, Too many parties, Hangovers, AIDs, Road traffic accidents , Sexually Transmitted Infections, Adverse climatic conditions, and/or Altitude sickness.
*Angela Harris – Critical Theories of Race & Racism in World Perspective
We can categorise these potential threats into 4 broad areas: • Environmental factors (climate, arduous conditions, etc) • Disease/Infection (often spread by insects such as mosquitos) Page 9
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•
Lack of public infrastructure and health policies (poor roads, no control of motor vehicle quality or licensing) • Own behaviour (too many parties, not enough sleep, sexual behaviour) There are a number of ways to address and manage these potential threats to physical health. Comhlamh’s Volunteer Charter *http://www.comhlamh.org/ support-for-development-workers-before-going-overseasvolunteer-charter-and-code-of-practice.html (English only) outlines some specific responses, such as: • Abide by the advice of your sending organisation • Apply common sense and take necessary precautions e.g. use mosquito nets, don’t drink water unless you know it’s safe • Familiarise yourself with your organisation’s health and safety guidelines and agree to uphold them • Behave in ways that do not jeopardise your health (or that of others) • Ensure you have relevant health and travel insurance • Ensure you have all required vaccinations and supplies of prescription Activity 2 Do you agree or disagree with this following statement? Why/why not? Are there situations where you can imagine yourself ignoring your own health? What would prevent you from doing so? “Personal health can’t be stressed enough. You are no good to anyone when you are sick for months when a good rest could have cured you initially. I was amazed at how fragile my body was in Africa. I was more prone to illness and I could feel my immune system weaken even if I had sufficient sleep.” (Comhlamh’s Volunteer Charter, pg 21)
The Headington Institute The Headington Institute identify the following pressures as being associated with working in Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) – many of the same points can be made about those who work for IGOs (Intergovernmental Organisations) as well: •
•
•
•
•
•
Returning Home Finally, remember that some symptoms of ill-health may not appear until after you’ve returned home. Despite having ready access to good quality medical care, hazards remain, for example: • • •
many workers struggle to find a healthy balance between the demands of the work and the need to pay some attention to their own physical and emotional well-being.”
symptoms may be unfamiliar to doctors in the Global North symptoms may pass unrecognised correct diagnosis may not be considered until it’s too late
For those of you who are considering working in a developing world context, you will need to pay attention to your physical health after you return home as well.
•
Threat and violence: Whether it is the result of natural disaster, civil conflict, or increased domestic crime, many NGO workers witness violence and its after effects, or are exposed to upsetting stories of personal tragedy. Social dislocation: In some cases NGO workers experience separation from their social support networks, such as friends and family. Cultural dislocation: Living and working in another country or with a new group of people often means that new rules for communicating politely and effectively must be learned. Spiritual dislocation: Separation from familiar religious frameworks, exposure to radically different views about spirituality and religion, and exposure to traumatic events can challenge and alter an NGO worker’s religious beliefs. Poverty and deprivation: NGO workers often work in the midst of extreme poverty and its associated suffering without enough resources available to combat the problems. This can lead to feelings of impotence and being overwhelmed. Moral dilemmas: Humanitarian work may involve facing moral dilemmas such as negotiating with warlords, or witnessing human rights violations but being unable to respond due to operational considerations. The work environment: Common work stressors include: interpersonal and culturally-based conflict among team members; role ambiguity; lack of appropriate resources, personnel, time, logistical support, or skills to do the job expected; and heavy workload and long hours.
Self Reflection: How do you think you would cope with each of the pressures identified by the Headington Institute? If you have previously faced any of these types of pressures, how did you deal with them?
Concluding Remarks Caring for Your Mental Health “The traditional image of NGO workers is that they are selfless and tireless. They, themselves, tend to expect that because their work is for a good cause, they will somehow be immune to pressure. However, they do feel the impact of their work. They often leave at the end of the day feeling that they have not done enough because the scope of the need is so overwhelming. They can be troubled by witnessing violence and poverty, and by hearing the stories of refugees and disaster survivors. In this service-oriented profession,
Paying attention to your personal health and safety is imperative to ensuring that you can be an effective development practitioner who is happy and fulfilled in the role you have chosen to undertake. There are a number of key points to remember: Expect to have to pay attention to and take responsibility for your personal health and safety Do your best to understand how traumatic stress works, in its direct and vicarious forms, and develop strategies to help prevent or alleviate traumatic stress reactions
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Readings, References and Resources Headington Institute resources accessed at: http://headington-institute.org/Default.aspx?tabid=2259 (English only)
Unit 6: Coming Home and Learning The topic of this unit is preparation for coming home – which can be as daunting as ‘going away’ and brings the development practitioner’s motivations, impact, experience, learning and knowledge into focus. We will also be examining the importance of being open to learning if you are to be an effective development practitioner.
From People in Aid: Approaches to Staff Care in International NGOs accessed at: http://www.peopleinaid.org/publications/ StaffCareInternationalNGOs.aspx (English)
Aims
Research Paper on the Phenomenon of Burnout accessed at: http://www.peopleinaid.org/publications/Burnout.aspx (English)
1. To understand more about the need to prepare for home coming in advance and the benefits of ‘debriefing’ 2. To explore what thoughts, feelings and behaviours they may experience on return and how to deal with them 3. To reflect on how the experience, knowledge and learning from the Global South can be channelled back into your society 4. To understand more about the role openness to learning plays in the practice of international development 5. To explore you own attitude and aptitude for learning from the Global South
How to Be Resilient at Work accessed at: http://www. peopleinaid.org/publications/resilientatwork.aspx (English)
People in Aid Publications Available in Spanish: http://www.peopleinaid.org/resources/publications. aspx?language=Espa%c3%b1ol
Learning Outcomes
Available in French: http://www.peopleinaid.org/resources/publications. aspx?language=Fran%c3%a7ais
Unit 5: Safety and Security Aims 1. T o understand the key ‘threats’ to your safety in development contexts 2. T o understand how your actions contribute to collective safety and security 3. T o familiarise yourself with methods to analyse threats and risks to your security and identify actions you can take to reduce those risks
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this week you should have: 1. Developed an understanding of the importance for preparation to return before you arrive home 2. Reflected on the emotional responses to leaving the Global South and returning to the Global North and how you might deal with them 3. Explored ways to channel knowledge and learning from the Global South into your own society 4. Developed an understanding of the importance learning plays in effective personal and professional development for those wishing to work in the field of international development 5. Gained a better understanding of your own willingness to be a learner If you are interested in continuing your learning, the content for Unit 6 can be accessed via the European Certification and Qualification Association (www.ecqa.org) under Access International Development. Content will be available from early 2013.
On successful completion of this week you should have: 1. E xamined ways in which to identify key threats and risks to your safety and security 2. R eflected on possible prevention and mitigation actions to maximise your chances of staying safe and secure 3. Reflected on your responsibility to take due care of your own safety and security If you are interested in continuing your learning, the content for Unit 5 can be accessed via the European Certification and Qualification Association (www.ecqa.org) under Access International Development. Content will be available from early 2013.
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For more information on the programme please contact Roisin McEvoy International Development Programme University of Ulster Northern Ireland Email: r.mcevoy@ulster.ac.uk Or visit the project website www.aidproject.eu This project has been funded with the support from the European Commission under the Lifelong Learning Programme. This website reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
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Access International Development Training Programme MODULE 2 Access International Development and Globalisation: key themes and ideas that inform development practice
www.aidproject.eu
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Table of contents Module 2 • Access International Development & Globalisation: Key Themes and Ideas that inform Development Practice • Rationale for the Module • Aims • Content Unit 1: Introduction to Key Themes & Ideas • Aims • Learning Outcomes • The Roots of International Development • Map of the World Outlining the Global North and the Global South • ‘The Third World’ • How we Describe Development • Describing Development • Changing and Varied Meanings But… • Measuring Development • From GNP/GDP to HDI • HDI – The Human Development Index • HDI Indices • Development in the HDI • HDI – UNDP Human Development Reports • Concluding Remarks Unit 2: The Architecture of Aid • Aims • Learning Outcomes • Official Develoment Assistance • Poverty & Inequality • The Architecture of Aid Flows • Who are the main players now? • What is Aid Effectiveness? • The Paris Declaration & VFM • Concluding Remarks
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Unit 3: The International Political Economy of Development and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) • Aims • Learning Outcomes • The Political Economy of Development • The Millennium Development Goals • Getting the MDGs on Track? • Key Debates around the MDGs • What Has or Hasn’t been Achieved? • Post 2015 – More of the Same? • Concluding Remarks Unit 4: Conflict and Development • Aims • Learning Outcomes • Are War and Conflict the Same Thing? • Case Study Part 1: Defining War & Conflict - The Nature of Conflicts in Africa • Case Study Part 2: Factors Shaping Conflict and Development in Africa - Modernisation, democratisation and colonisation - Economic - Militarisation - Ethnicity - Population - Volatile climate and environmentalism - Political Corruption • Case Study Part 3: The Cost of Conflict in Africa - Consequences of Conflicts - Human Security and Addressing Conflict and Development • Concluding Remarks
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Unit 5: An Introduction to Gender Awareness, Human Rights & Human Security • Aims • Learning Outcomes
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Unit 6: An Introduction to Sustainable Development and Climate Justice • Aims • Learning Outcomes
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Module 2
• An Introduction to Sustainable Development and Climate Justice Please note that a number of the links provided in this training manual are available in English only. Where possible, resources available in other languages have been identified as well.
Access International Development and Globalisation: Unit 1: Introduction to key themes and ideas that Key Themes and Ideas inform development practice Aims
Rationale for the Module Sustainable international development and globalisation are inextricably linked and encompass a wide range of complex, interrelated and competing issues to be examined. This module is designed as an introduction to many of these issues and has been developed to encourage students to think in an integrated fashion, to understand the complex linkages between humans in the minority and majority worlds (Global North and Global South) and the natural environment, and to develop an awareness of pressing development issues and the challenges faced by those seeking to work in international development contexts.
Aims
1. T o examine how we describe the places where international development happens and what development is. 2. T o examine how we measure international development at the macro level.
Learning Outcomes On completion of this week’s content you should be able to identify: 1. S ome of the ways in which we describe international development and what these descriptions say about our understanding of the world. 2. T he importance of how we measure international development and how this has changed over time.
The Roots of International Development
This module aims to develop students’ understanding of the complexity of international development and globalisation and the interrelationship between the minority and majority worlds. Through the structured assessment, students will be encouraged to be critical and reflective in their learning and to present their ideas and arguments in logical and coherent ways.
Content This module is designed to introduce you to some of the major actors and theories that currently drive the international development agenda. The module content will address the following: • What is international development? How do we describe it and measure it? • The Architecture of International Aid - financing, harmonisation, effectiveness and advocacy - key actors in the field. How do we understand the concepts of poverty, inequality and globalisation as they relate to international development theory and practice? What are some of the ethical dimensions of ‘doing development’? • The Political Economy of International Development and the Millennium Development Goals - what they are and what is likely to replace them after 2015? • Conflict and Development - tensions and relationships • An introduction to the Tools for Development • An Introduction to Gender Awareness, Human Rights and Human Security
It is virtually impossible to understand international development as it is described and done today, without first examining its roots in the colonial period of empires and the subsequent decolonisation process that began after WWII. Each country in the Global South has a rich historical narrative that tracks the evolution of its relationship with its former colonising country, be it in the Asia-Pacific, Latin America or Sub-Saharan Africa. The term that was commonly used for the Global South was the ‘Third World’. You will still find it referred to in the literature about development although it is less commonly used than it used to be. On the map in the link provided below you will be able to see the countries we are referring to when we talk about the Global South or the ‘Third World’. The map also lists other names that we use to describe more than two-thirds of the world’s countries.
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Map of the World outlining the Global North and Global South
War players.
This map shows us clearly those countries that are considered to be developed and those that are considered to be developing.
‘The Third World’ The term the ‘Third World’ was coined in the 1950s by French demographer and economic historian, Alfred Sauvy, in an article he wrote entitled: ‘One Planet, Three Worlds’. What he was describing was the geo-politics of the world at the time. This consisted of the “First World” made up of the Western capitalist states and led by the USA, the “Second World” which was made up of the communist block countries of Eastern Europe and led by the USSR and the Third World, which referred to the newly independent states (or those on the path to independence). These countries described as belonging to the “Third World” had the common experience of colonisation and subsequent decolonisation in the post World War 2 period with all the difficulties that this presented and which were more than anything else, bound together by the fact that they were non-aligned to either of the two major power blocs that existed in the world during the post WWII Cold War period. The non-aligned movement was formally expressed in the form of the 1955 Bandung Conference, which was expressly pan Afro-Asian in its conception and gathered together about 30 states of varying political, regional and ideological character. The establishment of this non-aligned movement was an attempt by newly independent states to carve out a niche for themselves in the world order of the time and thereby to determine their own collective destinies if you like – separate from those dictated by the constraints of the ideological struggle that was going on between the key Cold *Alfred Sauvy – article ‘One Planet, Three Worlds’
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So the term the ‘Third World’ is wedded to the Cold War context that existed up until the demise of the Soviet Union in the 1990s and the break up of the Eastern bloc. Many therefore argue that it is no longer a relevant or useful concept. The academic VS Naipaul describes the term (and I paraphrase) ‘as a bloodless universality that suppresses a wealth of diversity and voices that exist in the nations that it seeks to describe’ while others argue that the term is still useful because it is linked to decolonisation and the subsequent processes of neo-colonialism in the form of the uneven economic playing field that was created by historical legacies and still exists in the form of the international economic order which relegates developing countries to a peripheral or marginal place in that economic order. KEY POINTS • It was a political/ideological term, not an economic one • Constituted roughly 2/3 of the world’s countries at the time • Many “Third World” countries became members of the nonaligned movement after the 1955 Bandung Conference • The “Third World” was the site of ideological battle for influence between the First and Second Worlds in their competition for geo-political influence Thinking/Discussion Point: Think about other ways to describe the places where International Development happens. Note down which term you prefer to describe where international development happens and why.
How We Describe Development Be aware when you are using terminology about international development that: • There are many terms and that have different meanings to Page 4
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people • These meanings can and do shift over time too – just think about the term the “Third World” that went from being pervasive in the literature about development, to what now seems like quite an antiquated term • Naming and defining is an expressly political act that reveals perspective and bias – be aware of this in your readings and in the language you choose to use
emergencies and to alleviate associated human suffering.
Describing Development?
“Not everything that can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted.” Albert Einstein
It won’t surprise you that there is no single working definition of what international development is. There are a variety of interpretations and all of these are premised on ideas about how the world should be.
From GNP/GDP to HDI
Have a look at this list and think about what each of these terms used to describe the development process means to you and which of them you like the most: • Progress • Order out of messiness • Civilisation • Economic Growth • Raising living standards • Modernisation • Improving welfare • Poverty Reduction • Expanded Choices • Freedom • Human Security
By contrast, international development work consists of longer term programmes of work and engagement designed to bring about positive economic and social change in the contexts where all other conditions are ‘normalised’.
Measuring Development
Purely economic measures of development were used until the early 1990s at the international level to measure development outcomes across the world. GDP (gross domestic product) is a measure of wealth. The GDP of a country is defined as the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period of time. Another similar measure used was GNP (gross national product). It is GDP (Gross Domestic Product, the value of goods and services produced within a country) plus net income received by residents from non-resident sources. Thinking/Discussion Point: Why do you think GDP or GNP were used as the primary measurements of development for so long?
Thinking/Discussion Point: Note down your thoughts on the descriptors of development, which one/s you liked best and why.
Changing and Varied Meanings But... As stated previously, there is no overarching consensus on how we define or understand development. There are a few things to remember when examining ideas about development though: 1. D evelopment carries with it values and attitudes shaped by historical events and older meanings so there is a lineage of ideas to be explored in each case study context that you examine; 2. It carries its colonial origins; 3. Ultimately, it is premised on the notion that we know how to bring about positive social change in very diverse contexts and this is an assumption that needs to be questioned often when we look at the balance sheet of human development and consider the efforts made to ‘improve’ things around the world. While there is no consensus on a single internationally recognised definition of international development, there is broad agreement on the fact that there is a difference between international development and humanitarian assistance. Humanitarian assistance is designed to be a rapid response to the worst effects of either natural disasters or complex humanitarian
HDI - The Human Development Index In answering the previous question posed, the thinking behind basing judgments about development on solely economic grounds was that if there was enough money for development then other things that societies value, like health and education, would be able to be funded and so other development outcomes would inevitably follow. However, the chequered history of development in the latter half of the twentieth century, tells us that this is too simplistic an approach. The Human Development Index was created in the 1990s and it has literally revolutionised the way in which development is now measured globally. The HDI links the human lived experience and what we value most to measurements of development. An annual report of the HDI is produced every year by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It began in the early 1990s and uses statistical benchmarking based on composite indices.
HDI Indices In order to understand the approach of the Human Development Index as captured in the UNDP Annual Reports
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you need to understand that from its inception it focused on gathering data from every country in the world on the following things: • A long and healthy life – life expectancy at birth • Access to knowledge – literacy rates • A decent standard of living – GDP/capita (PPP US$) • PPP = purchase power parity to take account of the different cost of things in different countries • GDP/capita tells us how much there is to go around everyone
Unit 2: The Architecture of Aid Aims The aims for this week are: 1. To explore how aid operates, 2. To explore who the key actors are; 3. To examine what aid is trying to achieve.
Learning Outcomes
Development in the HDI Over the past twenty years, the Human Development Index has become more sophisticated in the data it seeks to gather. It started with the basics - life expectancy, literacy and GDP/ capita - but has since moved on to gather and publish data on the following: • There is now a Gender Development Index (GDI) that examines the development differential between men and women in each country The Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) looks at political participation and decision-making; economic participation and decision-making and power over economic resources. • The HPI-I is the Human Poverty Index for developing countries. The HPI-II is the Human Poverty Index for selected OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries which recognises that countries may be well off but this does not mean that poverty doesn’t exist within them. • The latest innovation is the relatively new Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), first published in 2010, which drills rights down to the household level to gather data about poverty in countries. The MPI has replaced the Human Poverty Index in the current Human Development Reports.
HDI - UNDP Human Development Reports Please see this link for more information about the Human Development Index and for access to the latest Human Development Reports. http://hdr.undp.org/en/nhdr/ These reports are available in a number of languages so look on the website for the report you are interested in and follow the link at the bottom of the page to your preferred language of delivery: http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/
Concluding Remarks We have explored how we describe and measure development at the macro level. Next week we will move on to look at how we do development by examining the architecture of international aid.
On successful completion of this week you should: 1. B e capable of identifying the key institutions and organisations involved in financing international development; 2. Understand the intended use for development aid finance; 3. Be aware of the challenges facing the current aid architecture; 4. Understand how aid financing relates poverty and inequality. The architecture of international aid refers to the structures and institutions that exist for supplying development assistance (or raising the finances needed). Whether or not this architecture is ‘fit for purpose’ – has become a growing concern for aid donors and is now a hotly debated issue within international development. The Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness (http://www.oecd.org/development/ aideffectiveness/34428351.pdf) was issued at the Paris High Level Forum in 2005 with a commitment to continuing and increasing efforts in harmonization, alignment, managing for results, and mutual accountability. It listed a set of actions and indicators that can monitored to accelerate progress in these areas because it was believed they would increase the impact aid has in reducing poverty and inequality, increasing growth, building capacity and accelerating achievement of the MDGs. By 2011 only 1 of the 12 indicators set in 2005 had been met and the Buscan High Level meeting in December 2011, concluded the principles are too process oriented, technical and not focused on poverty reduction (http://www. cfr.org/south-korea/busan-high-level-forum-dead-aid-betterdevelopment/p26790) and new institutions need to be put in place. In light of this, we turn this week to where the money comes from, who it goes to and why, how it gets from one to the other and whether it is achieving what it is meant to achieve.
Official Development Assistance Development aid is now a catch phrase for many types of aid. Common terms are: international aid, foreign aid, overseas aid and development assistance. This is financial aid given by governments or agencies to developing countries to support the economic, environmental, social and political development of developing countries. Historically development aid has focused on addressing poverty (unlike humanitarian aid which addresses the immediate needs of people following a crisis, by providing food, water, sanitation, shelter and healthcare to those affected). In this unit we are referring primarily to Official Development
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Assistance (ODA) which is the transfer of public funds either directly from one government to another (bi-lateral aid), or given by one country to a multilateral agency such as the United Nations agencies and World Bank, which then distributes it through a recipient country (multi-lateral aid) or through Nongovernmental Organisations, for the purpose of stabilising a country’s growth over the long run. ODA is given to developing countries and is focused on addressing poverty. Assistance for more advanced countries and territories in transition, including many former Soviet republics, is called official aid and not counted as ODA.
development agencies and their efforts to advocate for more aid are counted as ‘aid’, as is concession flows on ‘debt forgiveness’ which is really a flow from one branch of government in a rich country to the same country’s Treasury. Some commentators argue that ‘real aid’ is calculated by subtracting items such as debt cancellation and the costs related to developing country refugees and students arriving in donor countries from reported ODA .
Thinking/Discussion Point: Think about the types of ways the governments and agencies of the Global North might ‘help’ the global south reduce poverty and support economic growth. Given the above definition of ODA, what categories of assistance do you think might be included/excluded as ODA? Aid covers a complicated set of transfers, not all of which go directly to poor countries. For example, the admin overheads of
By these estimates 13% of aid in 2008 came from nonDevelopment Assistance Committee (DAC) official donors, 23.6% from NGOs and only 63.4% was ‘real’ DAC assistance (80:20, Development in An Unequal World, 6th Edition, 2011). The DAC is a group of countries within the OECD who are committed to providing ODA to improve development outcomes. For more information see: http://www.oecd.org/dac/
Look at these facts about aid in the mid-2000s Countries ranked by the amount of ODA received in 2006 ($ million) excluding debt relief. (Source: OECD)
Countries ranked according to ODA received as a percentage of gross domestic product. (Source: UNDP figures for 2005)
Countries ranked according to the amount of ODA given. Amount ($ million) Proportion of gross national income (%). The United Nations has long set a target of 0.7 percent of gross national income for aid. (Source: OECD, 2006)
Biggest Receivers of ODA
Most Dependent on ODA
The Biggest Givers of ODA
1. Iraq 5,143 2. Afghanistan 2,405 3. Sudan 1,518 4. Vietnam 1,289 5. China 1,174 6. Pakistan 1,140 7. Ethiopia 996 8. Tanzania 988 9. Uganda 934 10. Colombia 917
1. Solomon Islands 66.5 2. East Timor 52.9 3. Burundi 45.6 4. Sao Tome 45.2 5. Eritrea 36.6 6. Sierra Leone 28.8 7. Congo Republic 28.5 8. Malawi 27.8 9. Palestinian Territories 27.4 10. Rwanda 26.7
1. United States 21,753 0.16 2. Germany 12,267 0.37 3. France 9,940 0.39 4. Britain 9,921 0.36 5. Japan 7,691 0.17 6. Netherlands 6,215 0.81 7. Spain 5,744 0.41 8. Sweden 4,334 0.93 9. Italy 3,929 0.19 10. Canada 3,922 0.28
Poverty and Inequality The Development Assistance Committee (DAC) is a key policy forum where the major bilateral donors work together to foster effective, co-ordinated and adequately financed support for sustainable development and poverty reduction. At the DAC’s annual High Level Meeting ministers and senior aid officials discuss leading issues and endorse policy guidance that has been developed by members. In coming weeks we will look more closely at sustainable development and poverty reduction. DAC members have reached a common consensus that views poverty as: ‘Poverty encompasses different dimensions of deprivation *80:20 Development in an Unequal World 6th Edition, 2011
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that relate to human capabilities including consumption and food security, health, education, rights, voice, security, dignity and decent work. Poverty must be reduced in the context of environmental sustainability. Reducing gender inequality is key to all dimensions of poverty.’ (http://www.oecd.org/dac/ povertyreduction/1849018.pdf: page 4) They also share a broad understanding that, ‘Reducing poverty calls for rapid and sustainable pro-poor growth. This requires good governance, prudent macroeconomic management, competitive markets and a vibrant private sector, efficient institutions and sustainable use of natural resources. Making growth pro-poor requires equitable participation by poor men and women in generating and benefiting from growth. It also requires reforms to reduce inequalities regarding human capabilities and access to assets and productive resources
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Who are the main players now?
such as land, training and credit.’ (http://www.oecd.org/dac/ povertyreduction/1849018.pdf: page 4) When the Millennium Development Goals were adopted at the beginning of the Millennium, DAC members accepted them as the set of quantitative and qualitative goals for monitoring progress towards the ‘ultimate objective’ of poverty eradication. This meant ODA was also being directed towards addressing poverty and inequality and the long standing aim of donating 0.7% of Gross National Income to development aid. Yet only 5 countries have reached or exceeded this UN target.
The Architecture of Aid Flows Look at the diagrams below, they indicate what the aid architecture looked like in 2007. This is a very different picture to what would have been representative in say, 1970 or 1980.
Bi-lateral donors. Member States of the United Nations that provide development assistance directly to recipient countries. In 2012 there are 24 members of DAC -Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, European Union, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, new Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, and USA. Some of these are more recent members and there are also significant non-DAC bi-laterals such as China, Brazil, Turkey, and Thailand who now donate substantial sums of ODA but are not well represented on policy forums. The ‘major’ donors – members of the G8 and G20 along with the UN system, the OECD, the IMF and World bank, set international aid policy. Multilateral agencies & Global Partnerships: There are more than 200 multilateral agencies including the United Nations, the World Bank and the Global Funds. This latter type of funding channel has proliferated in recent years to plug specific gaps in the international system or to mobilize finance for a specific issue. For example, there are over 100 global partnerships in health alone. Private Aid Organisations (primarily NGOs but also Foundations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates organisation, religious organisations and voluntary organisations): The number of NGOs is difficult to state with any accuracy but there are estimated to be between 6,000 & 33,000 NGOs in the Global South.
Source: Kharas, H (2007) Trends and Issues in Development Aid, Wolfensohn Centre for Development, Working Paper 1, November 2007
It is also worth noting that national advocacy campaigns such as the UK’s Jubilee 2000 have successfully advocated for debt reduction for the developing countries. How much is ‘donated’ in ODA and other development aid? You can view development aid flows visually here: http://www. aidflows.org/ and examine 2007 aid givers and receivers from another perspective using this interactive guide, here: http:// www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/datablog/2010/ sep/15/aid-spending-received-statistics Thinking/Discussion Point: Do statistics showing more aid or less poverty really tell us aid is working and that we have more ‘development’?
What is Aid Effectiveness?
Source: Kharas, H (2007) Trends and Issues in Development Aid, Wolfensohn Centre for Development, Working Paper 1, November 2007 Thinking/Discussion point: Compare the two diagrams of the Architecture of Aid Flows and compare the key players and the key givers and receivers, suppliers and deliverers in each. Who are they and what has really changed?
In the words of the 4th High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, ‘Aid effectiveness is about ensuring maximum impact of development aid to improve lives, cut poverty and help achieve the Millennium Development Goals’ (http://www. aideffectiveness.org/busanhlf4/en/topics/aid-effectiveness. html) The Global North struggled with financial crisis emerging from the mid-2000s, commitments to deliver ODA (of $130 billion by 2010) looked less and less likely. Debt relief of the early 2000s had inflated aid donation figures (writing off debt but making
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no cash transfers and counting it in the aid finance figures) but all indications were (and are) that ODA will slip. One answer has been to better manage aid or make aid more effective – a more ‘bang for the buck’ kind of thinking. This took shape at policy level through the 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. The rationale was that for development assistance to have the maximum impact it should be transparent, predictable and delivered in partnership with recipient countries. In effect donors, receiving countries and the agencies and organisations delivering signed up for the following key principles with agreement they monitor their progress in improving the quality of aid provided against specific indicators, most of which had targets to 2010: • Ownership: developing countries set their own priorities for development, strengthen their institutions and lead in coordinating aid. • Alignment: donors line up their aid behind developing country priorities and make better use of a country’s plans, policies and systems. • Harmonisation: donors coordinate to avoid duplication, simplify procedures and agree a better division of labour with partner countries. • Managing for results: developing countries and donors keep their focus on producing - and measuring - results. • Mutual accountability: donors and developing countries are held accountable for the results they achieve to each other, and to their parliaments and public
The Paris Declaration and VFM In practice what happened with this policy, as a major ministerial conference in Ghana in 2005 heard, was that in a survey of 54 developing countries accounting for about half of all aid receipts, less than 25 percent of aid recipient countries had actionable development strategies. Less than 10 percent had sound frameworks to monitor results. Less than half of aid was being reported in recipient country budgets. At the same time, donors insisted on using their own fiduciary systems - even where recipient country had good quality systems. Amazingly, donors now felt the need to undertaken ever more field missions to the 54 recipient countries – between 2005 and 2008, 14,000 missions at a substantial cost; and for example, they fielded over 1,000 missions to Vietnam in a single year or 3 per day.(Kharas & Linn, 2008). With the Paris Declaration, the concept of Value for Money (VFM), prevalent in UK and EU public sectors, moved on to the development agenda. Unfortunately, in its application it has caused untold tension between donors and development practitioners in particular. In May 2012, the confusion and tension was enough to cause the OECD to issue a 4 page document explaining VFM in development. Accessed at http:// www.oecd.org/dac/aideffectiveness/49652541.pdf The Paris Declaration excludes more than half of all aid that actually reaches countries—the private foundations, NGOs
and humanitarian groups who give almost $60 billion to the poorest countries and non-DAC official donors like China, India and some of the oil-rich countries. Development practitioners in NGOs, foundations and other private donors, however, have not been immune from the policies, approaches and tools prevalent among the major donors of the DAC. The pursuit of accountability, transparency, and better quality development programmes among the larger international NGOs and those implementing on behalf of bi-lateral and multi-lateral donors have been integrated into tools of Program Cycle Management (http://www.bond.org.uk/pages/value-for-money.html) – and an increasing burden for their partners and beneficiaries. Tools for Development will look more closely at Program Cycle Management. Thinking/Discussion Point: “Above all else development is a question of values, human attitudes and preferences, selfdefined goals, and criteria for determining what are tolerable costs to be borne in the course of change. These are far more important than optimal resource allocations, upgraded skills, or the rationalization of administrative procedures” (Goulet, 1996) What do you think the ethical considerations are for development in making ‘effectiveness’ a key criteria for ODA? You might think about this in terms of duties, justice, rights, universality/human family or religion.
Concluding Remarks The ODI Briefing Paper ahead of the 4th High Level Forum which met to discuss progress on the implementation of the 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness (accessed here: http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/docs/7299.pdf) notes important changes in the global landscape and different perspectives on development since the 2005 Paris Declaration was signed. These are identified as; shifts in global wealth and influence, changed development needs, links between aid volume and aid quality, non-DAC flows and non-aid finance as well as post-crisis aid policies in traditional donor countries. In their analysis (and that of others) the developing countries have lived up to their side of the Paris Declaration than has the aid donors of the Global North. By its own monitoring system, sufficient progress on better managing aid to ensure better quality development has not been met and the Aid Effectiveness agenda has lost political potency and visibility. What seems to have actually happened at Buscan is that traditional donors, especially the European Commission, favoured bolstering the Paris Principles whereas emerging donors such as China, Brazil, Russia, and India contended that traditional donor standards should not apply to them. They wanted existing international agreements regulating north-south cooperation dealt with separately from those that govern south-south co-operation. The Global South also pushed for the untying of all aid by 2013 and making their country systems (e.g., public finance management and local procurement) the default option for aid implementation. Civil society groups insisted that the Rights Based Approach should be included in any principles coming out of the meeting. South Korea, the host nation, sought advocated a
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new global consensus around ‘development effectiveness’ rather than ‘aid effectiveness’ which would encompass effective institutions, gender equality and empowerment for development results, the active involvement of emerging donors and the private sector in development cooperation, and a monitoring framework set with UN collaboration.. The final outcome document (the BOD), while failing to deliver a binding agreement seems to have shifted the discourse on aid effectiveness towards a new development cooperation framework that includes the newer bi-lateral donors and private actors (http://www.cfr.org/south-korea/busan-highlevel-forum-dead-aid-better-development/p26790) Thinking/Discussion points: Should international aid policy be set by one organisation/agency, and if so which one and why? If you were setting up a system to measure the impact of development aid, what would you insist should be included/ excluded?
Unit 3 The International Political Economy of Development and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
Declaration (2000) at the beginning of this century. These eight goals, each with a specific set of targets to achieve them, have the overarching aim of halving world poverty by 2015. Thrashed out by the UN, the OECD’s DAC (the subject of last week’s lecture), the World Bank and IMF, the commentator Hulme (2009) calls the MDGs the ‘world’s biggest promise’ and describes them as ultimately a result of the ‘chaos of accidents and purposes’ (Hulme 2009:1). In December 2010, the UN held a World Summit on the MDGs to look at progress towards the 2015 targets. Although some progress had been made, most of the targets are unlikely to be met. As Oxfam put it at the time, ‘progress is slow and many hard won achievements have been undone after the global food, fuel and economic crisis’ and unless rescued, ‘we are likely to face the greatest collective failure of history’ (Oxfam, 2010). Attempts to ‘kick off accelerated progress’ towards the MDGs at the 2010 World Summit have, by many accounts, failed and it is highly likely 2015 will not see the halving of poverty and/ or hunger. With this legacy behind us, debates on what comes after the MDGs is well underway, providing a great opportunity to review the application of a significant international development related policy and speculate on what new policy might emerge in the near future. We will do this through the use of short films and proposing questions to encourage you to think and reflect on the global issue of poverty, from a political economy perspective.
The Political Economy of Development
Aims The aims for this week are: 1. T o think about (and address) poverty using a multidimensional and inter-disciplinary lens 2. To gain knowledge about the MDGs – what they are, how they have progressed, possible causes for successes and failure 3. T o explore what, if anything is likely to replace the MDGs after 2015
Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this week you should: 1. B e able to understand analyses of international development, in particular poverty, from a political economy perspective 2. B e familiar with the 8 MDGs and understand the targets and indicators underlying them 3. B e aware of the reasons for success/failure to reach the MDG targets 4. H ave formed a view as to what should replace them post 2015 In this unit we focus on the interconnectedness between economic development and social and political issues such as democratisation, governance, poverty, human rights, gender, armed conflict and the environment. These interconnections can be seen in the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that followed the UN Millennium Summit and
At its most simple, political economy is the dynamic interaction of states and markets. International Political Economy sometimes known as Global Political Economy, is a relatively new academic sub-discipline within the social sciences. In this view, the political and economic are not seen as discrete domains, but as part of an interactive whole. It explores the production, reproduction and distribution of power and wealth within the contemporary world order. In recent years, a ‘new’ political economy is emerging that seeks to go beyond a concern with economic interdependence and tries to address also domestic, comparative and global political economy, space, resources and the environment, justice, inequality and development as well as global markets, institutions and regulations. Task: Watch this Ted Talk http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_ rosling_reveals_new_insights_on_poverty.html Pay attention to what Hans Gosling is saying in terms of the GOALS and the MEANS of ‘getting out of poverty’. Try to complete the table below, the first example has been done for you, find at least 2 others in each category.
*Hulme 2009, **Oxfam 2010
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GOALS
MEANS
HUMAN RIGHTS
GOOD GOVERNANCE
Thinking/Discussion Point: Gosling refers to factors that address poverty, in terms of a theoretical approach, would you say his approach could/could not be viewed as a political economy approach
Thinking/Discussion Point: If you were tackling poverty, which goals would you prioritise and why? Are there goals you would not focus on or goals you would replace, if so, with what and why?
The Millennium Development Goals
Getting the MDGs On Track?
A broad range of organisations at global, regional, national and local level assist in delivering the MDGs. As well as the UN agencies, regional and government organizations such as, the Millennium Promise Alliance, Inc., the Global Poverty Project, the Micah Challenge, The Youth in Action EU Programme “Cartoons in Action” video project and the 8 Visions of Hope global art project. Most of the large NGOs and many civil society organisations also support and work towards achieving the MDGs, even if they do not always agree with the means and methods.
Already by 2004, failure to achieve the targets was evident. At this point, with the UK as hosts of the G8 summit and Presidency in 2005, and the world failing to meet the MDG targets, UK NGOs and other civil society groups and organisations launched the now international anti-poverty campaign, Make Poverty History. Aimed at raising awareness of the MDGs and holding government to account in achieving them, a key focus of the campaign has been making trade fairer, cancelling developing country debt, more and better aid, including for governments of the Global North to keep their commitment to allocate 0.7% of Gross Domestic Product to aid. Check out the Make Poverty History Campaign here: http:// www.makepovertyhistory.org/takeaction/ In 2010 the UN aware of the failures and setbacks in achieving the MDGs, produced a Global Action Plan – Keeping the Promise: United to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals, aimed at kick-starting a process of acceleration towards the MDGs, it was essentially a list of priorities, informed by the many MDG reports. The focus of the plan was on ‘green’ jobs, successful trade negotiations, financial services as well as smallholder farming, food and nutrition security, women’s health and empowerment and rejuvenating MDG 8 the Global Partnership. Importantly, a series of new aid commitments were made, including US$40 billion for a Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health. The US declared it would continue to focus on economic growth and tackling corruption. At the UN 2012 Summit on Sustainable Development (Rio +20 or the Earth Summit), the UN could show only that 3 of the 21 targets (on poverty, slums and water ) have been achieved ahead of the 2015 deadline. Note these are not the Goals themselves each of which contains a number of targets). Follow progress against the chart here: http://www.un.org/ millenniumgoals/pdf/2012_Progress_E.pdf
Source: UNDP
While there are a number of areas where progress has been made, the chart also indicates a number of targets against which either no progress has been made and/or the situation has deteriorated since 1990 (the baseline against which progress is measured). There are other targets (despite the
To find out about the Millennium Development Goals (8 Goals, 21 Targets and 60+ indicators), what they are and how much progress has been made, have a look at the UN’s MDG site (http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/bkgd.shtml) . Look at each of the 8 goals in detail, identify the targets and the indicators check out what the different UN agencies are doing to address the causes of poverty and inequality and meet the targets. Explore the indicators of achievement – there are more than 60 of them!
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60+ indicators) where the UN does not have either any or sufficient data to arrive at a conclusion regarding progress. Thinking/Discussion Point: Read the MDG 2012 Report (link above) and pay particular attention to progress and achievements at global, regional and at national level – are there differences? If so, what are they?
Key debates around the MDGs The MDGs have generated much debate from ideological, theoretical and practical perspectives. A great many reports, using different approaches, have described the value and successes and/or failures of the MDGs. In a detailed cross-sectoral analysis, The Lancet Commission (2010) concluded that the positive contribution of the MDGs has been to: - encourage global political consensus - provide a focus for advocacy - improve the targeting and flow of aid, and - improve the monitoring of development projects. On the other hand, they also noted some shortcomings, - the parsimony of the MDGs, although probably facilitating their acceptance and use, makes them at the same time limited in scope; - their quantitative targets and precise indicators, for all their value in providing measurable outcomes, often fail to capture some crucial elements of goal achievement. Other positives include, they recognise the multi-dimensional nature of poverty, non-specialists can understand them and the period for showing results is neither too short to be credible nor too long to exert pressure. The list of criticisms from civil society and academics is longer and includes; they are too ‘one-size-fits-all’, unrealistically ambitious for many countries, pay too little attention to inequality or empowerment of the poor, they are anti-growth, many parameters are poorly specified and they make development a problem of/for the Global South rather than link it to consumption patterns in the Global North, while at the same time Goal 8, the only goal with an impact beyond the Global South lacks deadlines and so lets the donors ‘off the hook’ (Manning, 2010)
What Has or Hasn’t Been Achieved? Progress towards reaching the MDGs has been uneven. Some countries have achieved many of the goals, while others, in particular Sub-Saharan Africa, are not on track to realize any (Hulme, 2009, ODI 2010, Oxfam, 2010, Easterly, 2007). The MDG Report 2012 states: ‘The target of reducing extreme poverty by half has been reached five years ahead of the 2015 deadline, as has the target of halving the proportion of people who lack dependable access to improved sources of drinking water. Conditions for more than 200 million people living in slums have been ameliorated—double the 2020 target. Primary school enrolment of girls equalled that of boys, and we have seen
accelerating progress in reducing child and maternal mortality’ […] Projections indicate that in 2015 more than 600 million people worldwide will still be using unimproved water sources, almost one billion will be living on an income of less than $1.25 per day, mothers will continue to die needlessly in childbirth, and children will suffer and die from preventable diseases. Hunger remains a global challenge, and ensuring that all children are able to complete primary education remains a fundamental, but unfulfilled, target that has an impact on all the other Goals. Lack of safe sanitation is hampering progress in health and nutrition, biodiversity loss continues apace, and greenhouse gas emissions continue to pose a major threat to people and ecosystems. The goal of gender equality also remains unfulfilled, again with broad negative consequences, given that achieving the MDGs depends so much on women’s empowerment and equal access by women to education, work, health care and decision-making. We must also recognize the unevenness of progress within countries and regions, and the severe inequalities that exist among populations, especially between rural and urban areas.’ (UN 2012: foreword). Task: Watch this TedTalk by Paul Collier author of the much talked about ‘bottom billion’ – those it is claimed have not benefited from the MDGs. http://www.ted.com/talks/paul_ collier_shares_4_ways_to_help_the_bottom_billion.html What do you think of Collier’s solutions? Do they differ from the strategies behind the MDGs?
Post-2015 - More of the Same? “As 2015 ticks ever closer, international bureaucrats (and I use that term affectionately since I have been one) are deciding how to cook up the next round of goals. We can be assured that there will be another round of MDG-like goals sometime fairly soon because this has been the consistent pattern for much of the last century” (Source: http://www.globalpolicyjournal.com/articles/ development-inequality-and-poverty/what-next-millenniumdevelopment-goals) It is too early to say with certainty what will happen post-2015. The UN has already started preparing for the post-2015 agenda with member states, civil society and academia all engaged or being engaged in this process which you can read about here: http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/beyond2015.shtml You can follow an interactive timeline here: http://www.dipity. com/unitednations/Beyond-2015/. Many voices academic, civil society and media voices have been adding to the debates on the post-2015 agenda, you can follow some of those here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/globaldevelopment/future-of-development
*re Progress on MDGs (Hulme 2009, ODI 2010, Oxfam 2010, Easterly 2009) UN 2012 Foreward) **Koehler et al 2012
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Initial suggestions focus on keeping the existing MDGs but extending them beyond 2012 or modifying them with additions and/or adaptations to incorporate measures of economic and social inequality and inequities, human rights, climate change and green growth indicators, and measures of conflict, population dynamics (population growth and ageing) and global public goods or even changing the notion of poverty as an incomebased measure. Yet others in favour of the MDG approach call for consolidation of the goals thus reducing the number of goals, targets and number of indicators (Koehler, et al, 2012). Around Rio +20 (which was the subject of last week’s lecture), the idea of replacing the MDGs with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was being muted. These would reflect all three pillars of ‘sustainable development’ – economic, social and environmental. However, SDGs are being proposed lack adequate reference to the political, human rights dimensions of development and could become a ‘greenwash’ – talking environment but fundamentally changing nothing about an economic order that is environmentally destructive(Koehler, et al, 2012).. While Kohler et al (2012) suggest a more radical approach grounded in the human security paradigm is what is called for. Thinking/Discussion Point: Read this recent article http:// www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-09-16/what-theworld-wants-from-un-goals Do you agree or disagree and why? Based on the possibilities of keeping the current MDGs with more or less of them and with some or no adaptations, or making a more radical shift, what would you prefer and why?
Concluding Remarks Clearly, while the MDGs have provided a rallying point for many actors in the field of international development, they have delivered both successes and failures. The focus now must be on what replaces them and of course much of this will depend on whose analysis of the MDGs is heard and accepted.
Week 4 Conflict and Development Aims The aims for this week are: 1. T o examine the way in which the relationship between conflict and development have been understood, especially from the liberal peace perspective. 2. T o examine how this understanding impacts on policy and practice in international development. 3. To introduce the concept of human security
Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this week you should: 1. u nderstand what the notion of human security is about and
how it relates to development 2. u nderstand the way in which international governance has addressed human insecurity through development assistance and vice versa 3. b e aware of the human cost of contemporary conflict in countries of the Global South In this unit, we turn to the relationship between conflict and development. The notion of human security which has gained ground since the 1990s, makes the rights, concerns and needs of individuals, rather than states, the object of security. People need security from fear (from threat of force) but also from want (created by poverty, disease, disaster, conflict) – two of the essential freedoms to be protected and upheld by the international community through the United Nations. Therefore, human security and human development are often referred to as twin concepts. At the same time, both the nature and geography of war have changed, especially in the post Cold War period. Security risks have shifted to the Global South, Sub-Saharan Africa in particular, and most casualties are civilians and overwhelmingly women and children. While human security can be seen as a necessary condition for development, it is not a sufficient condition and indeed, underdevelopment or a failure to address its root causes can be a source as well as a consequence of conflict. Human development is then an important means to create human security. It is this complex relationship, and the nexus between conflict and development which has converged especially in the post 9/11 period as poverty and inequality are considered to be national, regional and global security threats, and the implications it poses for international development policy and strategies that will be explored this week.
Are War and Conflict the Same Thing? Thinking/DIscussion Point: Ask yourself the following questions? What is conflict? Is it the same as war? Is conflict always violent, is war? Can we measure the causes and consequences of war? Although often used interchangeably, war and conflict do not have the same meaning. Classification and definition of both war and conflict are fraught with difficulties related to, among other things, the availability and reliability of data. Conflict is generally understood to mean tension between opposing views, interests or wills but it need not be violent and violence need not always be physical. War is treated as a special category of conflict and is always violent but the data used to analyse the links between war and development have limitations and are controversial (Suhrke and Chaudhary, 2009, Williams, 1994 in Desai and Potter, 2002, Human Security Report, 2005). While ‘tens of thousands’ of government officials collect data on the economy, health, the environment, education and so on and send it on to international agencies for collation and analysis, the same is not true of data related to war (Suhrke & Chaudhary, 2009, Human Security Report 2005). It is
*Suhrke & Chaudhary 2009, Human See report 2005)
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important to note this because these data help governments and international organisations formulate policy at national, global and regional levels. “It would be inconceivable for the World Bank to make broad policy recommendations that were not backed by official cross-national trend data. Yet the UN, the international organisation charged with protecting and enhancing global security, has no comparable data on armed conflict to help it formulate and evaluate its security policies.” (Human Security Report 2005:18) This is also important because it affects categorisations and definitions of war and conflict. Most recent work and the reference point for this module in regard to war and conflict statistics is that of the Uppasala University Conflict Data Program and the International Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO). Together their work provides the data for the Human Security Report. The preference here is to present only Uppasala/PRIO based data related to war.
Thinking/Discussion Point: Try to identify WHERE the various categories of conflict are in the world.
Case Study Part 1: Defining War and Conflict The Human Security Report identifies 4 types of state-based conflict: (according to intensity and number of battle-related deaths): Interstate – between states intrastate (civil) – within states extrastate,- a conflict between a state and a non-state group outside of the state’s own territory. Internationalized internal conflict - essentially an intrastate conflict in which the government, the opposition, or both, receive military support from another government or governments, and where the foreign troops actively participate in the conflict. However, in many places conflict between non-state actors, for example local war lords, is the cause of great human suffering yet such conflict is not included in the Uppasala/PRIO data sets and rarely measured at all. The Human Security Centre measured such conflict for 2002 and 2003 and there were actually more non-state conflicts in both 2002 and 2003 than state based conflicts—though the non-state conflicts involved considerably fewer fatalities (Human Security Report 2005:21). Also note the Uppasala/PRIO dataset has not included genocide and massacres, ‘one-sided violence’ but does for the years 2002 and 2003. Let us turn now to look at the statistics related to armed conflict. All graphics and tables that follow are sourced from the Human Security Report 2009/2010
*Human Security Report 2005:18, Uppasala University Conflict Data Program and The International Peace Research Institute, Oslo
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Case Study Part 1 Based on Ikejiaku, B.V. (2009))The Relationship between Poverty, Conflict and Development’, Journal of Sustainable Development, Vol 2, No. 1, March 2009 The last set of graphs shows Sub-Saharan Africa has been one of the most conflict-prone regions since 1946 and continues to be one of the most conflict-prone regions today. This region is also the only region that is unlikely to meet most of the Millennium Development Goals – the goals set by the international community to reduce poverty and inequality by 2015.
The Nature of Conflicts in Africa Africa has been experiencing a plethora of conflicts endangering the continent’s international order and development over the last three decades, particularly in the 1990s. Africa could be said to have witnessed four major types of conflicts, these include secessions, civil wars, regional conflicts, and internal crises. Secession Biafra’s dogged efforts to secede from Nigeria (1967), the notorious Katanga rebellion in Congo (now DRC 1970s), are notable examples. Usually, the seceding entities pursue autonomy, instead of formal or total independence. Another form of conflict is civil wars (wars between government state army and the armed forces of a rebel government); these usually start as minor internal crises, but develop to fully fledged war, which are fought with conventional weapons. Although, it is extremely difficult to draw a line between civil war and regional or international wars, many civil wars have been connected with regional or inter-state conflicts. Countries in Africa, particularly those in the Horn of Africa, and for example Democratic Republic of Congo (1998-03), Somalia (1998), Sudan (since 2003), Angola (1975-02), Rwanda (1990-94), Kenya (1991/92, 1997), Ethiopia and Eritrea (1998-2000) and others have all involved in civil wars (Wayande, 1997)). Regional conflict in the continent has been classified as being
‘irredentist’ (Ruiz, 1997: 1) in character. Conflict is termed as being irredentist when one country harbours some territorial ambitions over another country. Good examples of this form of conflict in Africa include the Somali claim on the Ogaden region of Ethiopia (in early 1970s), and Libya’s strive to annex part of northern Chad (early 1980s). The case of Tanzania and Uganda (1979) is a similar conflict, since Tanzania (under President Julius Nyerere) projected its forces over Uganda, in a bid to oust the Ugandan leader (President Idi Amin). Also the combined efforts by some African countries in overthrowing the Mobutu Sese Seko’s government in Zaire (1997) are yet other regional conflicts (Wayande, 1997). Internal crises here mean disturbances of any kind which affect the state of peace and security, these among others include rampages, riots, and violent demonstrations. The Soweto riots in apartheid South Africa in 1976, Fanatical cult killings in March 2000 associated to the movement for the restoration of the ten commandments of God, also the Bryanda riots of 1994 (in Uganda), and series of students’ riots in Nigeria between 1999 and 2006 are germane.
Case Study Part 2: Factors shaping conflict and development in Africa Modernisation, democratisation and colonisation Scholars have emerged with different theoretical explanations for the causes of conflict in Africa. In the face of present crises in Africa, the flaws underlying both modernisation and democratisation theories and the theory of colonialism are
*Wayande 1997 , Ruiz 1997:1
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being exposed. The long held notion that modernity would result in smooth transition from authoritarian system to democratic system, with gradual elimination of conflict has failed woefully in Africa (Irobi, 2005: 2). Again, the view that the end of colonialism (1960 onwards) – the theory that the end of social, political and economic control of the developing countries by the advanced capitalist nations, particularly the colonialists (Abbah, 1996: 6), would lead to peaceful African states did not stand, as Africa has been besieged with plethora of conflicts since the end of Colonialism.
Economic The proponents of economic theory contend that the propensity to indulge in violent conflict is higher for low income or less educated people (Ehrlick, 1973: 521-26). A corollary of this position is that poor economic conditions and low quality of life could serve as a breeding ground for conflict. However, for the fact that poor economic conditions might result from different problems bedevilling Africa, economic factors could not fully explain conflicts in Africa. For example, Glaeser (2002) argues against economic factors noting that political leaders often encourage individuals and groups to engage in violence conflict in order to promote and project their parochial and egocentric interests.
Militarisation Militarisation has also been employed to explain the cause of conflict in Africa. The exponents of this theory argue that violent conflict in Africa could be understood in the series of military weapons that have been employed in devastating and disintegrating many developing countries, particularly in Africa. Mohammed (1999: 1) for example argues that the intensity and frequency of civil wars in developing countries have increased unabated throughout the 1990s. However, Omitoogun (2004: 3) argues that in associating militarization and conflict, caution needs to be taken because rather than the proliferation of arms in the society, it is the welfare-reducing effects of militarisation that causes violence. Besides, when it is appreciated that developed countries with more sophisticated arms than Africa are not in conflict like the later, militarisation as an explanation becomes weak.
Ethnicity Ethnicity is another crucial explanatory tool to the continent’s plethora of conflicts. Theorists believe that ethnicity underlies virtually all conflicts in Africa, since ethnic groups in their bid to compete for scarce resources such as property rights, jobs, education, and social amenities engage in violence. In his study Nnoli (1980) employed empirical evidence associating conflict to ethnic problems. However, Elbadawi and Sambanis (2000: 1) questioned the ethno-cultural and linguistic explanation for conflict in the continent, rather linking Africa’s conflicts to other factors – poverty, absence of democratisation and over dependence on natural resources.
Collier (1997) argues that Africa is not inherently prone to war as a result of ethnic disparities, but the continent’s experiences of many wars, is fundamentally because it is poor and poverty is both the cause and consequence of Africa’s wars.
Population Population is another important factor to African conflicts. It is argued that there has been tremendous increase in the population of developing countries, which has superseded economic growth. According to the RCA (2005: 112), between 1980 and 2002, the population of Sub-Saharan Africa has grown from 383 to 689 million people, which is an increase of 80 percent. In contrast, in much of Africa, very little economic growth has occurred over the past fifty years. For example, no other region of the world more urgently needs economic growth. However, instead of the desperately needed economic growth, Sub-Saharan Africa as a region has seen a decline in per capita GDP from $575 in 1980 to $524 in 2003 (World Bank, 2005, in Schaefer 2005)..Some countries are even poorer today than they were thirty years ago. Sub-Sahara Africa has had the lowest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for decades (Marke, 2007: 1). Supporters of this explanatory tool therefore argue that high population growth has made things difficult in developing countries, as people have to scramble for available resources, which results to conflicts. However, countries like India, China and others have larger populations than most African countries, but they are not in violent conflicts like Africa.
Volatile climate and environmentalism The argument that African conflict is as a result of volatile climate and elementary forces (such as drought and famine) in its environment that have affected growth, has been challenged by scholars. Sen (1999: 61-63) for example argues that famine, drought and related disaster are not allowed to occur in democratic polities because people have established mechanism to compel governments to address their needs and pressing problems. Also, Wisner (1988) argues that drought and other environmental problems cannot directly explain the 1986 disaster that hit 13 African countries since ten of these thirteen affected countries have experienced other problems such as war, civil strife, destabilisation (including apartheid) and a massive influx of refugees.
Political corruption Trends of events in the past three decades reveal that political corruption is the ‘root’ cause of conflict in Africa. The contention here is that political corruption by sapping the economy of Africa renders the continent poor or worsens its poverty situation. And this renders most of the states in the continent incapable of providing the basic needs of the people. Burton’s (1979, 1997) human needs theory on conflict and conflict management recognises the indispensability of these needs, by pointing out that wherever such non-negotiable
*Irobi 2005:3, Abbah 1996:6, Ehrlick 1973: -521-26, Glaeser 2002, Mohammed 1999:1, Omitoogen 2004, Moli 1980, Elbadawi & Sambians 2000:1, Collier 1997, RCA 2005, Marke 2007, Sen 1999:61-63, Wisner 1998, Bur1ton 1979,1997, Fapohunda 2002:26
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needs are not met, conflict is inevitable. Since political corruption is perpetrated by leaders entrusted with a nation’s coffers, the masses normally react by engaging in violence. According to the United Nations Human Development Report (in Fapohunda, 2002: 26), sixty percent of Africans live in abject poverty. The problem of poverty is compounded by the issue of corruption of the state resources, 37% of Africa’s assets are held abroad; Fapohunda (Ibid) argues that this figure, the highest for any region in the world, was more of the fruit of corruption. Egbo (2002: 289) maintains that, ‘this is public money siphoned overseas by corrupt political and military rulers for their personal use, the problem of poverty and breakdown among most third world countries has its root in the illegitimate and arbitrary methods of these men… the growth of the society becomes stunted’. The Liberal theory of violence sees underdevelopment as a source of conflict and development (and increasingly democracy) as a prerequisite for peace. From this perspective, periods of change be it economic growth or decline, political transitions, or social innovation such as those recently attributed to globalisation —are associated with conflict. Existing institutions come under pressure and change is likely to be uneven and to create a sense of relative deprivation, injustice, and threat among the losers (Suhrke & Chaudhary, 2009). A competing view is that conflict and potential violence are a consequence not a cause of development because the development process involves redistribution of power and resources. In this view, however, potential conflict can be contained by policy measures that emphasis institutions that build democracy. Thinking/Discussion Point: Which view do you hold to – underdevelopment is the cause of conflict or conflict is the cause of underdevelopment ?
Case Study Part 3: The Cost of Conflict in Africa Consequences of Conflicts Conflict has destabilised most African countries, Wanyande (1997: 1-2) discloses that the costs of conflicts in Africa in terms of loss of human life and property, and the destruction of social infrastructure are enormous: Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in many of the countries in which the conflicts occur. Many others have also suffered and continue to suffer untold psychological trauma associated with conflicts… once conflicts occur, Journal of Sustainable Development March, 2009 19 scarce resources are inevitably diverted to the purchase of military equipment at the expense of socio-economic development (Ibid). The Report of the Commission for Africa also notes that
conflict causes as many deaths in Africa each year as epidemic diseases and is responsible for more deaths and displacements than famine or flood. When people are forced to flee their homes, poverty associated ailments such as malnutrition and diseases follow. Those who suffer most from conflicts are the poor and vulnerable, including children and women. Statistics reveal that there are 13 million displaced people in Africa, particularly due to conflicts and 3.5 million refugees (RCA, 2005: 107). Example includes Northern Uganda (2005), Kenya (1991/92), Rwanda (since 1994) and others. Making brief reference to the report of the commission of Africa (Ibid): Out of sight of the world, in the biggest death toll since the Second World War, around 1,000 people die every day in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is only one of Africa’s many conflicts. In recent decades Africa experienced more brutal coups, drawn … and bloody instability than any other part of the world. The costs of conflicts are horrific, and in many cases conflicts wiped out the achievements of decades of economic and social development. Armed conflicts, in particular, involve complete economic paralysis, immense social costs and trauma, political quagmire and disintegration, as well as serious environmental degradation and dilapidation. The RCA (2005: 161) also notes that some conflicts, like violence in Darfur, have been of high intensity, however, it observed that ‘there are countless smaller conflicts, such as those between herders and cultivators that are to be found in many parts of Africa, which are no less vicious’. Violence from these smaller conflicts also causes as many deaths in Africa as do diseases. For example, the human cost resulting from localised conflicts is devastating, since many are even sent to a ‘state of limbo’: Millions of lives have been lost… As a result of ‘localised’ conflict in Nigeria, for example, at least 10,000 people lost their lives between 1999 and 2003, and an estimated 800,000 were internally displaced. More people have been forced to flee their homes in Africa than anywhere else in the world; many ending up in the slums of already – over crowded cities and towns. Malnutrition and disease increase. And those who suffer most are the poor and the vulnerable. War and conflicts does not only harm people. It destroys roads, bridges, farming equipments, telecommunications, as well as water and sanitation systems. It shuts down hospitals and schools. It slows trade and economic life, sometimes to a halt. The very fabric of society is torn asunder (RCA, 2005: 38). The consequences of conflicts are much wider; conflict also weakens the stability of Africa and even extends its ‘destructive tentacles’ to global peace – ‘instability in Africa undermines global security. States weakened by strife increase international refugee flows. They also become havens for international terrorist organisations...’ (RCA: 38). In these ugly trends, it may seem odd to talk of optimism in most African
*Egbo 2002:289, Suhrke & Chaudhary 2009, Wanyande 1997: 1-2, Uppsala 2013
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countries where conflicts have become common, as in Nigeria (since 1985), apartheid South Africa (1948-1994), Mozambique (1976-1992) and DRC (1996-2001); others include Sudan (1983-2003), Somalia (1981-2002), Sierra Leone (19912000), Liberia (1989-2003) Rwanda (1990-ongoing), Burundi (1991-onging), Angola (1975-2002) and host of other African countries (Uppsala, 2003). Thinking/Discussion Point: If violence is necessary for development to take place, should we defend suffering for the sake of progress?
Human Security and Addressing Conflict and Development The notion of human security has been gaining ground since the 1990s and is said to have first been made operational in the Human Development Report 1994: “it means first, safety from chronic threats such as hunger, disease and repression. And second it means protection from sudden and hurtful disruptions in the patterns of daily life – whether in homes, in jobs or in communities. Such threats can exist at all levels of national income and development” (UN Human Development Report, 1994:23). Some years later, the Commission on Human Security, in its final report, Human Security Now , insisted that human security means “…protecting people from critical (severe) and pervasive (widespread) threats and situations. It means using processes that build on people’s strengths and aspirations. It means creating political, social, environmental, economic, military and cultural systems that together give people the building blocks of survival, livelihood and dignity.” (CHS: 2003: 4). As Thomas (2001) notes, “Such human security is indivisible; it cannot be pursued by or for one group at the expense of another”(Thomas 2001:161). As well as having at its core the satisfaction of basic material human needs – food, shelter, education and health care – it also calls for freedom from oppressive power structures and involves an ‘active and substantive’ notion of democracy which ensures every individual the opportunity to participate in the decisions that affect their lives. States have the authority and responsibility to responsibility to address the human security needs of their citizens. Where is conflict, as demonstrated in the case study, states are not always able or willing to play this role. When this happens, the global governance institutions which bear a collective responsibility to pursue human security must step in. In general in the post Cold War period and especially since 9/11 all the major institutions of global governance have given more attention to both development and human security partly because poverty and inequality are increasingly considered to be national, regional and global security threats. In many armed conflict situations this takes the form of a peace building and/or peace keeping ‘package’
(Suhrke and Chaudhuary, 2009). The premise of this package is an expanded version of already existing (liberal) models of development – institutions that ensure political democracy, encourage free trade and address systemic social, economic, and political inequalities. Developed by the major donors and aid agencies, the international financial institutions (the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the regional development banks), and the UN specialized agencies (especially UNDP, the World Food Programme, and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees) as well as the UN secretariat. The ‘peacebuilding package’ was further streamlined by international organizations such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which started harmonizing guidelines for aid from the rich industrialized states to peacebuilding activities. Peacebuilding involves both economic and political reforms aimed at providing the foundation for peaceful reconstruction and development. Political reforms typically mean elections, with participation of political parties and the establishment of plural institutions. Civil society organizations and a free media are encouraged. On the economic side, reforms focused on market mechanisms, a minimalist but effective state, and macroeconomic stability. In addition, human rights monitoring is strengthened and legal reforms patterned on Western legal traditions initiated. Peacebuilding and peace keeping are important areas of activity for the global governance regime but in practice they face many challenges. Thinking/Discussion Point: Can you think of any limitations to the liberal approach/package for addressing conflict in the Global South?
Concluding Remarks While the number of armed conflicts may be falling the impact is still considerable. Unfortunately, most armed conflict is now located in the poorer countries of the Global South, SubSaharan Africa in particular. To the devastation of poverty and inequality is added the devastation of violence and conflict. The study of war and conflict and its relationship to and with development and the root causes of underdevelopment has not always been a priority for developmental theorists with implications for the policy process. However, over the last decade and particularly since 9/11 and the ‘war on terror’ global governance institutions have taken much more interest in these issues because, from the liberal perspective, poverty and inequality undermine peace and development. Development’s policy prescriptions are political democracy and free trade. The expanded focus on human security together with the ongoing emphasis on eradicating poverty is bringing the two agendas closer together. Some argue the results of this on policy and practice in addressing the nexus of conflict and development only serve to provide the Global North innovative ways to control the Global South (Duffield, 2001).
*Thomas 2001, Suhrke & Duffield 2001
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Unit 5: An Introduction to Gender Awareness, Human Rights and Human Security
and Qualification Association (www.ecqa.org) under Access International Development. Content will be available from early 2013.
Aims The aims for this week are: 1. T o introduce the human rights and women’s rights legal frameworks 2. T o introduce the concepts of human rights, the rights-based approach and the human security approach as used and applied in international development 3. T o examine how these have shaped policy and practice
Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this week you should: 1. B e familiar with the philosophical and historical underpinnings of human rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 2. B e aware of what development theorists and practitioners mean when they talk about the rights-based approach and the human security approach to development 3. H ave an understanding of how these concepts are being applied in practice If you are interested in continuing your learning, the content for Unit 5 can be accessed via the European Certification and Qualification Association (www.ecqa.org) under Access International Development. Content will be available from early 2013.
Week 6: An Introduction to Sustainable Development and Climate Justice Aims The aims for this week are: 1. T o understand the concept of sustainable development and how it relates to human development 2. T o explore key environmental issues and how they interlink with key concerns and aims of international development 3. T o investigate the emergence of climate justice
Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this week you should: 1. Know what sustainable development means 2. B e clear about how sustainable development relates to both human development and the environment 3. B e able to distinguish between climate change and climate justice If you are interested in continuing your learning, the content for Unit 6 can be accessed via the European Certification Page 19
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For more information on the programme please contact Roisin McEvoy International Development Programme University of Ulster Northern Ireland Email: r.mcevoy@ulster.ac.uk Or visit the project website www.aidproject.eu This project has been funded with the support from the European Commission under the Lifelong Learning Programme. This website reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
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Access International Development Training Programme MODULE 3 Research and Programme Tools for Effective Development Practice
www.aidproject.eu
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Table of contents Module 3 • Research and Programme Tools for Effective Development Practice • Rationale for the Module • Aims
Page 3
Unit 1 – Introduction to Tools for Development Page 3 – 5 • Aims • Learning Outcomes • The Power of Data in Development • Case Study – Health Metrics Network: “Better Information, Better Decisions, Better Health” • Why have Tools for Development • Name that Tool • Task: Match Each of the following definitions to the Tools names above • Concluding Remarks • Answers to ‘Name That Tool’ Unit 2 – Programme Cycle Management • Aims • Learning Outcomes • Programme Cycle Management • Case Study – Addressing Land Rights in Gizo, Solomon Islands - Background - Activity Identification & Target Group - Main Objectives, components, inputs and schedule - Expected Outcomes - Expected Benefits and Risks - Benefits - Risks • Participatory Nature of Programme Cycle Management • Representations of the Programme Cycle • Different Tools for Different Times in the Project Cycle • Participatory Techniques • Concluding Remarks
Page 5 – 9
Unit 3: Participatory Approach and Data Collection • Aims • Learning Outcomes • Participatory Approaches • Case Study – Addressing Land Rights in Gizo, Solomon Islands - Activity Identification and Target Group - Island Statement of Principles - Common Participatory Methodologies • Ethics of Data Collection (and Analysis) In Development • Establishing a Baseline for Measurement • Concluding Remarks
Page 9 – 11
Unit 4 – An Introduction to Logical Framework Analysis • Aims • Learning Outcomes • Logical Framework Analysis – What is it and why it’s used • Identification and Design Tools to get the Log Frame Analysis Started • Case Study: Shelter Programme: Gizo, Solomon Islands - Project Description - Major Project Objectives - Major Project Inputs - Main Risks - Benefits and Beneficiaries of the Project • Advantages and Disadvantages of Log Frames • Log Frames – Uses and Abuses • Concluding Remarks
Page 11 – 13
Unit 5 – Introduction to Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning • Aims • Learning Outcomes
Page 14
Unit 6 – Multi-disciplinary Impact Evaluation • Aims • Learning Outcomes
Page 14
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Module 3
Unit 1: Introduction to Tools for Development
Research and Programme Tools for Effective Development Practice
Aims The aims for this week are: 1. T o acquire an understanding of what the term ‘tools’ for development means 2. To examine why development practitioners use tools 3. T o familiarise yourself with some of the names given to these tools
Rationale for the Module The practice of development relies on reliable and ongoing information. Good practice in international development programming in particular, relies on a wide range of research and data collection methods and approaches for designing, delivering, and reflecting on the effectiveness of any given development intervention. A range of research methods and approaches and practical tools have been adopted and developed by development practitioners for use in designing, delivering and reflecting on the development interventions/ programmes. All development workers must be aware of data collection methods and other research tools they might expect to engage with in the practice of development. This module is designed to introduce some of the most commonly used research-based tools and develop an understanding of the principles and importance of managing the development programme process.
Aims This module aims to increase students’ knowledge and understanding of the tools used in the development process to help design development programmes, support ongoing monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and the development of ensuing policy and practice. Students will be expected to develop an understanding of the research methods and approaches adopted in the various stages of the development process. There will be strong focus on tools used by larger international NGOs, as they have been developing participatory and beneficiary focused approaches to enhance good practice for many years and have been doing so in conjunction with donors such as the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID). Many of these tools are commonplace in development practice generally. Through engaging with the module content, students will learn at what stage and for what purposes different tools are used.
*Paris 21
Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this week you should have: 1. A n awareness of the importance of tools to the work of development practitioners 2. F amiliarised yourself with the names/types of tools used in development programming The topic of this unit is Introduction to Tools for Development. The focus of this module is on the non-financial tools used in the identification, design, monitoring and evaluation of development interventions/programs. Development programs or programming here refers to any set of activities being implemented in the Global South, (irrespective of who is doing the implementing), with the aim of addressing the causes of poverty. No specific kind or size of intervention is highlighted.
The Power of Data in Development Before addressing the tools that are used by development practitioners interventions at the program level, a word on the importance of international data collection in the international development regime is called for. “Without data, a country’s efforts to plan for future growth and welfare of its people cannot be grounded in reality and therefore may be severely flawed” Hon. Prof. Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o, Minister for Planning and National Development, Kenya Describing the reality of people’s everyday lives - where they are, why they are poor, what their lives are like - can be done through reliable statistics. On the basis of this evidence effective development policies can be developed and monitored, where resources are needed can be highlighted. Statistics also provide the means to track progress and assess the impact of different policies. Transparency and accountability of policy making, which are essential for good governance, are improved if good statistics are available. And good statistics are essential to manage the effective delivery of basic services. Paris21 would go further and say that as a result of many poor countries not having the capacity to produce, analyse and use the range and quality of statistics required to support effective development progress, policy making suffers, governments cannot be held accountable for their decisions and their peoples remain poor.
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Research based on reliable data can provide important qualitative perspectives and capture historical and social contexts that are essential if the underlying causality of issues in international development are to be properly understood and effectively addressed. Statistical data sets alone cannot do this. “We need to prove that our policies are working. It is vital therefore that we can reasonably accurately measure which policies are delivering. I am of the view that we are not investing enough in building statistical capability.” Hon. Dr. Donald Kaberuka, former Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Rwanda
Case Study - Health Metrics Network: “Better Information, Better Decisions, Better Health” The Health Metrics Network (HMN) is a global partnership founded on the premise that better information means better decision-making, resulting in better health for everyone. The partnership brings together users and producers of health data in a shared endeavour to increase the availability and use of timely, reliable health information through country led plans to strengthen information systems. The bringing together, under the aegis of HMN, of the health and statistical constituencies, at global, regional and country levels, has proved to be transformative in the countries that have been receiving HMN support since its launch in 2005. HMN is laying the groundwork for significant improvements to health information systems around the world. The partnership is working with local officials in dozens of low- and middle-income countries to build greater capacity and expertise for strengthening health information systems. Countries are using HMN support to assess the current status and develop comprehensive plans for strengthening their health information systems, plans which HMN partners are helping countries to implement. Such plans should be integrated into National Strategies for the Development of Statistics and general health and development plans including poverty reduction strategies. With HMN support, several low-income countries are working to identify ways of increasing the coverage and quality of their systems for recording vital events: births, deaths, and causes of death. And HMN is working with countries to find innovative approaches to sharing experiences and lessons learned on how to enhance availability and use of data for decision-making. The aim is that by 2011, the HMN standards for health information systems will be universally accepted for guiding the collection, reporting and use of health information by developing countries and global agencies leading to more timely and reliable reporting on key indicators of health, disease and health system function. Source: Counting Down Poverty, Paris21
Why have tools for development? In development work, tools are a range of techniques and skills designed to help development practitioners undertake their work (better). New tools are being added to the repertoire all the time and others fall into dis-use or out of favour. Like all tools, those used in development have both their limitations and advantages. “Any approach has behind it a set of values, beliefs and attitudes that give it its flavour, set its tone. This is a fundamental point to be clear about: approaches to development are not neutral”.(Jo Rowlands in Eade, D, 2003, pg 1) Tools help ensure that development practitioners adhere to the principles, standards and procedures of ‘good’ development. They are also important to satisfy donor demands that their money will deliver ‘results’. There is, on the whole, a generally accepted consensus on what ‘good’ development practice is about. Tools help assess, systematically and objectively, proposed, planned, on-going or completed development activities. Tools are about performance and effectiveness. At heart tools are about measurement (increasingly results oriented). The tools used by development practitioners allow them to: - identify what is needed, where and by whom - assess relevance, feasibility and potential sustainability of any proposed development activities - plan for and manage the delivery or implementation of the proposed activities - monitor what is being or had been achieved by the activities - increase knowledge and use learning to improve development interventions - satisfy donors that their money will be well spent
Name that tool A development practitioner may use different tools at different times or several tools at the same time - some of the techniques and skills will be used at the outset of a development project or program, some may be used only once and yet others will need to be revisited and even revised as the activity or intervention continues. For now, it is important to become aware of some of the terms applied to tools. When and for what they are used will be addressed in future lectures. It should be noted that sometimes a tool or kit contains a number of methods for collecting data and they are also referred to as tools. Some of these may be better thought of as ‘instruments’ and many are simply different means of collecting data. Here are some of the tools used to help development practitioners ensure they are addressing real needs and their efforts are having an impact: 1. Appraisals, especially Participatory Rapid Appraisal (PRA)
*Jo Rowlandes in Eade, D, 2003, pg 1 Page 4
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Concluding Remarks
2. Needs Analysis, Stakeholder Analysis, Risk Analysis, Problem Tree Analysis 3. Partner Capacity Assessment 4. Baseline Study 5. Logical Framework Approach (Logframes are documents developed as part of the Approach methodology) 6. Monitoring Systems and Reports
Task: Match each of the following definitions to the Tools names above A. A set of questions used to gather data on the organisational structure, processes, procedures and activities of a development or community-based organisation. B. A system for collecting and analysing data to assess the progress of project/programme activities while they are being implemented C. A process of describing “problems” of a target population and possible solutions to these problems using a range of techniques D. A management tool used in the design, monitoring and evaluation of a project/programme E. A n approach that incorporates the knowledge and opinions of local (or rural) people in the planning and management of development projects and programmes. F. Analysis of a situation at the start of a project or programme The kinds of tools or instruments used to successfully prepare some of the above tools include: - mapping - focus groups - surveys - citizen report cards - flow charts - matrix scoring - oral histories - time lines - theatre and role plays Whatever tool is used, the means of collecting the information are grounded in quantitative and/or qualitative social science research methods. The methodological approaches underpinning tools for development will be the subject of study in Unit 2. What kind of information is collected and from where? Depends on the questions you want answered: - secondary sources - beneficiaries, communities, other stakeholders Thinking/Discussion Point: Please watch this short lecture by Hans Rosling http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_shows_ the_best_stats_you_ve_ever_seen.html Did it change your view of how we can use statistics? In what ways?
The job of ‘doing’ development is complex and increasingly practitioners call on a wide range of ‘tools’ to help them identify, design and monitor their development activities and impact. Different tools are used for different ‘jobs’ but often the same tool will serve more than one purpose and often several tools may be used at once. There are many tools and new tools are being developed all the time. Ultimately, all are about gathering information or data and using or analysing that information to inform (and improve) the management, delivery, outcome and impact of the development process. All the ‘tools’ of development are based on research methodologies.
Answers to ‘Name that Tool’ PRA (E). An approach that incorporates the knowledge and opinions of local (or rural) people in the planning and management of development projects and programmes. Needs/Stakeholder/Risk/Problem Tree Analysis (C): A process of describing “problems” of a target population and possible solutions to these problems using a range of techniques Partner Capacity Assessment (A). A set of questions used to gather data on the organisational structure, processes, procedures and activities of a development or communitybased organisation. Baseline study (F). Analysis of a situation at the start of a project or programme Logical Framework Approach (D). A management tool used in the design, monitoring and evaluation of a project/programme. Monitoring Systems and Reports (B). A system for collecting and analysing data to assess the progress of project/ programme activities while they are being implemented
Unit 2: Programme Cycle Management Aims The aims for this week are: 1. T o acquire an understanding of the importance of Programme Cycle Management 2. T o examine how Programme Cycle Management is used by development practitioners 3. T o familiarise yourself with some of the key tools used at various stages in the Programme cycle
Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this week you should have: 1. A n awareness of the importance of Programme Cycle Management 2. Familiarised yourself with how development practitioners Page 5
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use Programme cycle management 3. T he ability to identify some of the tools used in Programme Cycle Management The topic of this unit is Introduction to Programme Cycle Management. This is a key management process used by development practitioners to help plan, implement and evaluate an intervention. There are a number of tools and techniques contained within the process. It is intended to help avoid the following scenario – but is no guarantee against it!
Programme Cycle Management The life cycle of any development initiative follows a certain broad pattern, from initial idea to completion and evaluation. This is usually called the Project or Programme Cycle. The project cycle is a way of representing in the form of a diagram the life cycle of a project/programme.
Background As a result of an earthquake and tsunami, in April 2007 a large number of people remain living in 15 camps on Ghizo Island. These Internally Displaced People (IDPs) can be grouped according to four categories: 1. displaced Gilbertese with original land entitlements (although status is not confirmed); 2. displaced Gilbertese that have relocated from other places in Solomon Islands after originally being relocated from the Gilbert Islands, but having no entitlements on Ghizo Island; 3. indigenous Solomon Islanders that relocated to Ghizo Island from other provinces, with no entitlements on Ghizo Island; 4. indigenous Solomon Islanders that have entitlements but are too traumatised to return to their foreshore land in fear of future damages. At October 2008, the government has already implied that it only considers a land entitlement solution for the first group. In addition, IslandAssist has learned that the government is proposing to undertake a large-scale planning exercise on Ghizo Island where a large majority of the land is owned by the Crown (a legacy from colonial rule), some of which is in dispute. There has as yet been no clarification of the land tenure status of people displaced by the disaster, and amid fears of involuntary relocation or resettlement, the humanitarian implications surrounding displacement have raised concerns from human rights observers. Many communities displaced by the tsunami have now become settled in what were meant to be temporary locations, and many have changed livelihoods. Women and children are still traumatised by the disaster and have expressed their fears about returning to their original places of residence on the foreshores of the island, still 18 months later only making short trips during the day time.
Activity identification and target group
Source: ECHO Programme Cycle Management HandBook
Case Study - Addressing Land Rights in Gizo, Solomon Islands (This is based a tutor’s experience working for an NGO. The name of the NGO implementing it has been changed. The case study will refer to the NGO as IslandAssist).
IslandAssist has been active on Ghizo since the April 2007 Tsunami. Concerns over land tenure, shelter, and relocation were regularly raised in post-Tsunami community meetings facilitated by IslandAssist Community Mobilisers. A number of meetings were conducted with separate female and male groups. In developing the shelter rehabilitation and reconstruction program currently being implemented IslandAssist identified that specific attention would be needed to mitigate the risk of displaced populations losing rights to their land, or being further marginalised where they do not have customary land tenure. There are particular implications for women – in the first case because of the largely matrilineal land tenure system on Ghizo, and overall because of women’s general exclusion from land related discussions and decision making. IslandAssist has identified this based on experience in the Solomon Islands, wider Pacific region and the Asian Tsunami, and by drawing on literature related to women’s property rights during post disaster reconstruction from UNHabitat and the World Bank.
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An eight week participatory assessment of current land tenure status was conducted by a Land Consultant and IslandAssists local Community Mobilisers and Advocacy officer. During this assessment communities consistently requested assistance to resolve land issues, and to prevent possible land related disputes within communities. The post-Tsunami rehabilitation program and the participatory assessment have identified a target area including: Nusa Baruku camps 1 to 5; Titiana camps 1 and 2, Niu Manda camp, Tiroduke camp, Mile 6 camp, Sitokava camp, and Fishing village camp 1 and 2. Nusa Baruku village and Fishing village are priorities as they are at risk from environmental changes impacting on their current village locations. However, awareness raising needs to be undertaken in all communities as most have identified need for support in negotiating with the government land registration process and in determining their village boundaries. The Gilbertese villages (Titiana and Niu Manda) were established 53 years ago and now also have a need to accommodate population growth.
This project aims to: increase the protection of social and economic rights of vulnerable people living on Ghizo Island (Western Province, Solomon Islands) that have become internally displaced persons as a result of the April 2007 natural disaster and/or of the fear of future damages. IslandAssist developed a number of Objectives and a set of activities/interventions and a schedule for when each aspect of the activities would be implemented, to address each of these objectives. Below is a summary.
A number of benefits and risks were identified. In summary these included the following.
Benefits
Risks
The project will be implemented in partnership with the Local Council of Women (LCW) and will involve: Training, technical advice, and ongoing mentoring to LCW and 12 project interns and designated community representatives in: Conflict sensitive programming to support democratic decision making processes over land tenure; advocacy to promote effective self representation by community members to government and other authorities accountable for the respect and protection of their human and land rights. Providing limited office resources to the LCW to enhance its functionality, communications, networking and research capacity to act as a key partner to the SIG undertaking land policy reform and as an entry point for effectively engaging communities1 and building support for women in the Western Province. The proposed project will be implemented from March 2009 until November 2009 after which point project activities will be sustained through the LCW’s program activities.
Expected outcomes were identified for each Objective, set of
Expected Benefits and Risks
By increasing women and men’s understanding of their rights there is more chance that those rights will be upheld. Combining knowledge development with advocacy skills, this project will also enhance women’s ability to advocate for their land rights. Gaining skills in community facilitation, mediation, training, will benefit the women’s communities over the long-term as the skills developed will be transferable to other issues.
Main objectives, components, inputs and schedule
Expected Outcomes
inputs and activities. In summary they included: • Women from village communities across Ghizo Island mobilised and trained to educate their communities on the social and economic rights related to land issues. • Men and women in target areas have understanding of their economic and social rights and of the role of the government and other duty bearers to protect those rights. • Men and women in target areas are increasingly accessing government and other referral services and mechanisms for the protection of their rights. • Women’s participation in household and community level decision making processes surrounding land is increased.
Challenges will be faced in ensuring women are fully engaged in the project’s activities and that their voice is heard in decision making. The project is likely to encounter challenges in overcoming a widespread ambivalence, especially within the government, but also to some extent at community level, to communities’ engagement in decision making processes and to the advocacy and influencing role of NGOs and other elements of civil society. It is anticipated that there may be some challenges with recruiting suitable candidates for required positions.
Participatory Nature of Programme Cycle Management The tools and techniques of PCM are people centred, involving the people at whom activities are aimed in identifying problems, program design, decision-making, implementation and monitoring and evaluation. They are seen as a key to ensuring people in poverty have a voice and a vested interest in the programmes affecting them. This is not always the case though (see Mompati, T & Prinsen, G in Eade, D, 2003, Development Methods and Approaches Critical Reflections, Oxfam) Thinking/Discussion Point: In the previous case study, where did IslandAssist get its information and data? Please identify
(see Mompait, T & Prinsers, G in Eade, D, 2003 Development Methods and Approaches, Critical Reflections, Oxfam) Page 7
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whether or not and how they involved the people at whom the activities were aimed.
Representations of the Programme Cycle Some of the ‘stages’ in the cycle are almost self explanatory and it is not necessary to understand all the phases in detail (see for example, Oxfam’s Programme Management Manual, Chapter 1 for detailed explanations). What is important is that different tools are applicable at different stages of the Cycle but also that some tools are repeated throughout the Programme Cycle.
of the Cycle are Design, Implementation and Monitoring and Evaluation. The most important tools (but by no means only techniques and skills) for these stages include: Task: Identify and/or suggest whether IslandAssist used any of the above tools/techniques when designing the Land Right’s Project?
Participatory Techniques Many tool/techniques of participatory data collection are developed to encourage those who are vulnerable, illiterate, and/or disempowered to engage with the processes demanded by the agencies and organisations of the Global North • Group and team dynamics • Sampling methods • Interviewing and Dialogue • Visualisation and Diagramming Methods Here is an example of participatory visualisation techniques
Source: Based on Oxfam’s Programme Management Manual Task: Using the Case Study, identify and describe the different parts of the Programme Cycle. Note that you will not be able to identify ALL parts of the programme cycle above from the Case Study.
Different Tools for Different Times in the Project Cycle Particular tools are generally used at different stages of the Programme Cycle. However, some tools are used more than once and may even be repeated during most stages of the cycle. During this module we can focus only on the key stages and the most commonly used tools. The key stages
Stage in Programme Cycle
Key tools/techniques
Identification
Stakeholder analysis and needs assessments, preliminary Research
Design/Appraisal
Participatory Rapid Appraisal, Group Facilitation, Key Informant and Focus Group Discussions, Logical Framework Analysis, Stakeholder Analysis, primary research, Baseline Study
Implementation
Baseline Study, Logical Framework Analysis
Monitoring and Evaluation
Participatory Reviews and Assessments, Evaluations using some of the following tools -
*Oxfam’s Programme Management Manual Chapter 1 Page 8
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Concluding Remarks
DFID and Cleaver (1999) dissenting view)
An understanding of the Programme Management Cycle and how data is gathered and used in the conduct of development practice is crucial for those who want to work in the field. It is equally important for those who are working in development at home and who seek to better understand how information is gathered and interpreted in order to improve development practice.
Unit 3: Participatory Approach and Data Collection Aims The aims for this week are: 1. T o familiarise yourself with the participatory approach to acquiring data needed to identify, design, monitor and evaluate development interventions 2. T o consider the ethics practitioners must apply in using the tools to gather data 3. T o understand the importance of the baseline for measuring effectiveness of development interventions
Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this week you should have: 1. A n awareness of the importance of tools that include all the key stakeholders in the identification, design and delivery of development interventions 2. R eflected on the ethics development practitioners must apply in using the tools of development 3. F amiliarised yourself with the idea of the need for a baseline as a staring point in measuring development efforts
Participatory Approaches • Gained momentum in 1980s and 1990s • Underwrites approach of both NGOs and Donors (e.g. DFID, the World Bank) • Are people centred, involving the people at whom activities are aimed in identifying problems, program design, decisionmaking and implementation and monitoring and evaluation. They are seen as a key to ensuring people in poverty have a voice and a vested interest in the programs affecting them. • Are said to achieve the following: - Efficiency and effectiveness of the development investment - Contribute to democratisation and empowerment of the people benefiting - Foster sustainability - Build local capacity and improve the status of women and youth • Participation means different things to different people at different times/in different settings (see DFID chapter 7 for typology of participation, Deepening Participation for Social Development Chapter 1 also has typologies table, Chapter 4 deals with challenge to participation and is a better read than
Case Study – Addressing Land Rights in Gizo, Solomon Islands (This is based on a real project only the name of the NGO implementing it has been changed. The case study will refer to the NGO as IslandAssist). You will recall that we used this case study in Week 2 when looking at Programme Cycle management. Let’s look again at how the activities and target group being proposed were identified.
Activity identification and target group IslandAssist has been active on Ghizo since the April 2007 Tsunami. Concerns over land tenure, shelter, and relocation were regularly raised in post-Tsunami community meetings facilitated by IslandAssist Community Mobilisers. A number of meetings were conducted with separate female and male groups. In developing the shelter rehabilitation and reconstruction program currently being implemented IslandAssist identified that specific attention would be needed to mitigate the risk of displaced populations losing rights to their land, or being further marginalised where they do not have customary land tenure. There are particular implications for women – in the first case because of the largely matrilineal land tenure system on Ghizo, and overall because of women’s general exclusion from land related discussions and decision making. IslandAssist has identified this based on experience in the Solomon Islands, wider Pacific region and the Asian Tsunami, and by drawing on literature related to women’s property rights during post disaster reconstruction from UNHabitat and the World Bank. An eight week participatory assessment of current land tenure status was conducted by a Land Consultant and IslandAssist’s local Community Mobilisers and Advocacy Officer. During this assessment communities consistently requested assistance to resolve land issues, and to prevent possible land related disputes within communities. The post-Tsunami rehabilitation program and the participatory assessment have identified a target area including: Nusa Baruku camps 1 to 5; Titiana camps 1 and 2, Niu Manda camp, Tiroduke camp, Mile 6 camp, Sitokava camp, and Fishing village camp 1 and 2. Nusa Baruku village and Fishing village are priorities as they are at risk from environmental changes impacting on their current village locations. However, awareness raising a need to be undertaken in all communities as most have identified need for support in negotiating with the government land registration process and in determining their village boundaries. The Gilbertese villages (Titiana and Niu Manda) were established 53 years ago and now also have a need to accommodate population growth.
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IslandAssists statement of principles Common Participatory The core principles which Island Assist strives to adhere to Methodologies in all its programming include empowerment, participation, equity, and accountability. The proposed project will empower families and their communities to drive their own posttsunami land rights issues by providing them the information they need to make claims and the advocacy skills necessary to advance their claims with the appropriate authorities. At all stages of the project cycle, IslandAssist will adopt a participatory approach aiming to give all stakeholders, in this case specifically, women, a voice in the process. A transparent and open approach will be taken to documenting and disseminating information about the project, with an approved communications and reporting strategy which will ensure accountability to beneficiaries, government, the donor and other stakeholders. Participation at the Identification Stage: The needs to address land rights was first identified at community consultations during implementation of another post-tsunami project. A technical consultant (a local, ex-Lands Commisioner) was hired to conduct background research. The technical consultant together with IslandAssist local staff then conducted an 8 week participatory assessment that included one-to-one and group meetings with Government Land Office officials, IslandAssist staff implementing other post-tsunami activities and analysing baseline data on demographics, displacement and landowner as well as the legal land tenure status of all target villages and camps on Gizo. In addition, survey questionnaires and community meetings were held with a sample of 8 villages/communities with varied land tenure status problems. The sample was based on the nature of any land tenure problem and the population size and included communities in each of the 4 categories identified in Week 2. Design Stage: - Based on the consultants report, IslandAssist’s reports, feedback and interaction with the communities the design got underway. - IslandAssist drew on monitoring, evaluation and other reports from their own and other’s work in the Pacific region and responses to the Indian Ocean tsunami. - IslandAssist’s organisational commitment to addressing gender inequality was a strong consideration. - Available funding streams was also a factor in design. The Australian Government Human Rights unit in the capital, Honiara opened a small grants scheme for projects with a specific human rights element. Thinking/Discussion Point: What more could IslandAssist have done to make the identification and design stages more participatory? In your view, did they live up to their principle to give all stakeholders involved a voice? Post your views on the Discussion Board
• Participatory Rural Appraisal and Rapid Rural Appraisal • Participatory Action Research • Associated techniques – group & team dynamics, sampling methods, interviewing and dialogue, visualisation and diagramming (see Deepening Participation for Social Change)
Ethics of Data Collection (and Analysis) in Development • All these tools are based on quantitative and/or qualitative research methods and employ research skills. Engaging with the people in the Global South, particularly those who are vulnerable and poor, demands the same and in some cases a greater concern for ethically grounded behaviour, as is expected by social researchers in the Global North. • Peoples/communities in the Global South are subject to intensive ‘investigation’ by outsiders, we in the Global North are not! • Key ethical consideration includes concern for: - Images of ‘the other’. (Gandhi, when asked by a British journalist what he thought of Western civilization, replied, “I think it would be a good idea”) - Cultural norms - Concepts of space and time - Power Relations - Women researchers and practitioners - Women and Girls deserve specific and recognised ethical treatment (see http://www.endvawnow.org/en/ articles/305-operating-under-ethical-guidelines-.html)
Establishing a Baseline for Measurement Baseline information/date helps illustrate: • context and outline at outset of a program (collect and analyse data at the design phase or early in implementation phase but use if for M & E ) based on knowledge of the real situation and the factors that have formed it • details of what the program is trying to change • may reveal policy or program gaps • allows program impact to be evaluated • Data needs to be gender desegregated. Lack of reliable base line is one of the major reasons for failure of projects Baseline data for the Addressing Land Right’s project included: • level of skills of the 12 interns and the LWC staff at the beginning (based on a skills assessment) • community understanding of the land tenure system on Gizo (based on surveys and meeting reports) • number of applications per year for change of/re-newal of land status (if available from the Land’s Officer) • LWC organisational capacity (based on a shortened partner assessment)
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Task: What else do you think would be useful in providing a baseline for the Addressing Land Right’s Project?
5. Is THE main tool of Programme Cycle Management – used from design through to completion
Concluding Remarks
Identification and Design Tools to get the Log Frame analysis started
An important aspect of results-based management (the Logical Framework) – is that it enables the indicators in the logframe to be refined and the targets to be set for the indicators. This approach is joined up and flows in sequence. By collecting data on the same indicators at the end of the programme cycle and comparing them to the baseline values to chart progress and any areas where anticipated progress has not been possible. This allows for further investigation of any successes and continuing challenges. The base line and the logical framework provides a basis against which the project/programme can measure progress and effectiveness during implementation and when the project/programme has ended. It acts as a corner stone in developing and implementing a robust monitoring and evaluation plan.
Unit 4: An Introduction to Logical Framework Analysis Aims The aims for this week are: 1. T o understand the use of Log Frame Analysis in program planning and management 2. T o familiarise yourself with tools used identifying issues and designing aid interventions 3. T o consider the type of data that is collected and analysed to ensure effective design of programs
Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this week you should have: 1. F amiliarised yourself with the most common approaches and tools to identifying issues and designing interventions to address those issues 2. R eflected on the types of data that is collected using the main tools 3. D eveloped an understanding of the place of the logframe in current development practise
Logical Framework Analysis what it is and why it’s used 1. D epicts the causal/logical relationships between inputs, activities, outputs and outcomes of a given programme 2. Fits within Participatory Approach 3. Results-oriented approach to development 4. Used by almost all donors (all funding applications require a logframe analysis) – others followed suit so that nowadays almost all donors, international organisations and NGOs in development use log frames for planning, monitoring and evaluating purposes
• Scooping Study • Situation analysis • Needs Analysis • Stakeholder Analysis • Gender Analysis • Environmental Analysis • Problem Trees • Baseline Studies (using primary and secondary research methods) - need 1 baseline for each indicator in the log frame
Case Study Shelter Programme: Gizo, Solomon Islands Shelter Programme: Ghizo Solomon Islands (Abbreviated from original) Note: Ghizo is the island and Gizo is the town Situation Analysis Ghizo Island is situated in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands, which is approximately 380 kilometres westnorthwest of the capital Honiara. It is a small and densely populated island home to Melanesians and some I-Kiribati. The community structure and organization, village practices and kinship systems in this group are based on Melanesian or Micronesian standards. The rural population of Ghizo Island depend on subsistence farming and fishing, as well as wage employment for their livelihoods. Staple foods included fish, vegetables, fruits, taro, yams, sweet potato and purchased rice. Cash income is generated through the sale of food and marine products. Prior to the April 2007 tsunami and earthquake, most people on Ghizo lived in simple timber, sago palm and bamboo houses built along the coastline. These houses were usually single level post and beam construction, externally clad with sago palm and wall linings. The majority of these buildings did not have lateral bracing. There were however, a range of building designs in larger villages including some dwellings constructed using concrete posts with no bracing, clad with compressed fibre cement or timber sheeting. For the construction of individual traditional homes, people built their own houses, drawing on their own or their extended family’s labour and where this was insufficient paying for additional labour or technical assistance if required. For semi permanent houses people would usually invest in hiring a builder who had tools and some know how, often from the local area. Approximately 85% of land in the Solomon Islands is under customary tenure, with the remaining held under government or private ownership. Most of Ghizo Island is part of this 15%
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of alienated land, purchased or taken during the colonial period and converted to leasehold land. There are a number of long standing claims from traditional owners on Ghizo who allege that their land was taken over by colonial authorities or companies without due compensation. Land administration procedures and processes and recording and registration protocol have been established for alienated land through the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Survey. Needs Analysis On 2 April 2007, Solomon Islands was hit by an 8.1 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami. Approximately 24,000 people in the Western and Choiseul provinces were seriously affected as more than 6000 houses and buildings were destroyed. The Solomon Islands National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) identified the southern coast of Ghizo Island as one of the worst hit areas. Currently, approximately 2,185 people in rural parts of Ghizo Island are residing in temporary camps which were either set up by the government or non-government organizations, or staying in their own temporary shelters (see Annex IslandAssist population survey, November 2007). According to the October 2007 IFRC shelter assessment, there are 211 total loss cases and 67 collapsed houses on Ghizo Island. Damaged houses on Ghizo Island (rural Ghizo only, excluding Gizo town) were repaired by Habitat for Humanity in 2007 (total 140). In July 2007, the Solomon Islands Parliament adopted a Rural Shelter and Housing Strategy (RSHS) which was followed by a Rural Shelter Process on 21 September 2007. In the absence of strong leadership from the government, shelter and community reconstruction efforts to date have largely been undertaken by non-government organizations (NGOs) working directly with communities or by communities themselves. It is essential that NGOs continue to actively facilitate assistance to displaced families and to support communities to ensure government resources are used effectively. Having been present in Ghizo since April 2007, IslandAssist is well placed to provide such assistance and leadership around shelter reconstruction on Ghizo Island and will continue to support the development of the Local Shelter Process to the extent that this is possible.
Project Description Project Design Outline Goal: To reduce the number of displaced households on Ghizo Island by providing sustainable, feasible and cost efficient shelter recovery assistance Objective 1: To increase the number of displaced families in rural Ghizo Island implementing viable shelter reconstruction plans, ensuring complementarity with the Solomon Island Government (SIG) Rural Shelter and Housing Strategy. Activity 1.1 – Coordinate closely with the SIG Recovery effort and others engaged in shelter assistance and other programs on Ghizo Activity 1.2 – Recruit and Train staff in Shelter Strategy methodology Activity 1.3 – Develop and approve Available Resources List Activity 1.4 – Develop communications strategy
Activity 1.5 – Conduct Assessment and verification Activity 1.6 – Hold Individual Beneficiary Family Meetings and sign off on individual Family Shelter Recovery Plans (FSRP) Activity 1.7 – Hold Community Level meetings and sign off on Community Shelter Recovery Plans (CSRP) Activity 1.8 – Procurement of Direct aid items Activity 1.9 – Distribution of direct aid items Activity 1.10 – Follow up with communities or individuals requiring additional support Objective 2: To improve community capacity in village planning, disaster mitigation and response. Activity 2.1 – Conduct disaster preparedness training in target villages Activity 2.2 – Conduct village planning workshops in target villages
Major Project Objectives IslandAssist intends to cover all locations on Ghizo Island which have been identified by the IFRC assessment (as in Annex 4). The key humanitarian sector which will be directly addressed in this proposal is shelter. Indirectly, through interrelated activities and benefits of the shelter activities, other sectors will include water and sanitation, health and livelihoods. Through the activities of this proposal, the shelter needs of Ghizo residents who suffered total loss or had their houses damaged by the April 2007 earthquake/tsunami will be directly addressed. Beneficiaries will be able to access support to improve their ‘sheltering’ options in accordance with their individual needs and choices. Indirectly, the health of beneficiaries will improve. IslandAssist’s survey highlighted that many health issues, especially malaria and flu/coughs, were attributed to the poor condition of temporary shelters. Other indirect benefits through IslandAssist’s complimentary activities include improved access to water and sanitation facilities and livelihoods opportunities.
Major Project Inputs The IslandAssist country office in Honiara has managed various disaster responses in recent years, including contributions to the relief effort in Tikopia and Anuta islands in Temotu province after Cyclone Zoe in 2003, and support to National Disaster Management Office assessment and food relief efforts in the Reef Islands (July 2005), the Malaita outer islands in the wake of Cyclone Jim (February 2006), and Isabel Province following heavy flooding in the Hograno Central Highlands (March 2006). IslandAssist has also provided regular input to NDMO training sessions and coordinates an INGO disaster management group. Since April 2007 a field office has been established in Ghizo and this office has 30 staff (operations and programs), a warehouse, two canoes with 40HP engines and one 4WD vehicle. Personnel include a logistician, warehouse staff, drivers, and finance and administration staff. The Shelter project would be further supported by a Community Shelter Project Coordinator, a Technical Shelter Assistant, and an additional two Community Mobilisers (one male and one female) and a Community
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Advocacy Officer. As well as in-country resources IslandAssist’s Pacific Unit in Melbourne provides support to the Honiara and Ghizo office and IslandAssist’s head office Emergencies Unit (nine personnel) and Technical Team (Public Health, WATSAN, Logistics and Livelihoods) are available to provide additional support.
Main Risks A risk matrix is included as Annex.
Benefits and Beneficiaries of the Project Direct: The project will benefit an approximate total of 278 households (211 total loss and 67 collapsed - to be verified with initial assessment). This is a total of approximately 1668 people assuming 6 members per household. Indirect: The project will also provide indirect assistance to approximately a further 2079 individuals who do not qualify for family shelter assistance through Community Shelter Recovery Plans, their inclusion in disaster preparedness training and village planning activities. Other stakeholders, such as government departments, will also benefit from the project through similar training and project reviews etc. Task: Below is a logframe (document) with definitions/ explanations for each of the necessary parts of the document. Based on the Case Study for the Shelter Project try to complete the following: GOAL and Measurable Indicator(s) PURPOSE and Measurable Indicator(s ) AT LEAST ONE OUTPUT and Measurable(s)
Advantages and Disadvantages of Log Frames Advantages • Should ensure a clear link between inputs / activities and
(One step below) Lofty Vision/Long term
Reason you are doing the project/program
Disadvantages • Difficult for untrained people to actually understand • Poor initial analysis can pervade the rest of the process and project • Not necessarily a good approach for uncertain or fluid situations • Are supposed to be ‘living documents’ – but are often treated as ‘set in stone’
Log Frame - Uses and Abuses Read this article: http://www.intrac.org/data/files/resources/518/The-Use-andAbuse-of-the-Logical-Framework-Approach.pdf Thinking Point/Discussion: Development practice is better off with the log frame than without it. What is your view on this statement?
Concluding Remarks The logframe is the main output of the Logical Framework Approach. The logframe, for all its advantages when clearly understood and professionally applied, provides no magic solution to identifying or designing good projects. The principle of ‘garbage in, garbage out’ can apply to the logframe if it is used mechanistically. When used properly the logframe helps to make the logical relationships between activities, results, purpose and objectives more transparent, at least to the informed user.
Project Summary
Measurable Indicator
Means of Verification
Important Assumptions
Goal: Overall goal which the project will help to achieve
The evidence (quant/qual) which will be used to assess the indicator(s)
Sources of information/data which will be used to assess the indicators
Goal to Supergoal The main external factors necessary to sustain the objectives in the long term
The evidence (quant/qual) which will be used to assess the indicator(s)
Sources of information/data which will be used to assess the indicators
Purpose to Goal Main external factors necessary if project purpose is to contribute to reaching project goal
The evidence (quant/qual) which will be used to assess the indicator(s)
Sources of information/data which will be used to assess the indicators
Outputs to purpose Main external factors necessary for the outputs to achieve project purpose
Purpose: Immediate impact on the project area or target group i.e. the aim or benefit to be achieved by the project Or a specific Objective but should only be 1 purpose/objective.
Will you achieve these?
overall impact • Highlights assumptions and potential risks • Shows from the beginning how ‘success’ will be measured • Provides an opportunity for problems to be identified, documented and feed into ‘lessons learnt’ • Provides a ‘convenient’ overview of an entire project • Provides a ‘common language’ – virtually all donors and agencies use them
Outputs: The specific, deliverable results expected from the project to attain the purpose
NOT MEASUREABLE INDICATORS If you do these activities you will achieve the outputs.
Activities: These are the tasks to be done to produce the outputs
Progress and success is measured at OUTPUTS level INPUTS: A summary of the project budget and other key inputs
NOT MEANS OF VERIFICATION Progress and success is measured at OUTPUTS level
Activity to Output Main external factors necessary for activities to achieve project outputs
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Unit 5: Introduction to Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning
If you are interested in continuing your learning, the content for Unit 6 can be accessed via the European Certification and Qualification Association (www.ecqa.org) under Access International Development. Content will be available from early 2013.
Aims The aims for this week are: 1. T o examine the purpose of monitoring and evaluation from the outset of a project/program through to the completion 2. T o understand how it is done and the breadth of tools available 3. T o familiarise yourself with monitoring and evaluation tools available during the implementation phases of program interventions
Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this week you should have: 1. D eveloped an understanding of why, what and for whom monitoring and evaluation is undertaken 2. D eveloped an understanding of the broad range of tools used for monitoring and evaluation during implementation phases 3. B ecome familiar with the ways in which monitoring and evaluation contribute to learning and the improvement of development practice If you are interested in continuing your learning, the content for Unit 5 can be accessed via the European Certification and Qualification Association (www.ecqa.org) under Access International Development. Content will be available from early 2013.
Unit 6: Multi-disciplinary Impact Evaluation Aims The aims for this week are: 1. T o familiarise yourself with the purpose and use of post project/program evaluation approaches 2. T o understand how impact assessment differs from ongoing monitoring and evaluation 3. To understand who is involved in impact evaluations
Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this week you should have: 1. D eveloped an understanding of why, what and for whom impact evaluations are undertaken 2. D eveloped an understanding of the structure and scale of an impact evaluation 3. H ave an awareness of at least one large scale impact evaluation
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For more information on the programme please contact Roisin McEvoy International Development Programme University of Ulster Northern Ireland Email: r.mcevoy@ulster.ac.uk Or visit the project website www.aidproject.eu This project has been funded with the support from the European Commission under the Lifelong Learning Programme. This website reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
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Access International Development Training Programme MODULE 4 Gender Awareness, Human Rights and Human Security
www.aidproject.eu
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Table of contents Module 4 • Gender Awareness, Human Rights and Human Security • Rationale for the Module • Aims • Module Content
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Unit 1: Introduction to Gender, Human Rights and Human Security Page 3 – 7 • Aims • Learning Outcomes • The Philosophy of Human Rights – Human Rights as Justice • The Philosophy of Human Rights – The Social Contract • The Universal Declaration of Human Rights • Universal, Indivisible and Inalienable • Case Study 1: Human Rights in Action – Article 20 Freedom of Association and Assembly - Context - Mass Demonstration - Article 20: Freedom of Association and Assembly • Case Study 2: Woman of Zimbabwe Arise • The Right to Development • Gender Equality and Women’s Rights • Women’s Inequality in Numbers • Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) • Human Rights and Human Security • Concluding Remarks Unit 2: The Right to Development • Aims • Learning Outcomes • The Declaration of the Right to Development • Key Elements of the Declaration on the Right to Development (DRTD) • The Right to Development and International Development Approaches and Policy • Case Study – Human Rights and Poverty • Debates and Disagreements around the Right to Development • Main Issues and Division in Perspective between the Global North and Global South • Concluding Remarks Unit 3: The Rights-Based Approach to Development • Aims • Learning Outcomes • Human Rights and Development • Seven Key Factors in Practice • The Rights-Based Approach to Development • Words and Action • Using Right-Based Approaches to Mobilize for Social Justice • Points of Information After Case Study Work • Concluding Remarks Unit 4: Women, Gender and Development • Aims • Learning Outcomes • Welcome • Causes and Consequences of Gender Inequality • Gender and Rights Definitions • History of Gender, Development and Human Rights • CEDAW Success Stories • CEDAW Reservations • CEDAW and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995 • CEDAW and the MDGs • Concluding Remarks
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Unit 5: Gender Mainstreaming – Policies and Practice • Aims • Learning Outcomes
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Unit 6: The Human Security Paradigm – theoretical overview and policies and practice • Aims • Learning Outcomes
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Module 4
Recognise the problematic nature of applying human rights and human security principles in specific contexts, globally and identify possible responses.
Gender Awareness, Human Rights and Human Security
Module Content
Rationale for the Module Since the 2nd World War, human rights principles have increasingly been accepted as a means of holding governments to account in the treatment of citizens. Thus, human rights have come to be regarded as the safeguard of democratic practice. Gender equality is itself a human rights issue that must be taken account of in development settings, as there is overwhelming empirical evidence to show that development policies and practices that empower women ensure positive development outcomes for communities at large. Additionally, the post-Cold War period has seen an increased emphasis on human security as a means to address human centred and global security concerns. Human security is defined in terms of protection of human lives from critical and pervasive threats. Such threats include environmental, economic, food, health, personal and political threats. Thus, people need protection from poverty, natural disasters, conflict and disease. Gross and severe violations of human rights are a part of the experience of human insecurity. Protection from such abuses is part of the requirements of a human security framework. Human rights and human security are all portrayed as universal standards to which governments should aspire and be prepared to submit their conduct for scrutiny. Universality, itself, presents issues in that a universal code of behaviour has to mediate with relativism, cultural identity, ethnicity and religious values. Far from providing clear solutions, the application of human rights and human security principles raises philosophical argument prior to and during implementation. The different perspectives have important implications, including possible ethical dilemmas, for those whose work is impinged upon by international relations, economic globalisation, and the strategies of western governments toward the developing world.
Aims Trace the history of gender and development, human rights and human security approaches to development; Engage in debate on the philosophical underpinnings of gender awareness, human rights and human security, and their relationship to development, social justice and democracy; Consider the effective promotion of gender, human rights and human security in development settings with reference to case study examples;
This module is designed as introduction to the importance of factoring gender into development policy and practice in the Global South and the reasons why. It also examines human rights and human security based approaches to development in the twenty first century and why they have become such important overarching paradigms in the pursuit of development cooperation work. The module content will address: • The interrelationship between gender, human rights and human security; • Women, Gender and Development; • Gender mainstreaming – policies and practice; • Human Rights and Development; • A Rights Based Approach to Development – policies and practice; tensions and possibilities; • The Human Security paradigm – a theoretical overview; • Human Security policies and practice.
Unit 1: Introduction to Gender, Human Rights and Human Security Aims The aims for this unit are: 1. To understand the philosophical underpinnings of human rights as they relate to international development from the founding of the United Nations 2. T o explore the ways in which rights underpins and influences how we think and address gender and human security in the field of development
Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this unit you should: 1. K now the philosophical origins of human rights and specifically how this impacts international development 2. B e able to link human rights to women’s rights and the notion of human security in the fight against poverty and inequality Human rights’ principles, frameworks and instruments shape our thinking about and approach to international development in fundamental ways. This has not always been obvious, or as influential, as it has become over recent decades. This module traces the history of human rights and examines the key relationships between rights, gender and human security in shaping the policy and practice of international development.
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The Philosophy of Human Rights Human Rights as Justice Thinking/Discussion Point: Without looking up the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, try to name at least 2 of the rights we all enjoy as members of the human race? Have a look at the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index (English) http://www.un.org/es/documents/udhr/ (Spanish) http://www.un.org/fr/documents/udhr/ (French) The idea of human rights is as long as the history of humanity in the sense that they relate to human values about freedom, justice and dignity. Rights values can be traced as far back as 470BC-390BC when Mo-zi in China put forward the idea that all human beings owe respect to all other human beings. In Western thought famous Greek philosophers such as Plato (427BC – 347BC) argued the most important role for government is to enforce justice, and Aristotle (384BC – 347BC) believed that liberty and equality as found in democracy could best be attained when all persons share in government. The Roman thinker, Cicero 106BC-43BC) believed justice and decency lay in doing no injury and giving no offence to others. The Persian commentator and philosopher Al-Farabi (106BC – 950BC) wrote about the perfect city as a society in which all individuals are endowed with rights and live in love and charity with their neighbours (Regan, 2012). All the world religions have as their central tenets, ideas about human dignity, respect and rights (Sengupta, 2000).
The Philosophy of Human Rights – The Social Contract The genesis of human rights was based on the idea that people are born with rights and their existence presupposes such rights - natural law. Early modern philosophers, or natural rights theorists, such as Hobbes (1588-1679), Locke (16321704) and Rousseau (1712-1778) took the idea of rights based in natural law into how humans live in a ‘civil society’. Upon entering a civil society, humans surrender to the state the right to enforce the natural laws of the rights to life, liberty and property. This is the social contract. They do not surrender the rights themselves, only the right for the state to enforce them. If the state does not secure these rights it violates the social contract and is liable to be overthrown by social revolution (Sengupta, 2000).
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights In this way, the notion of social contracts has now become a universal principle, governing the behaviour of states operating both at the national and at the international levels. Sengupta (2000) notes, human rights are those rights given by the people themselves, they are not granted by authority,
nor derived from natural or divine principles. “They are human rights because they are recognized as such by a community of peoples, flowing from their own conception of human dignity, in which these rights are supposed to be inherent. Once they are accepted through a process of consensus building, they become binding at least on those who are party to that process of acceptance.” (Sengupta, 2000:8) When the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was being formulated, the importance of having a social contract around a set of human rights almost in the same form and spirit as in the eighteenth century was well recognized. The UN Charter itself points to one of the aims of the UN as being that of ‘encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms’. There are three important aspects of the Universal Declaration set out in the Preamble: • the ‘inherent dignity’ of every individual and to ‘inalienable rights’; • the ‘equal rights of men and women’; • the equal importance of political and civil, social, economic and cultural rights. Although there have been serious disagreements about the basis and the nature of human rights the basic principles of the notion of social contract are still widely accepted and almost universally accommodated within national constitutions and lend legitimacy to governments.
Universal, Indivisible and Inalienable The United Nations describes human rights as universal, indivisible and inalienable. Universal – all humans possess them and there can be no distinction on any criterion. We all possess them equally – this is central to human rights. The notion of equality is linked to this In notions of development and the right to development this links all human beings in a chain of rights and responsibilities that have implications for law, justice and morality. Indivisible – essentially all the different dimensions of rights are really one package, an integral whole. We cannot pick and choose one right at the expense of others. If say political rights are emphasised more than social rights, as they were during the Cold War, this has implications for development. Rights are also interdependent. Essentially this means that every right is equally import and deserves equal protection and promotion and can only be truly enjoyed if all other rights are concurrently implemented. Inalienable – a legal term which means human rights cannot be sold or parted with in any way or be given away either by an individual or a state. In this sense, you cannot surrender or have your human rights relinquished for being a ‘bad’ citizen or for taking an opposing stance to those in power.
*Regan 2012, **Sengupta 2000
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Case Study 1: Human Rights in which only protects peaceful assemblies. Action – Article 20 Freedom of Case Study 2: Women Of Zimbabwe Arise association and assembly This case study from BBC World Service can be accessed at the following website link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/ people/features/ihavearightto/four_b/casestudy_art20.shtml
Context One of the most international and broad social movements of recent times, the anti-globalisation movement is made up of a variety of causes, including environmentalism, debt forgiveness, animal rights, the protection of children, anarchism and anti-capitalism. Most of the movement’s adherents believe that globalisation leads to exploitation of the world’s poor, workers and the environment.
Mass Demonstrations The movement’s key mode of organising is mass demonstrations. It first came to the attention of the international media in 1999 when 100,000 demonstrators marched on the opening ceremony of the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) third ministerial meeting in Seattle, Washington. Anti-globalisation protestors on a large scale have continued to be present at all significant World Bank, International Monetary Fund and WTO meetings. Although the majority of protesters are peaceful, a minority have destroyed property and engaged in running battles with the police. Police have often re-acted to demonstrations by firing pepper gas, tear gas and plastic bullets, mass arrests and in the case of Genoa 2001 declaring a state of emergency.
Since February 2003, members of women’s rights organisation Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) have been repeatedly arrested while taking part in peaceful demonstrations against the worsening social, economic and human rights situation in Zimbabwe. They have often been denied access to food, lawyers and medical care while in detention. Jenni Williams, national coordinator of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), has been arrested 32 times since 2003. Despite the adversity, WOZA members continue to show great resilience and bravery. For more information about WOZA, see: http://www.guardian. co.uk/world/2012/feb/12/amnesty-urgent-action-wozazimbabwe Thinking/Discussion Point: Do you see any key differences between the application and protection of the rights of antiglobalisation protestors and that of WOZA’s Jenni Williams?
The Right to Development Eleanor Roosevelt, who served as the first Chair on the UN Commission on Human Rights and led the drafting of the Universal Declaration, stated, “[W]e are writing a bill of rights for the world, and . . . one of the most important rights is the opportunity for development” (Quoted Sengupta, 2000:1). The key question that inevitably must be asked is: Why then did we need a UN Declaration the Right to Development in 1986? The immediate post-war environment and the spread of the Cold War provide insight into this question. The Universal Declaration was originally intended to be turned into an International Covenant on Human Rights to render the rights listed in the Declaration legally binding on all member states of the United Nations.
Article 20: Freedom of association and assembly Peaceful demonstrations are one of the key means by which citizens can protest the actions of their leaders, making them more responsive to their wishes. The anti-globalisation movement has best applied the universal right to freedom of assembly on a global scale.
Instead, the Western aligned countries favoured the primacy of individual civil and political rights that were emphasised, but the Communist bloc countries did not. Two separate covenants, one covering civil and political rights and another covering economic, social and cultural rights, were each created and came into force in 1976.
Nowadays, protest itself is increasingly transnational in character. People are assembling all across the globe to protest the actions of international institutions rather than individual governments. The police’s reaction to the demonstrations has often been heavily criticised by civil liberties and human rights organisations. They have been charged with denying some protestors their right to freedom of assembly and using excessive force on non-violent protestors. The allegations of police brutality in Genoa have led to a formal judicial inquiry. Many would argue that they have effectively surrendered their right to assembly under the terms of the Universal Declaration,
It took many years of international deliberations and negotiation for the world community to get back to the original conception of integrated and indivisible human rights. The Declaration on the Right to Development was the result. It states that every individual has a right to develop politically, economically and socially, that is, everyone has the right to all the rights mentioned in the Universal Declaration. Further, the Right to Development is founded on the notion that the right to development implies a claim for a social order based on equity. Please see the following links for a copy of the UN Declaration
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on the Right to Development (1986): http://www.un.org/en/events/righttodevelopment/ (English) http://www.un.org/es/events/righttodevelopment/ (Spanish) http://www.un.org/fr/events/righttodevelopment/ (French)
amnestyusa.org/our-work/issues/women-s-rights), “They reflect the fact that men and women have very different experiences - and the fact that women and girls often face gender-based discrimination that puts them at increased risk of poverty, violence, ill health and a poor education.”
The Declaration on the Right to Development is important because it makes explicit that development of all human beings is a matter of right, not only of right but of human rights (Regan, 2012). It also makes explicit there are rights and duties that operate at individual, state and interstate level. As a human right, the right to development becomes a primary claim on a resource (in the broadest sense of being whatever instrument is necessary to realise certain objective) and it also entails a legitimate right of reprimanding the parties obliged to deliver this right (Sengupta, 2000). However, it was not until 1997 when the then General Secretary Kofi Annan, directed all UN agencies to contribute to the mainstreaming of human rights that a comprehensive international effort began to bring rights into development. This important policy initiative was given practical impetus with the appointment of Mary Robinson to the post of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in 1997 (Alston and Robinson, 2002). And the United Nations Human Development Report (UNHDR) published in 2000 made clear that human rights and development should progress together and are mutually reinforcing. What has become known as the rightsbased approach to development is discussed in Unit 3. For access to the 2000 UNHDR, please see the following web link: http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr2000/chapters/ (English) http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr2000/chapters/ spanish/ (Spanish) http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr2000/chapters/ french/ (French)
Gender Equality and Women’s Rights “Sixty years have passed since the founders of the United Nations inscribed, on the first page of our Charter, the equal rights of men and women. Since then, study after study has taught us that there is no tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women. No other policy is as likely to raise economic productivity, or to reduce infant and maternal mortality. No other policy is as sure to improve nutrition and promote health—including the prevention of HIV/ AIDS. No other policy is as powerful in increasing the chances of education for the next generation. And I would also venture that no policy is more important in preventing conflict, or in achieving reconciliation after a conflict has ended. But whatever the very real benefits of investing in women, the most important fact remains: Women themselves have the right to live in dignity, in freedom from want and from fear.” —UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan Women’s rights are an essential component of human rights. In the words of Amnesty International (http://www.
Women’s Inequality in Numbers • Almost 70% of the world’s women are poor • Women make up only 18.6% of the world’s parliamentarians • On average, women get paid less for the same jobs as men • Of nearly one billion illiterate adults nearly a third are women • There is only one woman for every nine men in managerial positions • An estimated 1 in 5 women worldwide will be a victim of rape or attempted rape in her life time and one in three will have been beaten, forced into sex or abused Source: Regan (ed) (2012). These statistics are sourced from UNDP Human Development Report 2010, UN Progress of the World’s Women Report 2011-12 and other UN Reports. They can also be found on the UN Women website: http://www. unwomen.org The 2010 Human Development Report introduced a Gender Inequality Index – a new measure of these inequalities to better expose differences in the distribution of achievements between women and men.
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Also known as the Treaty on the Rights of Women, CEDAW is the most central and comprehensive instrument for advancing women’s rights. Drafted as a Declaration in 1965, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1967, it was not made binding as a Convention until 1979, it did not come into force for signatories until 1981. The Convention argues that ‘extensive discrimination against women continues to exist’ and addresses three key dimensions of discrimination – the civil rights and legal status of women, human reproduction and the impact of cultural factors on gender relations. States party to the convention have a three fold obligation in regard to the rights of women: - Respect: the state must abstain from any conduct or activity of its own that violates human rights; - Protect: the state must prevent violations by non-state actors and; - Fulfil: the state must take whatever measures are necessary towards realisation of women’s human rights. As of 2009, 186 countries had ratified the CEDAW but upon signing states have the right to enter reservations outlining a number of areas where they argue the provisions do not apply nationally. Twenty-two countries have expressed reservations. Significantly, 8 countries have not ratified CEDAW including:
*Regan 2012, **Alston & Robinson 2002
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The USA, Sudan, Iran, Nauru, Palau, Qatar, Tonga and Somalia. As of 2009, the European Union (EU) had still not ratified the Convention, and EU Member States had not implemented it. We return to CEDAW in later weeks. Check out the CEDAW timeline here: http://globalsolutions.org/ files/public/documents/CEDAW_Timeline.pdf
Human Rights and Human Security When the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was written it was underpinned by a number of freedoms, key were which freedom from fear and freedom from want. The former had, until the end of the Cold War been narrowly conceived as pertaining to the states’ rights and obligations to first protect its territories and national interest. Viewed in this narrow way the state was the referent object of security not the individual. However, as the rights agenda advanced it has done so alongside an international development agenda that shifts the primary reference point away from the state and to the individual. As political and civil rights and social, economic and political rights have moved closer to the unitary principles envisaged for the Universal Declaration at the time of writing, the notion of human security has gained ground (Alston and Robinson, 2005). In terms of international development, human security has no universally agreed definition but in its broad sense it incorporates not only potential threats from war but also development-oriented threats. In this broad sense poverty and inequality and the consequences of poverty such as hunger, ill-health, lack of access to education as well as vulnerabilities associated with environmental problems are also considered threats. In the narrow sense the focus is on violent threats which also include such things as land mines. However, whether viewed narrowly or in the broad sense, human security is now focused on protecting the rights of individuals not the state. The advancement of the human rights agenda and its impact on international development are key to this and mean that the notion of human security now underpins international development policy and practice. For more information about how human security is defined see this part of the 2005 Human Security Report: http://www.hsrgroup.org/ docs/Publications/HSR2005/2005HumanSecurityReportWhatIsHumanSecurity.pdf .
Concluding Remarks Human rights, women’s rights and human security are central but contested concepts in international development. Justice and equality are themes uniting them and that go back to their historical roots in human philosophy. Next, the historical development of these concepts will be traced and more attention will be paid to the problematic aspects of the concepts in both the policy and practice of international development.
*Alston & Robinson 2002
Unit 2: The Right to Development Aims The aims for this unit are: 1. T o learn about the history of the Right to Development, including the debates around whether or not there such a ‘right’ as the right to development 2. T o understand how the Right to Development relates to human rights and the field of development
Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this unit you should: 1. Know what is meant by the Right to Development 2. B e aware of the relationship between human rights and development and how it leads to the Right to Development 3. B e aware of the controversies around development as a ’right’ In this unit, we trace the history and importance of the Right to Development (RTD) and how it relates to human rights and development more broadly. Although one of the core principles in the minds of those drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the right to development (freedom from want/ social, economic and political rights) was not accorded equal treatment with civil and political rights until the Declaration on the Right to Development (DRTD) in 1986. However, the RTD is controversial and the key debates affecting its ratification and implementation will be explored.
The Declaration of the Right to Development The right to development is an inalienable human right by virtue of which every human person and all peoples are entitled to participate in and contribute to and enjoy economic, social, cultural, and political development in which all human rights and fundamental freedoms can be fully realized. —Article 1, Declaration on the Right to Development The Right to Development was first proclaimed by the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and included in 1981 in the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. In 1986, the UN Declaration on the Right to Development (DRTD) was adopted. The RTD was later reaffirmed in the 1993 Vienna Declaration and the 2000 Millennium Declaration. For access to a copy of the DRTD in a variety of languages, please see the following link: http://www.un.org/en/events/righttodevelopment/ posters.shtml The DRTD is not a clear document. It is a consensus document, bringing together the two Conventions developed to impose direct legal obligations on states in respect of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Importantly, it reflects political debates between countries in the Global South (who were seeking a new International Economic Order based
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The Right to Development and International Development Approaches and Policy
on equity) and countries in the Global North. Driven by the human rights agenda, it has not always been easily accepted by development policy makers, in particular those within the World bank and IMF, who designed and financed so much of the post-1945 development agenda (Alston and Robinson, 2005). Article 1 of the DRTD (quoted above) provides clarity in terms of the dimensions of development – economic, social, cultural and political. Article 2 states that ‘All human beings have a responsibility for development, individually and collectively’. In so doing, it attempts to bring together the individual, the community in which s/he lives and the international system. What is most important about this for development thinking and practice is that development is no longer the preserve of the state but also includes other civil society actors (Regan (ed), 2012).
Key Elements of the Declaration on the Right To Development (DRTD) Piron (2002:10) defined the key elements of the DRTD as: • Comprehensive development The DRTD places the human person at the centre of development. Development is not defined solely in terms of economic growth, but as a “comprehensive” and multi-faceted “process”, with social, cultural, political as well as economic elements. • Respect for all human rights The development process should be respectful of all human rights and fundamental freedoms, and help the realisation of rights for all. • Participation The DRTD requires that states and the international community formulate appropriate development policies. As the human person is at the centre of development, the processes through which such policies are developed should be participative. The right of women to participate, and the duty of the state to ensure their participation, is emphasised. • Social justice The DRTD also requires that the development process promote social justice, including the “fair distribution of the benefits” of development for individuals and “equality of opportunity for all” in access to basic resources and services, and the eradication of all social injustices. • International co-operation The realisation of the RTD requires not only appropriate national policies, but also suitable international conditions for development, with appropriate international policies and co-operation This requirement also includes the creation of a New International Economic Order as well as international peace and security, including disarmament. • Self-determination The DRTD establishes that development “implies the full realisation of the right of peoples to self determination”. The provisions on self-determination have been interpreted by some not just to refer to a reaffirmation of the independence and equality of nations, but so as to strengthen the rights of persons belonging to minorities and indigenous groups to determine for themselves the processes and forms of development that are appropriate for their cultures and circumstances.
The Human Development Report 2000 demonstrated how human rights and human development reinforce each other when they progress together. In her review of human rights and the RTD, Piron (2002) reviews the “international consensus” around development assistance and assesses whether or not it appears to have been influenced by the RTD debate, or at least corresponds to some of the principles of the RTD. Her findings include: • Millennium Development Goals now endorsed by all international organisations involved in international governance and policy making affecting international development. Derived from commitments made at UN conferences which included reference to the RTD in their final declarations and programmes of action, and can be interpreted as further advancing the principles of the RTD • Poverty Eradication – Policies of most international development institutions, such as the IFIs and bilateral agencies, have now been restated around this objective which is a central objective of the MDGs. This is consistent with the RTD’s concern with social justice, respect for human rights and participation. • Current approaches to development which include social as well as economic elements in development, national leadership of development the process, effective partnership between donors and recipients; support to national development plans and poverty reduction strategies; improved aid effectiveness; and efforts to make globalisation work for the poor, including better ODA targeting can be said to be consistent with the DRTD. However, there is no evidence that current approaches to development best practice were directly derived from a concern to better realise the RTD as defined in the DRTD. • Justification for international assistance - some interpretations of the DRTD see it conferring he right of developing nations to receive development assistance (ODA). The OECD’s Shaping the 21st Century justifies ODA on the grounds of : humanitarian, enlightened self interest and international solidarity. The OECD report, and most international development policy documents, do not refer to international co-operation as an international duty or an obligation owed to developing states. • Development partnerships - The OECD document, as well as a number of recent international development policy statements, makes references to mutual commitments and shared responsibilities between developing and developed countries towards the goal of poverty eradication. Such statements are not of a legally binding nature, but they do have some force as political and moral commitments. One way in which this principle of commitment is expressed is through the concept of “development partnerships” between developing and developed countries, and international development organisations.
*Piron (2002:10)
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Case Study – Human Rights and Poverty
countries in that process, and its relation to human rights.
Main Issues and Division in Perspective between the Global North and Global South
Poverty is a denial of basic needs and fundamental human rights. You are going to watch a short video from Amnesty International about the human rights abuses associated with poverty in the Deep Sea community in Nairobi, Kenya As you watch the video from Deep Sea, be aware there are 4 aspects of poverty in Deep Sea that deny individuals and the community their human rights.
See Next Page
Concluding Remarks
Deprivation leads to denial of the right to an adequate standard of living, e.g. food, shelter, health care, education. Insecurity leads to denial of the right to physical security, e.g. protection against police brutality, gender violence and gun crime. Powerlessness leads to denial of the right to freedom of expression, to protest and to influence politics. Denial of the right to freedom of information. Exclusion leads to denial of the right to participate fully in society. Denial of the right to be free from discrimination and to be treated equally. It may help to know that Githeri is a Swahili word for basic corn and beef stew and Ugali is an East African corn meal dish. Deep Sea Community http://vimeo.com/6718856
Debates and Disagreements around the Right to Development The key debates appear to be: • the lack of conceptual clarity in understanding what human rights are and how they relate to other rights regimes operating at the international, national and sub-national levels • states obligations especially in relation to economic and social rights: if human rights obliges the state to respect, to protect and to fulfil it in turn obliges it to facilitate, provide and promote. (Moser and Norton, 2001)
The Right to Development in proposing a qualitatively different approach, in that not only are considerations of equity and justice the primary determinants of development but the whole structure of development is to be shaped by these determinants. So, if poverty has to be reduced, the poor have to be empowered, if there has to be a trade off between economic growth and equity, equity is to be preferred. This development process should be participatory so that decisions are taken with the full involvement of the beneficiaries. The RTD places on states the duty to individually and collectively formulate appropriate international development policies and the provision of “effective international co-operation”. While the RTD concept remains controversial, this last point is said to be one of the most controversial elements and much of the RTD remains to be realised in full. In terms of turning the policy into practice, the first serious drive to put human rights into human development started in 1997 when the UN Secretary General directed all UN agencies to contribute to mainstreaming of human rights.
RTD is principally debated and referred to in UN fora (Piron, 2002). Here there is ongoing polarisation between the states of the Global North and the Global South. It seems the commitment to reach a political consensus is poor. At the practical level, the main sources of disagreement concern the manner in which the inter-governmental discussion is taking place, and what are the most acceptable next steps. The most controversial element of the RTD lies in the international implementation of the right. In the past it was seen by some as giving rise to an obligation of developed states and international organisations to provide development assistance to developing states. However such a human rights obligation of a legally binding nature cannot be grounded in international law. The current controversy surrounds the process of globalisation, the equal participation of developing *Moser and Norton 2001
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Northern View
Southern View
Other Views
Includes national good governance, e.g.: rule of law, no corruption, freedom of expression, free markets
Includes economic growth, resources transfers and removal of other constraints at the international level
International economic order
This should be discussed in other fora. Progress made to date to respond to demands for reforms is highlighted
CHR should discuss: decision making processes at IFIs; debt relief; market access; intellectual property rights; technology transfers; etc [Note: it is not clear how these processes relate to the CHR or to human rights obligations]
It is legitimate to discuss the human rights aspects of development at the international level, but this should not be politicised
Relationship between human rights and development
Violation of rights cannot be justified in the name of development. Should not prioritise basic ESC rights (such as the right to food, health and primary education). For some, the proposed prioritising of 3 rights can be useful for practical purposes
Some argue ESC rights should be prioritised over CP rights, and that development is a prerequisite for the realisation of some rights
Millennium Development Goals can be seen as encompassing ESC rights
Rights-based approach to development
Some support a rights based approach as an element of the RTD and recommend the development of human rights indicators
Some see a rights based approach as creating new conditionalities and are cautious on human rights indicators
Commission of Human Rights Mechanisms
Need to first agree on the definition of the RTD. The Independent Expert should focus on practical assessments. Working Group should have consensual discussions. Some reject 2001and 2002 Working Group Conclusions
Development compact
Some endorse it, some fear it could Concern at duplication with other be used as a form of conditionality, international mechanisms; too mechanistic; or may reduce available resources not a suitable role for DAC for HIPC/PRSP
Compact approach used elsewhere, e.g. Global Compact and MoU Rwanda / UK
Permanent follow-up mechanism
Too early to discuss. Opposed to a RTD Convention, RTD in International Bill of Rights; or to monitoring of IFIs
Options: Convention; monitoring of IFIs; annual report on the RTD or on the implementation of existing international commitments
Role of national human rights institutions / courts in monitoring the RTD at national level
National implementation of the right
Need to look at the practical realisation of the RTD and should not redefine the RTD. IE should assess impact of IFIs on development. Need to discuss permanent follow-up mechanisms
Source: Piron (2002) Page 10
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Unit 3: The Rights Based Approach to Development
separation of powers and ensuring public accountability. Elections alone are not enough. 3. P overty eradication is not only a development goal—it is a central challenge for human rights in the 21st century.
Aims
4. Human rights—in an integrated world—require global justice. The state-centred model of accountability must be extended to the obligations of non-state actors and to the state’s obligations beyond national borders.
The aims for this unit are: 1. To understand the rights-based approach to development 2. T o understand how the rights-based approach to development has been applied in the field of international development and the issues this raises
Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this unit you should: 1. K now what is meant by the rights-based approach to development 2. K now how the rights-based approach to development is used by agencies implementing development programs and what it means for the beneficiaries of the development process The United Nations (UN) has played a fundamental role in bringing human rights to the fore of international and national policy and practice and is at the same time the leading institution in the domain of international development and practice. In the previous unit, we traced the integration of human rights and human development which led to the Right to Development (RTD). The modern concept originates from the Organisation of African Unity in the early 1960s and the Declaration of the Right to Development (DRTD) was agreed in 1986, but it was not until 1997 that the then Secretary General of the UN, Kofi Annan instructed all UN agencies to mainstream human rights into international development policy and practice. This week’s lecture takes a closer look at the ‘rights-based approach to development’ and in particular how it has been used to help people claim their rights.
Human Rights and Development In 1997 the UN Secretary General pledged to “renew the United Nations” and to “mainstream” human rights throughout its activities, including development. In 2000 the UNDP Human Development Report elucidated very clearly international development policy in relation to human rights. ‘Human rights and human development share a common vision and a common purpose—to secure the freedom, well-being and dignity of all people everywhere.’ (HDR, 2000:1). The report identified seven key features needed for a broader approach to securing human rights: 1. E very country needs to strengthen its social arrangements for securing human freedoms—with norms, institutions, legal frameworks and an enabling economic environment. Legislation alone is not enough. 2. T he fulfilment of all human rights requires democracy that is inclusive—protecting the rights of minorities, providing *HDR (2000:1)
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5. Information and statistics are a powerful tool for creating a culture of accountability and for realizing human rights. Activists, lawyers, statisticians and development specialists need to work together with communities. The goal: to generate information and evidence that can break down barriers of disbelief and mobilize changes in policy and behaviour. 6. Achieving all rights for all people in all countries in the 21st century will require action and commitment from the major groups in every society—NGOs, media and businesses, local as well as national government, parliamentarians and other opinion leaders. 7. H uman rights and human development cannot be realized universally without stronger international action, especially to support disadvantaged people and countries and to offset growing global inequalities and marginalization. (UNHDR, 2000)
The Seven Key Factors in Practice Over the period since 2000, there has been a growing acceptance of the relevance of human rights-based approaches to development. This approach seeks to “empower” the beneficiaries of development, by purporting to make them the active participants of the development process, and by giving greater legitimacy and moral force to their demands. It also requires greater accountability from all actors in the development process: through legal, administrative, or political mechanisms, individuals, as right-holders, can make claims on the conduct of individual and collective agents, including states, which, as duty-holders, can be held responsible for not meeting their obligations (Piron, 2002). Governments have to respect (refrain from interfering with enjoyment of the right), protect (enact laws that create mechanisms to prevent violation of the right by state authorities or by non-state actors and grant the protection equally to all) and fulfil (to take active steps to put in place institutions and procedures, including the allocation of resources to enable people to enjoy the right) every right. In most countries the reality is that economic and social rights are recognised as important, but are not ‘justiciable’ (they cannot be claimed through the courts) and are therefore seen as less well protected than civil and political rights (Piron, 2004). But, a rights-based approach does strengthen the case for social protection (‘an approach towards designing
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policies and interventions which respond to the … risks poor and vulnerable people face and which will make them less insecure’ (Shepherd, 2004: 1 quoted in Piron, 2004). In turn, social protection policies and programmes can support the realisation of human rights for the poorest and most vulnerable. However, in reality social rights are often contested. Case Study: How rights-based approaches and social protection policies and programmes can be mutually reinforcing. (From Piron, 2004, ‘Rights Based Approaches to Social Protection’, ODI, London, 2004) South Africa: The Right to Health and to Housing The right to an adequate standard of living, including the right to adequate housing and wellbeing, is recognised in both the UDHR and the ICESCR. The South African state is committed to reducing social and economic inequality and is one of the countries to have constitutionally guaranteed social and economic rights, including the right to housing and health. The existence of justiciable rights has enabled individuals and groups to mobilise to challenge public policy and the provision of services. It has also led the Constitutional Court to take an active role in the interpretation of these rights and the need to balance individual rights with finite resources, and demonstrates how the courts can defend the interests of vulnerable and marginalised groups. Two cases, in particular, illustrate successful social mobilisation to demand the translation of constitutional commitments into specific entitlements. First, in the Treatment Action Campaign case, the Court tested government health policies against constitutional requirements. The government had refused to allow public hospital doctors to use a retroviral drug (Nevirapine) to prevent the transmission of HIV from mothers to their babies. The drug was registered with the Medicines Control Council and was available cheaply, but the state claimed that it was still carrying out research on the drug. The court held that it was unreasonable for the state not to take affordable steps that would save lives. The Treatment Action Campaign is an NGO campaigning for greater access to treatment for all South Africans, by raising public awareness and understanding about issues surrounding the availability, affordability and use of HIV treatments. It has actively followed the implementation of this court decision and has mobilised activists throughout the country, in the churches and trade union movements, to demand not only action in the case, but also the development of a general treatment plan. Second, in the Grootboom case, a group of residents applied for a court order for the government to provide them with housing following the demolishment of their squatter settlement. The Court took an administrative law approach to defending the right in question and grounded its judgement on ‘reasonableness’. It stated that a housing programme that excludes a significant segment of society cannot be said to be reasonable. The judgement’s conclusion was that
the government not only should have medium to long-term housing programmes but also was under an obligation to provide immediate relief to those in a desperate situation. Implementation should also be reasonable. This resulted in two court orders: a declamatory order that the state was obliged to devise and implement a comprehensive programme to realise the right to access to adequate housing within its available resources; and an agreement that the community in question should be provided with temporary accommodation, sanitation, basic services and running water. However, there were setbacks with the implementation of this order because inadequate resources were assigned to the programme and it did not impose a time limit. It has also not been interpreted as requiring system changes to state housing programmes. Nevertheless, some commentators do perceive a shift in the government’s housing policy, including in eviction cases. A third case illustrates how it is possible to assess whether a decision over the allocation of scarce resources is reasonable, even if it means that some rights will not be respected. In the Soobramoney case, the applicant suffered from kidney failure and had not been given access to a dialysis machine. The provincial hospital only had a few machines and had decided to use them for cases where they could extend the lives of the patients. Mr Soobramoney’s health was so bad that the hospital decided not to offer him access to a dialysis. The Court decided that, in this particular case, it was not unreasonable to prioritise the use of an expensive and limited resource, even though an individual’s right to life might be violated. Thinking/Discussion Point: In the third case the rights of the many were judged more important than the right of one person. Do you support this view?
The Rights-Based Approach to Development The rights based approach to development is one that aims at the realisation of human rights. It provides a conceptual framework that allows for these rights to be realized through a number of different development processes using a set of analytical tools and with different entry points for different actors (Piron, 2002). That is to say, there is not one rights-based approach but many. UN agencies agreed a common definition of a rights-based approach in 2003 but International Financial Institutions, bi-lateral donors and NGOs have all chosen different methods and tools according to what they consider most effective in applying the principles laid down by the RTD and the various human rights frameworks at the international, nation and sub-national level. Further, a government, donor, or NGO may use different approaches for different areas of work in different contexts. In practice, the various agencies responsible for development policy and practice have chosen to interpret and operationalise the rights-based approach in different ways. (Nyamu-Musembi and Cornwall (2004) provide an excellent analysis of how each of the main actors has interpreted and used the rights-based approach).
*Shepherd 2004:1 – quoted in Piron 2005, **From Piron 2004, ‘Rights based approaches to Social Protection’ ODI London 2004), ***Nyamu-Musembi & Cornwall (2004)
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In practice, the approach has an emphasis on ensuring social equity is made a key concern of development processes. Social justice means a fair and just distribution of economic and environmental costs and benefits, community services like education and health care, and the ability to participate in decision-making processes. To achieve this attention must be given to disadvantaged groups in society, including women, youth and children, the elderly, indigenous groups, and ethnic minorities. However, different actors may choose to give social justice more or less priority.
Words and Action Most actors see a ‘rights-based’ or ‘human rights’ approach as a catalyst that can transform the practice of development from a focus on identifying and meeting needs to enabling people to recognise and claim rights that are enshrined in the UDHR (Nyamu-Musembi and Cornwall (2004). This then means working with duty-holders (both state and non-state actors) and working to build the capacity of civilians to claim their rights. The way in which different organisations interpret this broad framework, and the role the approach is seen to play in the work of the organisations is, however, distinctively different. Some interpret it more legalistically in terms of using human rights standards and others like the UNDP as underlying the entire development enterprise. However, when the words and labels are stripped away, very little of what is actually done involves the kind of institutions and instruments conventionally associated with human rights. Case Study: The Action Aid Nepal REFLECT Process In general, NGOs have preferred to adopt a rights-based approach in practice than to engage in analysing the right to development but very many have adopted a rights-based approach, using it to promote ‘partnership’ approaches.
Using Rights-Based Approaches to Mobilize for Social Justice Background and Rationale: The Status of Human Rights in Nepal Country and Programme Context: Nepal was one of the first countries to produce a Millennium Development Goals (MDG) country report in 2002. In the field of health and education, Nepal had made significant progress during the 1990’s with primary school enrolment rates rising from 64% to 80% and infant mortality rates declining from 165 to 64 per 1000 births. However, unless the country receives additional foreign assistance, the MDGs will be hard to achieve by 2015. At present, the country receives half of its development budget from donor funds. Policy and Legal Framework: Nepal, a monarchy, experienced a Mao-ist insurgency and serious political instability from the 1990s up to the time this case study was written in the mid2000s. The monarchy, the Maoi-ists and democracy have frequently clashed with devastating results for the country in terms of insecurity, inequality, poverty and human rights.
Against this backdrop, while Nepal has ‘acceded’ to several international human rights instruments, its ratification and/ or implementation in this regard has been weak. Those few treaties and conventions that have been ratified include the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The country has however only signed but not ratified the CEDAW Optional Protocol or the two Optional Protocols on Children. Human Rights and the Role of Civil Society: Against the backdrop of a “three pronged” power struggle between the Monarchy, the Maoists and the Parliament, the socioeconomic struggles that the poor, excluded and marginalized sections of the populace faces intensified. As in all conflict situations, the women and children belonging to the “lowest” strata of the Hindu caste system – the Dalits, the Kamaiyas, the Chamars, the Mohis or the Haliyas (all groups belonging to this “lowest” strata) –suffered the most due to such inequities in the system. This situation was been further exacerbated by the State mechanism that has been unable to deliver socially inclusive policies and programs in the desired manner. Though the Nepal Constitution, through various articles - (Article 14(4)) prohibits caste-based discrimination and Article 20 prohibits serfdom – and the legal system, through various laws - like the Civil Liberties Act of 1954, the Civil Code (Section 10A that prohibits some forms of discrimination against the Dalits, but excludes places of religious practice from the scope of the Act) and the Kamaiya Bill (passed by the House of Representatives) - have tried to tackle caste-based discrimination, such prejudices persists. To raise awareness against racial discrimination, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), established in 2000, undertakes a project entitled “An Integration of Dalit Rights Promotion Project”; currently, the Commission is however preoccupied with tackling complaints of violations bought to its notice due to the prevailing conflict situation. A related Commission that is supposed to work dedicatedly on Dalit issues - the National Dalits Commission (NDC) - has not at time of writing been given a legal mandate that can empower it to work on behalf of this particular section of the population. A Bill to Uplift and Protect Dalits” was introduced in 2001 but had not come into force by 2005. Thus, poverty, illiteracy, the hierarchical caste system, political turmoil and lack of implementation of the existing legislations and lack of adherence for the constitutional provisions have also led to a situation where such groups have faced immense discrimination in all spheres – from social exclusion to being denied entry to high-caste Hindu temples to being ostracized for marrying above their castes. People belonging to these groups are often found living in isolated neighbourhoods and forced to perform menial tasks (such as removing dead animals or cleaning human excreta) and are often chastised if they refuse to do so. All such acts of discrimination and exclusion are in direct contravention to internationally agreed upon human rights principles and the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of
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Racial Discrimination (ICERD). Many marginalised groups were active in the Mao-ist insurgency leading to further violence against them by the armed forces. Nepal’s civil society provided an array of services for marginalised groups such as the Dalits ranging from traditional service delivery roles to building capacities for social activism to claim social justice.. However, at least until 2005, the role of civil society had itself become marginalized and excluded from governance processes due to the political situation. Project Background From 1996 onwards, international NGO Action Aid together with local partner organisations implemented an adult literacy method known as REFLECT (Regenerated Frerian Literacy through Empowerment Community Technique). The REFLECT process aims to build capacities to improve the meaningful participation of people in decisions that affect their lives, by strengthening their ability to communicate. It encourages the active involvement of learners, built on their existing knowledge and respected oral traditions and other types of ‘literacy.’ REFLECT focuses on knowledge building rather than attaining literacy; (active) writing rather than (passive) reading; uses learner-generated materials (derived from the communities themselves) rather than pre-packaged texts; mainstreams acknowledged gender concerns; and, aims to be responsive and relevant to the local contexts and needs. The approach proved very powerful, not only as a means of building literacy skills, but as a way to encourage local analysis of problems and local ownership of solutions. Stakeholders Involved: The REFLECT process was initiated by Action Aid (AA) in collaboration with its local partners (local NGOs) and involved the local communities as claim-holders at every stage. Objectives: The process sought to empower excluded, vulnerable and marginalized groups to organize and claim rights-based outcomes through the realization of various rights. The REFLECT process as initiated in the Saptari district consisted of: - A situational analysis by AA ad SCDF (focused on political literacy and social stratification) to help understand how a given reality is constructed, its institutional mechanism, its history and current dynamism. Social and resource maps, and preference ranking tools were used as were seasonal calendars, song writing, myth and story telling to enlist community participation. The local Dalits raised the issues of education, landlessness, local governance, and citizenship (lack of documentation of citizenship places obstacles in these people accessing the policy and legal systems) as areas of concern . - Community organizing activities. SCDF facilitators and organisers visited the villages and communities to discuss the problems facing the Dalits and to educate them and make them aware of their rights/entitlements. As women’s issues were important, female trainers and activists were used.
They lived among the people. One of the main community organizing activities was the formation of 15 REFLECT circles. By 2005 more than 100 REFLECT circles were being used as a platform by AA’s partner organisations to organise the poor and excluded people in more than 30 districts of Nepal Women’s sanghams (community-based organisations of Dalit and non-Dalit women) were also formed. The Sanghams themselves served to break down caste barriers, raising the participants’ self-confidence and dignity. Dalit sanghams were also created. SCDF used the REFLECT circles and women’s Sanghams as platforms to launch the community’s discussions and stand on Dalit rights and to provide the initial structure for the Sanghams. - Use of advocacy, lobbying and campaigning tools. Through the REFLECT circles and sanghams, homogenous networks and alliances were built that then tapped into other networks and together conducted campaigns and lobbied for their rights. - A A used a Participatory Review Reflection process and Social Audits for monitoring. This ensured transparency at all levels; solicited accountability; evaluated the institutional performance (and resultant learnings from such); pressurized duty-bearers to work with the poor, marginalized and vulnerable groups; helped develop community capacity and sense of ownership and confidence; and, assisted in promotion of overall good governance. Outcomes. The Sangham’s decided to abandon or boycott their traditional jobs as dictated by the caste system. Carcass throwing was a job (actually it paid nothing except the ‘right’ to beg from the landlord’s house during religious festivals) relegated only to the Chamar (or shoemaker) caste. The Sangham was able to unite all the Dalit castes in supporting the ban because this job was a perfect example of the caste-based exploitation and discrimination suffered by all so-called “untouchables”. The Dalit community’s solidarity – reinforced by their coming together through the Sanghams - and ultimate victory in sustaining the boycotts, confirmed their faith and commitment to the movement, helping to attract new members and in spreading the Dalit movement throughout the region. Ironically, it was their other traditional caste-based duty – the role of Chamar women as midwives – that made such discrimination clearer. Chamar women are renowned for their role as midwives and are called upon by high caste women for most deliveries. The midwife is required to stay with the family for seven days following the birth of the child for which she is paid only one-half kilo of rice per day. While in this role, the midwife is allowed to tend to the newborn baby but she becomes an “untouchable” again once her services are terminated. The Chamar midwives also face a second level of discrimination as none of the Government appointed health workers are from the low castes despite the Chamars’ long experience in this field. In both these situations, the Chamars clearly saw that they were conveniently ‘touchable’ and worthy of interaction with the high castes when their services were needed. Although they took pride in their skills in these two professions, it was for this very same work that the
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high castes deemed them untouchable. Reinforcing the right to education: For many Dalits, access to an education was not possible due to an interplay of factors: the inability to pay the school fees charged; the poor quality of education and the low rate of attendance by the teachers; and, more importantly, the discrimination that the Dalit children would face in the classroom. Even those who could pay received education of appalling quality, as research by SCDF revealed. The result was startlingly high rates of illiteracy and a large dropout rate in the area. Through analysis in the REFLECT circles, Dalits began to mobilize around education issues. SCDF staff joined women from the Dalit Sanghams in meetings with teachers to demand their consistent attendance in schools. In mid 1999, 1,000 Dalit women and children protested at a rally in front of the District Education Office, demanding free education. The group’s actions led to visible policy changes at the local school level – as a result of the protest, two schools began to waive school fees for Dalit children. Demonstrated high levels of women’s empowerment: Following discussion and analysis in the REFLECT circles about the reasons behind such norms/prejudices as different castes eating separately led to women deciding to sit and eat together. In addition to this, the “lower” caste women within the wider community were now able to gather water from the local well, rather than having to walk long distances to fetch water from a different source. Thinking/Discussion Point: Which of the seven key features identified by the UN as important for a broader approach to securing human rights can you identify are met in the case study (see section 1.4 on Human Rights and Development)?
Points of Information After Case Study Work Action Aid and the Rights-Based Approach AA believes that lasting solutions to poverty and injustice are rooted in helping people who are poor and marginalized to discover and secure their rights themselves. These include realization of the vital social, economic and cultural rights - such as to; education, shelter, food, water, livelihoods, participation and health - as well as the fundamental civil and political rights. The realization of such rights can however occur by not only the efforts of the supporters of such marginalized and poor people to influence public policy in ways that they think will benefit the poor but also by helping develop the capacities of such people to participate in decision making - effective participation requires creating opportunities and capabilities for people who are poor, vulnerable and marginalized to analyze their own situations and find possible solutions, take decisions in their own ways, and build trusting relationships with those who support them. AA’s human rights-based approach to programming (HRBAP) is therefore based on the following set of elements:
* People are the centre of a rights-based discourse. People are the ones who need to benefit from this approach; * The State and civil society need to protect and promote the rights of people and in doing so, Governments must be totally accountable; * This approach focuses on vulnerable groups. But, on the whole, the structure needs to be democratic without any room for discrimination against people by the State; and, * People, empowered and conscious of their rights, need to demand and assert their rights. AA thus supports and enables people to better negotiate on their own behalf for their basic needs and basic rights by challenging the very notion that poor people cannot formulate or understand the causes of poverty and what needs to happen to bring about change in their lives. It believes that poor people need to be able to negotiate their own position and be given space and opportunity to do so at local and international levels. The REFLECT process that it introduces in countries worldwide is such a process – this process harnesses people’s own capabilities to produce outcomes that help them realize their own rights. A Checklist - Rights-based principles realized through the REFLECT process • Focuses on the most poor, excluded, marginalized and vulnerable groups -- including women -- and helps capacitates them to mobilize and access social justice through the use of various rights-based strategies; • Uses processes that are local context specific and which are locally designed and locally owned; • Focuses on participation of all stakeholders; • Strategies used focuses on both processes and outcomes; • Uses processes that helps promotes transparency and accountability at all levels. The model stands out as a rights-based model due to its focus on building capacities of the Dalits across parts of the country to mobilize to access social justice and to lead a life free from discrimination, which is a basic human right. Nyamu-Musembi and Andrea Cornwall (2004) provide a detailed discussion of how Action Aid has operationalised the rights-based approach to development.
Concluding Remarks The rights-based approach remains a contested area. While the language of rights has been adopted in the policy and practice of development the contested nature of the concept allows for some agencies to make claims of commitment to development but to ignore it in their practice and continue with older (more hegemonic) development models. On the other hand, agencies may have no official policy but individuals or particular programmes may be working from the principles of the rights-based approach without ever naming it as such. Others may use such approaches, or some elements of them selectively (Nyamu-Musembi and Cornwall, 2004). Therefore in studying this area it is important to question what is said and analyse what and how development is ‘being done’.
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Unit 4: Women, Gender and Development
and because it is a moral responsibility. What makes gender equality worse for the women and girls in WuDunn’s stories than for women and girls in the Global North?
Gender and Rights Definitions
Aims The aims for this unit are: 1. T o trace the development of gender rights in the development context 2. T o understand the relationship between equality for women and human development 3. T o gain knowledge about the CEDAW and other UN instruments and how they are being used to address gender issues
Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this unit you should: 1. B e aware of why women and girls development outcomes are inequitable and unequal compared to men and boys 2. K now how international development policy and practice aims to protect and promote gender equality
Gender: refers to cultural expectations and assumptions about the behaviour, attitudes, personality traits, and physical and intellectual capacities of men and women, based solely on their identity as men or women; Sex refers to biological differences between women and men. Gender Equality - Gender equality means an equal visibility, empowerment and participation of women and men in all spheres of public and private life. It is an integral part of human rights and it aims to promote the full participation of women and men in society. Equity – This generally refers to ensuring parity or evenhandedness when it comes to representation – i.e. ensuring similar treatment for men and women – and is often equated with “formal equality”. It is important to note that “equality” is a human rights concept, but “equity” has no status in international human rights law. It is therefore “equality” which states are obligated to achieve under international law, not “equity”.
Welcome All human rights issues affect women. However, women also suffer specific denial of their human rights because of their gender. This week’s lecture looks at how international development has addressed gender inequality and why it continues to need to.
Causes and Consequences of Gender Inequality Please watch this TedTalk: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/ sheryl_wudunn_our_century_s_greatest_injustice.html The latest data and information on the position of women and children in the world can be found in: UNDP Human Development Report 2010 accessed at www. undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/MDG/english/MDG_ Report_2010_Goal3.pdf UN Women Progress of the World’s Women 2011-2012 Report accessed at: http://progress.unwomen.org/pdfs/EN-ReportProgress.pdf UNICEF State of the World’s Children Report 2011 accessed at http://www.unicef.org/sowc2011/ Thinking/Discussion Point: In WuDunn’s stories, who makes most decisions affecting women and girls? What des this say about choice in human development progress? WuDunn suggests we should care about the position of women and girls, both because we have won ‘the lottery of life’ and been born in a wealthy country of the Global North
Sexual Discrimination - Direct discrimination because of sex occurs when a difference in treatment relies directly and explicitly on distinction based exclusively on sex and characteristics of men and women, which cannot be justified objectively. Indirect discrimination occurs when a law, policy or programme does not appear to be discriminatory on its face, but has a discriminatory effect when implemented. This can occur, for example, when women are disadvantaged compared to men with respect to the enjoyment of a particular opportunity or benefit due to pre-existing inequalities; Discrimination Against Women (As defined by the CEDAW) – “…any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field.” Specific Actions (Or Special Measures) - Specific actions are specially tailored measures, referred in international law as special measures aimed to remedy or redress historical injustice, reduce structural disadvantages, overcome gender stereotypes and prejudices. (Source: UNIFEM Advancing Gender Equality Manual: http://www.unifem.org/attachments/products/ AdvancingGenderEqualityManual_eng.pdf)
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History of Gender, Development and Human Rights Just as human rights was mainstreamed into development processes, as a basic human right, gender (equality) has been too (gender mainstreaming is the topic for next week’s lecture). Since women form the majority of those living in poverty, and have fewer resources, less power and less influence in decision making when compared to men, they are the focus of the development process - poverty eradication and inequality. Additionally, since women and girls are exposed to various forms of violence and exploitation and, in addition, experience inequality because of their ethnicity, age, (dis)ability, nationality, caste, religion, or sexual orientation, it has been recognised special efforts need to be made to address gender inequality. The international agreements are central to tackling gender inequality in development. The Beijing Platform for Women and, as previously mentioned, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The spirit of these agreements has been affirmed in all the MDGs, and Goals 3 and 5 specifically target Promoting Gender Equality and Empowerment and Maternal Health respectively. Many of the UN Conferences over the years have addressed women’s issues and there has been four World Conferences on Women since 1975, with review processes every five years. In recent years, UN resolutions women, peace and security (UNSC resolution 1325) and on sexual violence in conflict (UNSC resolution 1850) have given prominence to these issues in the work of UN agencies and many other development actors. In 2010, the UN General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. This is part of the UN reform agenda but also hopes to accelerate the UN’s goals on gender equality and the empowerment of women. UN Women brings together all the UN agencies and departments previously charged with advancing gender equality and empowerment to work for the: – elimination of discrimination against women and girls; – empowerment of women; and – achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is the international human rights treaty that is exclusively devoted to gender equality. The culmination of the work of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women which was created in 1946, it was adopted on 18 December 1979 by the UN General Assembly, made binding as a Convention until 1979, and came into force for signatories until 1981. 186 countries have now ratified the CEDAW.
It requires all States parties to take “all appropriate measures, including legislation, to ensure the full development and advancement of women, for the purpose of guaranteeing them the exercise and enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms on a basis of equality with men” (Article 3). This includes not just overturning discriminatory laws, but also introducing new gender-sensitive laws and policies, changing the attitudes, practices and procedures within Governments, ensuring that private organizations and individual citizens do not discriminate against women, and changing harmful cultural stereotypes. The Convention therefore takes the conditions of women’s actual lives, rather than the wording of laws, as the true measure of whether equality has been achieved (http://www.unifem.org/cedaw30/about_cedaw/) The Convention makes very clear that responsibilities extend to private life as well as public life. Historically, one of the biggest obstacles to realizing women’s rights in many countries has been the perception that the State should not interfere in the “private” realm of family relations. The Convention recognizes that unequal power relations within the private sphere contribute very significantly to gender inequality in all aspects of women’s lives, and directs States to take measures that will correct this power imbalance.
CEDAW Success Stories Reproductive Health Rights in Colombia After a groundbreaking decision by the Constitutional Court in May 2006, women in Colombia may now legally access abortion in certain circumstances. Prior to this, more than 350,000 Colombian women sought illegal abortions every year, according to Women’s Link Worldwide, often resulting in death. The striking conflict between the reality of women’s lives and the law was the motivation behind the Constitutional challenge filed by a Colombian women’s rights lawyer. The Court overturned the country’s total ban on abortion and ruled that abortions would now be permitted in the following three circumstances: when the life of a mother was in danger; when the foetus was expected to die; or in cases of rape or incest. In reaching its decision, the Court relied on Colombia’s international treaty obligations to interpret the Constitution. It cited the Programme of Action of the UN International Conference on Population and Development, the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women, and the CEDAW Convention to establish that women’s sexual and reproductive health rights have been recognized as human rights and therefore must be protected by the Constitution. Women’s rights were at the centre of the Court’s justification for partially decriminalizing abortion. The issue emerged in the Constitutional Court again in October 2009, where a woman seeking an abortion under legal grounds was denied the service due to conscientious objection by a judge from whom a judicial order to grant the abortion was required. The Court upheld the 2006 decision and ruled that it is forbidden to raise barriers to accessing an abortion under circumstances where it is legal.
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CEDAW in Jamaica: ‘Rights a di plan, wid CEDAW in wi han’
While the impact of CEDAW is most noticeable at the macro level, in instances of constitutional or legislative reform, the changes that CEDAW have brought about in individual women’s lives all over the world cannot be underestimated. When the rights enshrined in CEDAW are understood in relation to real struggles faced by women, the Convention becomes a powerful tool for mobilization at the community level, providing women with inspiration and authority to claim their individual rights. In communities around the world the work of local NGOs is paying off for individual women. For example, in Jamaica two women own their own homes after learning about their right to social benefits guaranteed in the CEDAW convention. During a workshop titled, “Rights a di plan, wid CEDAW in wi han” (rights are the plan with CEDAW in our hands), which was organized by a local women’s rights NGO, approximately 30 women from all over the island learned about CEDAW and its applicability to their lives. Prior to the workshop, they were not aware of the availability of low interest loans from the State nor were they aware that access to these loans was their right in light of state obligations under CEDAW. The knowledge inspired two of the participants to register for their entitled housing benefits at the National Housing Trust, which has subsequently led to their becoming owners of their own houses. See more CEDAW success stories at: http://www.unifem.org/ cedaw30/success_stories/
CEDAW ‘Reservations’ After states have signed and ratified the Convention they may enter ‘reservations’ outlining areas where they argue the provisions of CEDAW do not apply nationally. The most common and significant ‘reservations’ relate to (Regan (ed) 2012:94); – Where CEDAW would conflict with Shariah law and its different interpretations or other religious issues – Where the provisions of CEDAW contradict national legislation as regards family laws or codes – Where governments insist that national legislation is more favourable to women than under CEDAW
– Where family legislation confers more rights on women than men, or on men rather than women – Where CEDAW challenges traditional customs and practices which take time to change and which are unlikely to change as a result of direct legislation – Many states reject the jurisdiction of the Court of International Justice in disputes between states parties as outlined in Article 29 of the Convention But even tradition changes - here is a recent success story from Cameroon: Traditional Leaders in Cameroon Make Advances towards Gender Equality Accessed at http://www.unifem.org/cedaw30/success_ stories/ The traditional Ruler of Aboh in the Northwest region of Cameroon addresses his population in a restitution meeting on gender-based violence as part of the Centre for Human Rights and Peace Advocacy (CHRAPA) initiative to raise awareness and understanding among traditional leaders on CEDAW and women’s rights. (Photo: CHRAPA.) Traditional leaders in Cameroon are changing traditional practices that are harmful to women after learning about CEDAW and the rights that it provides for women. In 2007, civil society organizations in Cameroon, in collaboration with relevant government stakeholders, recognized the value of CEDAW as a powerful tool to stimulate change if widely disseminated and used as the basis for understanding universally accepted human rights principles, namely those relating to gender equality. They developed a training manual titled “CEDAW Made Easy,” which was used as a resource for a network of traditional leaders. The manual aimed to empower them to use the Convention to bring about concrete improvements in the lives of women in their communities. By simplifying the provisions of CEDAW and using examples of violations of women’s rights from the local context, the facilitators were able to explain the importance of the Convention to the realization of women’s rights in
*Regan (ed) 2012:94
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Cameroon. CEDAW requires States Parties to take measures towards eliminating prejudices and customary and all other practices based on the idea of women’s inferiority. Traditional leaders have an important role in this respect, and after having been sensitized to women’s rights through the training, they are in a position to act as agents of change. There has been evidence of change following the training. Certain practices, based on the idea of women’s inferiority, such as sitting and sleeping on the bare floor or being stripped of clothing upon the death of one’s husband, have been abolished in some regions. The United States is the only state in the Global North not to ratify CEDAW even though it has been endorsed by three of the last four Presidents, the State Department and many politicians, social and religious organisations.
CEDAW and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995 The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995) is the global community’s most comprehensive policy document for the empowerment of women and gender equality. The Declaration famously stated that “women’s rights are human rights.” In twelve critical areas of concern, the Platform highlights women’s rights under its strategic objectives, as well as in its concrete and detailed recommendations for action. One of its critical areas of concern is specifically devoted to the human rights of women, including through the full implementation of the Convention. Together, the Convention and the Platform aim at the elimination of discrimination against women on the one hand, and at ensuring the achievement of equality for women on the other.
CEDAW and the MDGs The UN sees the efforts to achieve the MDGs and to implement the CEDAW as mutually reinforcing. The Convention obliges all its States parties to take all appropriate measures, including temporary special measures, to embody the principle of equality of men and women in their national constitutions or other appropriate legislation. Gender equality is both a specific MDG, and has been identified as critical to the achievement of all other MDGs. The identification of gender equality and the empowerment of women as MDG3 has given increased visibility to the critical importance of gender equality and thereby provided greater impetus for the implementation of the Convention. The CEDAW Committee itself has highlighted the clear linkages between the implementation of the Convention and the MDGs and has emphasized the full and effective implementation of the Convention is indispensable for achieving the MDGs, and has called for the integration of a gender perspective and explicit reflection of the provisions of the Convention in all efforts aimed at the achievement of the MDGs.
Concluding Remarks Gender equality is not yet a reality and may be worse. Oxfam, an international NGO that has been at the forefront of addressing gender inequality in their programming and campaigning work for a long time has this to say. ‘In many countries the spaces for enhancing women’s rights have narrowed and availability of funding is decreasing, especially for grassroots organisations’. Despite all the legal frameworks and the policy plans, women remain seriously disadvantaged in all areas of life.
The 12 critical areas of inequality, discrimination and concern identified in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.
the burden of poverty on women education and training health care and related services violence against women armed or other kinds of conflict economic structures, policies, productive activities and access to resources power and decision-making institutional mechanisms to promote the advancement of women promotion and protection of the human rights of women communications and media stereotyping natural resources and the environment rights of the girl child.
Thinking/Discussion Point: Think about Sheryl WuDunn’s TedTalk, can you identify any of the above 12 areas in her exposition of the causes and consequences of gender inequality. Page 19
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Unit 5: Gender Mainstreaming – Policies and Practice Aims The aims for this unit are: 1. T o understand what is meant by gender mainstreaming in international development. 2. T o explore how development practitioners have used mainstreaming to shape their programme interventions. 3. To direct attention to the issue of gender based violence
Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this unit you should: 1. K now what development actors mean when they talk about gender mainstreaming; 2. U nderstand how gender mainstreaming has been applied in practice; 3. B e aware of the ways in which the causes of poverty and inequality impact on women and girls (as compared to men and boys) and ways in which this has been tackled. If you are interested in continuing your learning, the content for Unit 5 can be accessed via the European Certification and Qualification Association (www.ecqa.org) under Access International Development. Content will be available from early 2013.
Unit 6: The Human Security Paradigm - theoretical overview and policies and practice Aims The aims for this unit are: 1. T o trace the historical development of the notion of human security; 2. T o review the relationship between human security, human rights and development.
Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this unit you should have: 1. D eveloped an understanding of the concept of human security; 2. A ppreciate the complexities of human security and how it relates to human rights and development; 3. H ave explored the application of the concept to the real world of development. If you are interested in continuing your learning, the content for Unit 6 can be accessed via the European Certification and Qualification Association (www.ecqa.org) under Access International Development. Content will be available from early 2013. Page 20
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For more information on the programme please contact Roisin McEvoy International Development Programme University of Ulster Northern Ireland Email: r.mcevoy@ulster.ac.uk Or visit the project website www.aidproject.eu This project has been funded with the support from the European Commission under the Lifelong Learning Programme. This website reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
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Access International Development Training Programme MODULE 5 Sustainability and Climate Justice
www.aidproject.eu
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Table of contents Module 5 – Page 3 Sustainability and Climate Justice • Rationale for the Module • Aims • Module Content Unit 1: The Emergence of the Sustainable Development Paradigm and What it Means for ‘Doing Development’ • Aims • Learning Outcomes • Do We Need Development to be Sustainable? • Sustainable Development Time Line • Case Study: Brazil • The Theoretical Framework for Sustainable Development • Implementation of Agenda 21 – paradigm or implementation failure? • Concluding Remarks Unit 2: Sustainability and Poverty Alleviation-tensions and challenges in the pursuit of International Development Policy and Practice
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• Aims • Learning Outcomes • Poverty Trends and Poverty Alleviation • Link Between Poverty and the Environment • Concluding Remarks Unit 3: The Millennium Development Goals and Sustainable Livelihoods
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• Aims • Learning Outcomes • Sustainable Livelihoods • The MDGs and Environment Linkages • Case Study from Practical Action’s work in Bangladesh • What is an ‘integrated’ approach? • Building on lessons learned • Main Activities • Case Study: Mauritius and the MDGs • Other Ills • Replacing the MDGs • Concluding Remarks Unit 4: Environmental Management – Uncertainty and Complexity
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• Aims • Learning Outcomes • Managing the environment to reduce poverty • Addressing environmental management • Strategies for Sustainable Development • Transfer Mechanism • Global Structural Reform Needed • Concluding Remarks Unit 5: What is climate change and how does it relate to development practice? • Aims • Learning Outcomes
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Unit 6: Climate Justice as a response to the effects of climate change and its implications for development policy and practice • Aims • Learning Outcomes
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Module 5
approaches, arguments, and a wide range of evidence.
Module Content This module is designed to introduce you to the field of sustainable development and climate justice as they relate international development practice. The module content will address the following:
Sustainability and Climate Justice Rationale for the Module Sustainable Development has become an increasingly important paradigm in the development field and now influences policy related to international development practice at governmental and organisational levels. This module seeks to provide a foundation for the understanding of how sustainable development and climate justice impact upon international development policy contexts and practice on the ground. Sustainable development has emerged in recent years as an important overarching paradigm for best practice in the pursuit of development cooperation activities. This has resulted from real and pressing concerns regarding environmental degradation associated with the unfettered economic growth model of development that persisted since the end of World War II and the subsequent period of decolonisation. Actually achieving sustainability remains a difficult balancing act requiring a range of scientific, political and societal understanding. Sustainable development poses significant challenges to development policy makers and practitioners regarding the complex interrelationship between poverty alleviation and environmental sustainability. The tensions between these two agendas and their respective goals have been brought in to sharp relief with the recent concern for the impact of climate change on the world’s most vulnerable communities. Alleviating the worst effects of climate change for vulnerable people is the primary concern of the climate justice agenda. A climate justice approach to international development takes a rights based approach to sustainable development and puts those who are most vulnerable to the worst effects of climate change in the developing world at the centre of its concern and analysis. These issues will be explored throughout the module by examining a number of global case studies.
Aims The key aim of this module is to increase students’ knowledge and understanding of sustainable development policy and practice as it relates to working in development cooperation related fields. Students will examine the sustainable development paradigm at macro and micro levels with reference to a variety of case studies. Students will also critically reflect on the linkages between sustainable approaches to development and the advent of the relatively new and innovative climate justice paradigm to explore their synergies and tensions. The module will enable students to connect environmental problems on a global scale with their local impact and to interpret those problems using different
– The emergence of the sustainable development paradigm and what it means for “doing development” – Sustainability and poverty alleviation – tensions and challenges in the pursuit of international development policy and practice – The Millennium Development Goals and sustainable livelihoods – Environmental Management – uncertainty and complexity – What is climate change and how does it relate to development practice? – Climate justice as a response to the effects of climate change and its implications for development policy and practice
Unit 1: The Emergence of the Sustainable Development Paradigm and What it Means for ‘Doing Development’ Aims The aims for this week are: 1. T o understand the historical development of the concept of sustainable development and the issues at its core 2. T o review the relationship between sustainable development and development policy
Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this week you should have: 1. D eveloped an understanding of the concept of sustainable development and the core issues underlying the paradigm; 2. G ained knowledge of the historical progress made through the United Nations on working towards a sustainable future; 3. B e aware of the difficulties of reconciling environment and development within one concept The topic of this unit is the emergence of the concept of sustainable development and its close ties with thinking on international development and the environment. A marker for the interdependence of human development and the environment was laid with the publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring in 1962. It was not until the late 1970s and 1980s that the now familiar concept of sustainable development emerged in the Bruntland Commission’s 1987 Our Common Future report (WCED, 1987). The concept came into its own at the United Nations Conference on Environment
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and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 which saw the largest gathering of global leaders ever at a UN Conference. The most recent Earth Summit, Rio +20, which met in June 2012, comes a decade after the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development. A 10 day megaconference that involved more than 45,000 people but fewer world leaders than previously, ended with many environmental activists, civil society groups and NGOs working on development and the environment walk away depressed at its failure, in their eyes, to provide a clear course of action to save both the planet and humanity. What happened to the optimism of Bruntland and the ‘Spirit of Rio’?
Do We Need Development to Be Sustainable? The term sustainable development was used in UN documents well before the 1987 Bruntland Commission report, Our Common Future which established the most commonly used definition of sustainable development and identified the core issues at the heart of sustainable development as: • Population and development; • Food Security; • Species and ecosystems; • Energy; • Industry; • The Urban Environment
population growth. But to the newly independent nations of what was referred to as ‘the developing world’, where poverty, inequality and underdevelopment were prevalent, industrialisation and the exploitation of natural resources was seen as the key to economic growth and development.
Defining Sustainable Development The Our Common Future Report (1987) defined sustainable development as: “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It contains within it two key concepts: • the concept of needs, in particular the essential needs of the world’s poor, to which overriding priority should be given; and • the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment’s ability to meet present and future needs.” (Our Common Future, 1987)
Case Study: Brazil Adapted from, http://www.theurbn.com/2012/05/brazil-acase-study-for-sustainable-development/ The Amazon rainforest has been described as the “lungs of the earth.” More than half of the oxygen-producing Amazon and its remarkable biodiversity are contained in Brazil, which also boasts 14% of the world’s renewable fresh water and many natural resources including rare earth elements. For these reasons alone, Rio de Janeiro, the country’s second largest city and host of the 1992 United Nations (UN) Conference on Environment and Development, seems to be a natural location to hold the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, or Rio+20.
Let’s look at the historical and live time figures for these issues. Click on these links provided to find out more: http://www.worldometers.info (For information about population, energy and forestry) Hungry people and where they are: http://www.fao.org/ monitoringprogress/index_en.htm
But Rio de Janeiro also has the second largest GDP of Brazil ($152 billion in 2010), is the destination of Chinese investments in infrastructure and telecommunications, and is the base of several major oil companies including the state-run Petrobras. The company is in the midst of developing many offshore oil drilling sites off the coast of Rio, which many expect will be a new El Dorado. As events of the past couple of years have shown, offshore oil drilling can have devastating environmental consequences, and Brazil has had to make many decisions between its environment and its economic development.
The importance of biodiversity: http://journalofcosmology.com/ClimateChange100.html Urban Development http://esa.un.org/unup/ Thinking/Discussion Point: What’s your reaction to these statistics?
Sustainable Development Time Line Just about everyone has heard the term ‘sustainable development’. But where did it come from? The key sustainable development events as interpreted by the International Institute for Sustainable Development can be found here: http://www. iisd.org/pdf/2012/sd_timeline_2012.pdf During the 1960s and 1970s environmentalism largely reflected white, middle-class, usually European and American concerns. Conservation and environmental NGOs such as the Sierra Club and in 1969, the more activist-oriented Greenpeace, emerged to add to the multilateral activity around conservation dominated by states and governments. Industrialisation was seen as a chief culprit in environmental degradation as was
In fact, Brazil illustrates the full range of the significance and obstacles of sustainable development. Brazil is a developing state, but it is the only one in Latin America included in the well-known BRICs group (Brazil, Russia, India, China), as a growing power symbolically shifting economic power from the G7. In obtaining this status and across its various activities, Brazil has become known for both environmental degradation and a relatively successful balancing of development and preservation. In effect, it consistently deals with the challenges and opportunities that Rio+20 participants will discuss. To understand Brazil in the context of Rio+20, it is worthwhile
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to adopt a framework from the current thinking and planning around the summit. The conference will address the themes of a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication, and the institutional framework for sustainable development. Sustainable development currently lacks an uncontested definition and metrics, and the pressure to “develop a new generation of sustainable development goals to pick up where the [Millennium Development Goals] MDGs leave off” has been growing. The governments of Colombia, Guatemala, and Peru have proposed several areas around which sustainable development goals (SDGs) should be developed. In January 2012, a zero draft of the Rio+20 outcome document was leaked, proposing its own goal areas with slightly more elaboration. In considering some of these prospective sustainable development goal categories, Brazil’s performance has been mixed.
provides almost universally accepted guiding principles but its ambiguity as a concept makes it difficult to implement.
The Theoretical Framework for Sustainable Development
When Agenda 21 emerged from the 1992 Earth Summit it was probably the most comprehensive programme of action on environmental concerns ever sanctioned by the international community (Elliott, 2004:22). This new sustainable development paradigm would require that the Global North would help the Global South with financial aid and technological transfer and creating a more favourable international economic environment. As a result the Global South would then be able to better manage its economies, prioritize policies to meet basic needs and reduce resource depletion. International agencies and structures would promote this process by reducing debt problems, reviewing structural adjustment policies, helping mobilise financial resources, providing technical aid for improving environmental standards, and so on (Khor, 2001). As the 2012 Rio +20 summit took place the developed countries of the Global North had not kept their financial and technology transfer commitments made at Rio in 1997, very few had reached the target of allocating 0.7% of GDP to development assistance. WTO negotiations had not addressed agricultural subsidies and other trade barriers that disadvantage developing countries face. The Global North has not done enough to change production and consumption patterns in their societies that place great strain on the ecosystem.
The theoretical framework for sustainable development was evolving between 1972 and 1992. The 1992 Earth Summit succeeded in achieving recognition for the important link between the environment and development and of the need to deal simultaneously with the environment and development crises in an integrated manner embedded in economic and social systems (three pillars: economic, social, environment). It attempted to reconcile differing concerns of developing and developed countries towards development and the environment. A realistic and long-term program for action at national and international levels, Agenda 21 was drawn up. Equally important for the Global South, the Rio Declaration reached political agreement that the Global North has been more responsible for environmental degradation, has more resources due to the uneven nature of the world economy and has proportionately more responsibility in resolving environmental problems (Khor, 2001). In the years since the 1992 Earth Summit, sustainable development (although not actually defined in the Rio Declaration) has been adopted and adapted by almost all key global, national and local development actors. Key international organisations such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organisation have integrated the concept of sustainable development into their operations and governing mandates. It has been incorporated into the MDGs which are endorsed by a great many national governments. The growing emphasis on corporate social responsibility in the private sector reflects the influence of sustainable development globally. A great many NGOs at international and local level have taken up the cause of sustainability and their operations and programmes are grounded in approaches that integrate all 3 dimensions of the paradigm. Search ‘sustainable development’ on Oxfam’s publication webpage and it returns 956 publications. In reality though sustainable development is an elusive and ambiguous concept. As a paradigm, sustainable development
Implementation of Agenda 21 – paradigm or implementation failure? “Efforts to implement sustainable development have taken place in an environment of mainstream economic planning and market-based investment, in a manner that will not disrupt overall growth. As such, implementation has not moved beyond slow incremental steps to transformative action.” (Drexhage & Murphy, 2010). Going beyond problems with implementation, others question whether the paradigm does not simply reinforce the development status quo and question the assumption that poverty is the cause of unsustainable development (Elliott, 2004:162)
Failure of implementation lies not in the paradigm of sustainable development but in the much greater dominance of the neo-liberal and globalisation paradigm (Khor, 2001). Thinking/Discussion Point: Can the consensus approach of the UN Summit reconcile responsibility for the environment, the power to respond and national interest? Would you agree that NGOs are the key to sustainable development? Why/Why not?
Concluding Remarks If you think about sustainable development long enough, you begin to see how it includes the challenges of the entire world and challenges to the entire world. Perhaps, the challenge for all development actors is to not become overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the challenge.
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Unit 2: Sustainability and poverty alleviation - tensions and challenges in the pursuit of international development policy and practice
“Poverty is now widely viewed as encompassing both income and non-income including lack of income and other material means; lack of access to basic social services such as education, health, and safe water; lack of personal security; and lack of empowerment to participate in the political process and in decisions that influence someone’s life. The dynamics of poverty also are better understood, and extreme vulnerability to external shocks is now seen as one of its major features (UNDP, 1997)”.
Aims The aims for this week are: 1. To gain a better understanding of what poverty alleviation is all about and how it fits within the sustainable development paradigm 2. T o highlight the tensions and challenges between poverty alleviation and sustainable development in development policy and practice
Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this week you should have: 1. Greater knowledge of what is meant by poverty alleviation 2. A n improved understanding of the connection between poverty and the environment (in both rural and urban areas) 3. E xamined some examples of the complexity of tackling poverty alleviation within a sustainable development framework In Unit 1, we saw that the Bruntland Commission identified poverty as the major cause of environmental degradation and a barrier to sustainable development. Through the 1990s various UN Conferences made poverty eradication their focus and the UNDP made poverty eradication their overarching goal from around the mid-1990s with an impact on multilateral and many bilateral programmes. 1996 was the UN Year for the Eradication of Poverty and there followed a Decade for the Eradication of Poverty. The first UN Decade for the Eradication of Poverty ran from 1996 and the second was declared immediately thereafter. Poverty Eradication was seen as ‘ […]a moral imperative […] and in the long run an economic imperative’ (UNDP, 1997: 106). Further, “human poverty constitutes a denial of fundamental human rights”. The importance of poverty eradication as a global endeavour was given further impetus at the 2000 Millennium Assembly and Summit which later delivered the MDGs (with economic growth to achieve these). It has been argued that failure to achieve the MDG targets on the environment will result in failure of all other MDG goals (Hills, 2008). The green economy in the context of sustainability and poverty eradication was a key theme for Rio +20. Making poverty alleviation integral to achieving sustainable development has not achieved either. This week we explore this failure.
Poverty Trends and Poverty Alleviation Look at this link to see key development related indicators: http://povertydata.worldbank.org/poverty/home/
Link Between Poverty and the Environment Principle 5 of the Rio Declaration, states “All States and all people shall cooperate in the essential task of eradicating poverty as an indispensable requirement for sustainable development, in order to decrease the disparities in standards of living and better meet the needs of the majority of the people of the world”. Thinking/Discussion Point: Look at the cartoon. What does this suggest about who is responsible for environmental degradation? Do you agree or disagree with the direction of responsibility?
© Centre for Science and Environment The Impact of consumption patterns in the Global North on the environment globally. It is important to consider how the wants and demands of people in the Global North impact on the environment across the planet. Following this link to find out more about consumption and consumerism: http://www.globalissues.org/ issue/235/consumption-and-consumerism Thinking/Discussion Point: If the poor world were to develop and consume in the same manner as the West to achieve the same living standards, “we would need two additional
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planet Earths to produce resources and absorb wastes … and good planets are hard to find!” Do you think we can ‘solve’ the current environmental and food crisis in a sustainable way? Case Study: Dams on the Mekong River, China (Source: WWF Media Release, 29 August 2012) New research presented today highlighted key environmental challenges raised by proposed dams through the Mekong River, demonstrating the urgent need for comprehensive sustainability studies.
the poor and ensure poverty reduction and sustainability.” WWF is urging the lower Mekong countries to defer a decision on the mainstem Mekong dams for 10 years to ensure critical data can be gathered and a decision can be reached using sound science and analysis. WWF further advises lower Mekong countries considering hydropower projects to prioritise dams on some Mekong tributaries that may have a lower impact and risk.
Thinking/Discussion Point: Are we too preoccupied with the environment rather than addressing causes and effects of poverty? What are the tensions that you can see after reading this case study?
The research, carried out at ANU’s Crawford School of Public Policy in partnership with WWF, points to knock-on effects of dam construction. In particular, the study ‘Dams on the Mekong River: Lost fish protein and the implications for land and water resources’ looks at heightened demands on resources necessary to replace lost fish protein and calories following dam construction.
Concluding Remarks
Eleven hydropower dams are proposed on the main stem of the Mekong River in Southeast Asia. WWF is working with donor partners such as AusAID to advance hydropower sustainability and assessment in the Mekong Region while promoting sustainable hydropower in the upper Mekong Basin. The report also looks at the effects on land and water as people are forced to shift to eating cows, pigs, poultry and other sources to meet their protein requirements. On top of 1,350km2 of land lost to dam reservoirs, the countries would need a minimum of 4,863km2 of new pasture land to replace fish protein with livestock. The high end of the estimate if all dams were built is 24,188km2 – a 63 per cent increase in land dedicated to livestock which raises the prospect of extensive deforestation and increasing food prices
International development policy and practice may well be directed towards poverty alleviation but this comes up against a number of hurdles that work against ‘the poor’, challenging their abilities to sustain a livelihood of any description, let alone a sustainable one. As pressures on the planet’s resources continue to mount, development actors will be hard pushed to ensure poverty is tackled without further harming those at whom it is aimed. The most significant attempt to do this lies in the Millennium Development Goals which are the subject of the next unit.
Study co-author Stuart Orr, freshwater manager at WWF International, says policymakers often fail to recognise the crucial role of inland fisheries in meeting food security. “The Mekong countries are striving for economic growth, and they see hydropower as a driver of that growth. But they must first fully understand and take into account the true economic and social value of a free-flowing Mekong,” says Orr. “Some 2.8 million people are in danger of going hungry if food prices go up by more than 10 per cent. Primarily from rural areas, they depend on fishing and farming for their livelihoods. If this protein is to be replaced, where would it come from and what would it mean environmentally?” said co-author Dr Jamie Pittock from the Crawford School of Public Policy in the Australia National University. Paul Toni, WWF-Australia’s national manager of science, policy, and government partnerships said, “It is important to remember that the world’s poorest people are normally those most affected by environmental degradation. That’s why WWF-Australia and the Australian Government’s overseas aid program, managed by AusAID, have been working together since 1994 to address environmental concerns that matter to Page 7
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Unit 3: The Millennium Development Goals and Sustainable Livelihoods
Sustainable Livelihoods
Aims The aims for this week are: 1. To understand how the MDGs relate to sustainable development and environmental issues 2. I ntroduce ideas for post-2015 when the current MDGs are to close
Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this week you should have: 1. D eveloped an understanding of the key linkages between the MDGs and sustainable development 2. E xplored the evidence on the success/failure of the MDGs and what might replace them post 2015 “The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are the world’s biggest promise – a global agreement to reduce poverty and human deprivation at historically unprecedented rates through collaborative action. They differ from all other global promises for poverty reduction in their comprehensive nature and the systematic efforts taken to finance, implement and monitor them”. (Hulme, 2009).
“Livelihoods compromise(s) the capabilities, assets (including both material and social resources) and activities required for a means of living. A livelihood is sustainable when it can cope with and recover from stresses and shocks and manage to enhance its capabilities and assets both now and in the future, while not undermining the natural resource base” (Chambers and Conway, 1992) The key elements of the sustainable livelihoods model are (Meikle et al (2001): - assets, - livelihood strategies, - livelihood outcomes, - context and; - men’s and women’s short and long term objectives This is how one Irish NGO explains sustainable livelihoods: Put simply, “livelihoods” means a person’s ability to earn a living. But it is about so much more than just income, it is about everything that makes an impact on a person’s life – education, health and access to food all play a vital role. We see our livelihoods work as a fundamental part of what we do.
The MDGs & Environment Linkages (See next page)
A sustainable livelihoods approach to poverty eradication is one that acknowledges that poverty is a condition of insecurity rather than only a lack of wealth. Debate has surrounded adoption of the MDGs, focusing on lack of analysis and justification behind the chosen objectives, the difficulty or lack of measurements for some of the goals, and uneven progress towards reaching the goals, among other criticisms. Although developed countries’ aid for achieving the MDGs has been rising over recent years, more than half the aid is towards debt relief owed by poor countries, with remaining aid money going towards natural disaster relief and military aid which does not further development.
Saving Livelihoods Through Conservation
Progress towards reaching the goals has been uneven. Some countries have achieved many of the goals, while others are not on track to realize any. A UN conference in September 2010 reviewed progress to date and concluded with the adoption of a global action plan to achieve the eight anti-poverty goals by their 2015 target date. There were also new commitments on women’s and children’s health, and new initiatives in the worldwide battle against poverty, hunger and disease. Government organizations assist in achieving those goals, among them are the United Nations Millennium Campaign, the Millennium Promise Alliance, Inc., the Global Poverty Project, the Micah Challenge, The Youth in Action EU Programme “Cartoons in Action” video project and the 8 Visions of Hope global art project.
Sanitation, Water and Hygiene Programme in Faridpur, Bangladesh Uttam Kumar Saha, Mansoor Ali, Lucy Stevens and Iqbal Karim (Practical Action)
Watch this short video “Conservation farming in Zimbabwe: Concern project” on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bkw1dkPGfyA&feature=pla yer_embedded Thinking/Discussion Point: Do you think that ‘low tech’ solutions will save the poor from unsustainable livelihoods?
Case Study from Practical Action’s Work in Bangladesh
Follow this website link for access to the paper: http://practicalaction.org/integrated-approaches-toimproving-urban-environment-asia This paper, prepared in collaboration with WaterAid, summarises the experience of Practical Action Bangladesh in promoting water, sanitation, waste and hygiene related infrastructure and services in the town of Faridpur, Bangladesh. The project, ‘Integrated approaches to improving the urban
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Source World Bank, 2002 environment in Asia’ aims to reduce environmental threats to the health and livelihoods of urban slum dwellers, thus helping to reduce poverty in four towns in Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. It will do this by developing and promoting an integrated approach to improving the urban environment, which works at the neighbourhood level in ways which are driven by, and improve the livelihoods of, poor women and men.
the poor environment. Urban populations in south Asia are expanding rapidly, placing enormous pressures on urban services. The proportion of urban residents living in slums is high and continues to grow.
Why is the urban environment important to poverty reduction? The urban environment and poverty are closely linked. The lack of clean water, refuse collection, adequate sanitation, shelter and drainage have devastating impacts on health. They eat up time as people care for the sick, queue for water or to use toilets, or struggle to move about the area. They cost money in medical bills and high charges. They rob people of dignity and emphasise their lack of power. A poor environment is a cause of poverty, and in turn poverty contributes to
The link between the urban environment and poverty are recognised internationally, for example in the MDGs. Goal 7 of ensuring environmental sustainability, for example, includes targets on access to drinking water and improving the lives of slum dwellers. The Sustainable Cities Programme (UNEP and UN-Habitat) recognises that environmental degradation threatens both social equity and the economic efficiency of the city as a whole.
This project focuses on those environmental problems which have the most devastating impacts on the poorest sections of the urban population.
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What is an ‘integrated’ approach? The livelihoods of poor people are the starting point for this approach. It looks in a holistic way at the skills and assets people assemble to make a living, their vulnerability to economic or environmental events, and the way they are affected by policies and regulations. The project is integrated in two senses: • Bringing together a set of activities which are mutually supportive and co-ordinated to help improve livelihoods. • Bringing together a range of partners in carrying out these activities. Starting from a basis in community-capacity building and participatory planning, it promotes activities that improve both the environment and incomes (waste collection services, water and sanitation). In a second phase, these incomes can begin to be invested in improved housing and other services. The broad scope of activities means that no one agency can deal with them all. Partnerships are crucial not only to the project implementation, but to its long term sustainability too. The approach intends to be sustainable for the long-term. A strong focus will be given to the business models and maintenance aspects important for communities to manage the services themselves. The focus will be less on large-scale delivery by the project, than showing what can work, and building capacities of all concerned to continue to expand the work in the future. This includes building skills, using and adapting the right technologies, tapping appropriate sources of finance, and influencing policies where necessary.
Building on lessons learned This approach builds on Practical Action’s experiences in towns and cities in Africa (Kenya, Sudan and Zimbabwe) and India through our partner the Society for Development Studies. Evaluations of this work have so far indicated that it can be a powerful approach to building the assets and capacities of poor communities. It has been a vehicle for encouraging widereaching partnerships with other NGOs and local authorities. These experiences, and those of other NGOs, has recently been documented in a new publication ‘Confronting the Crisis of Urban Poverty: Making Integrated Approaches Work’ (edited by Lucy Stevens, Stuart Coupe and Diana Mitlin). Lessons from that work have led us to appreciate the importance of building a strong foundation for the work in partnerships and community capacity-building. It has also shown us the potential for tackling a range of aspects of urban poverty through the entry point of infrastructure services.
Main activities • Developing neighbourhood plans for improving the environment and livelihoods and helping embed the plans and processes within the work of local authorities and other stakeholders
• Supporting the creation of partnerships between CBOs and other stakeholders to help deliver the plans • Developing innovative and appropriate waste management and water and sanitation facilities, and raising the capacity of the communities to manage the facilities themselves • Increasing access to other services and improved housing for residents • Raising awareness and influencing policies on environmental issues Thinking/Discussion Point: Make a note of what you consider to be the key differences between urban and rural poverty in terms of: social context, economic context, governance, environment and health? Say how you think these might affect sustainable livelihoods approaches to poverty eradication?
Case Study: Mauritius and the MDGs Mauritius: Social Ills Prevail Despite Meeting MDGs By Nasseem Ackburally (Port-Louis), Tuesday, October 19, 2010, Inter Press Service (Accessed at http://www.globalissues.org/ news/2010/10/19/7343) “The small island state of Mauritius is the only African country likely to meet all eight of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 - at least on paper. But its citizens say government could do more to improve livelihoods, gender equality and environmental sustainability. Although Mauritius’s 2009 MDG figures, released in September by the government’s Central Statistics Office, show it is pretty much on course to achieve all MDG targets, social activists say the results are misleading because the MDGs focus only on selected problem areas. ‘There are other real issues [that need to be addressed], like debt, non-communicable diseases, pollution, insecurity and violence, and so on, that have a negative impact on our society,’ says Vidya Charan, executive director of nonprofit organisation Mauritius Family Planning and Welfare Association (MFPWA). Charan is worried the government will use the positive MDG figures as an excuse to ignore other social problems, such as the decline of employment in the textile and manufacturing industries or environmental destruction caused by the evergrowing tourism and construction industries. In terms of the MDG framework, Mauritius is certainly looking good. Less than one percent of the population of 1.2 million is deemed to be living in extreme poverty (MDG 1); economic growth is rapid and per capita income is above $4,000 (MDG 8). Mauritius has already achieved MDG 2, universal access to primary education in the early 1990s. It has met MDG 4, reducing of the under-five child mortality rate by two thirds, and MDG 5 of improving maternal health — maternal deaths holding steady between 2007 and 2009. HIV, malaria and tuberculosis prevalence (MDG 6) are very low in the country. The island has been declared a malaria risk-free area, while TB incidence decreased from 10.8 cases
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per 100,000 people in 1990 to 8.9 cases per 100,000 people in 2009. HIV prevalence is low at 0.15 percent in the highest risk group of 15 to 24-year-olds. In terms of achieving environmental sustainability (MDG 7), Mauritius can show, among other factors, that it managed to decrease consumption of chlorofluorocarbons from 65 metric tonnes in 1993 to a negligible amount in 2004. The island state offers citizens a range of free social services, including education from primary to tertiary levels, public health services, public transport for students and the elderly as well as subsidies for basic food items and gas. The third MDG, gender equality, is a blot on the country’s MDG copybook. Although the government’s report claims it managed to eliminate gender disparities in education, women’s participation in the labour force and politics is still an issue. ‘Girls do well in school, but they do not get the best jobs because our society is still dominated by men. Most of them stop at the middle-management level and do not reach the top, except for a few,’ explains Charan.
commodities are very expensive on the island. ‘This not only affects the poor but even the middle class,’ laments Potou. The basic subsidies government provides on rice, flour and cooking gas are not enough to enable people to afford a good livelihood, she adds. Eric Mangar, director of Mouvement Autosuffisance Alimentaire (MAA), a food security NGO, agrees with Potou, highlighting the need for promoting local food production to move away from importing expensive food. ‘We are not producing enough locally, and this is very risky for the food security of the island in the coming years’, he notes. It’s a catch-22, Mangar says. Farmers sell their land to property companies to make money, which they then have to spend to buy expensive, imported food, since they don’t produce it themselves any longer.” It is clear from this article, that Mauritius still has many social ills to cure, even if it hits all MDG targets.
Other ills
2015 marks the target year of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that were adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2000 along with the Millennium Declaration. Academic and political consultations are underway to review the current MDGs and to elaborate a developmental agenda beyond 2015. This includes MDG performance assessments, progress reviews and conceptual reflections (e.g. Fukuda-Parr 2012). In many countries progress towards the MDG targets, agreed in 2002, is not on track, although this formulation may underemphasise the progress made, especially in poorer countries which have had further to go to be on track (UN 2011; Advisory Council on International Affairs (AIV) 2011; Melamed 2012: 10– 16). Within the current agenda this necessitates examination of the reasons for the areas of disappointing performance – most recently ascribed to the food and fuel crises and the financial crises and recession which have struck since 2008. It also requires intensified efforts to accelerate progress towards the deadline for as many targets and countries as feasible.
Problems that the MDGs don’t show, for example, include health concerns, like diabetes which remains a major concern in the country. A quarter of the population is diabetic, another quarter pre-diabetic, while 30 percent suffer from hypertension and half are obese, according to 2010 national health department figures. Unemployment is at a low eight percent, but there is concern about the fact that the island depends more and more on foreign labour to work in the textile and manufacturing industry. ‘Employers prefer foreign workers because they are cheap [and prepared to] work night and day, even during the weekends,’ notes Veena Dholah, executive member of the General Workers Federation (GWF). She fears this could ultimately result in increasing unemployment and poverty among Mauritian nationals. Moreover, there is much environmental damage that doesn’t necessarily reflect as part of MDG 8, such as Mauritius’ increasing CO2 emissions, which rose from 0.9 tonnes per person in 1990 to 2.6 tonnes per person in 2009. In addition, the island loses large areas of natural environment and agricultural land each year to new infrastructure to keep up with the country’s continued, rapid development. Government has made the construction of roads, hotels and shopping malls a priority on the duty-free tourism island to bring in soughtafter foreign revenue, neglecting the serious implications this has in terms of environmental degradation and food security. Solange Potou, director of non-governmental organisation (NGO) Nou Nouveau Baz, which assists the poor in the suburbs of capital Port-Louis, says even though people don’t fall within the parameters of extreme poverty — living below $1 a day — they still struggle for survival, largely because of the island’s high prices.
Replacing the MDGs
Principle 5 of the Rio Declaration, states “All States and all people shall cooperate in the essential task of eradicating poverty as an indispensable requirement for sustainable development, in order to decrease the disparities in standards of living and better meet the needs of the majority of the people of the world”. International development policy and practice has been focused on poverty eradication and inequality for a number of decades now and the 8 MDGs are designed to eradicate poverty and inequality. There have been calls for sustainable development goals (SDGs) as a successor to the MDGs (UNDP, 2012). See the following link for more information on Case Studies for Sustainable Development: http://www.undp.org/content/dam/ undp/library/Cross-Practice%20generic%20theme/TripleWins-for-Sustainable-Development-web.pdf)
Since 75 percent of its food supplies as well as petrol and machinery are imported from neighbouring countries, basic Page 11
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The Sustainable Development Goals should be one set of global development goals that: • Reflect the entirety of the sustainable development agenda, including the continuing importance of poverty reduction; • Are universal in character, pertaining to developed and middle-income countries, as well as to low-income and less developed countries; and • Address all three strands of sustainable development in each of the goals. The UNDP (2012) calls for the proposed Sustainable Development Goals to build on the MDGs and use quantified indicators to monitor progress and wants the post-2015 development framework to be grounded in the other core values besides poverty reduction expressed in the UN Charter and reaffirmed in the Millennium Declaration—human rights, justice, peace and security. With this kind of approach national transitions to sustainable development can be aligned with broader understandings of people’s welfare, enlarging their opportunities.
Concluding Remarks The relationship between development and sustainability is a complex one. The calls to replace the current MDGs with a new set of Sustainable Development Goals is an indication of the scale of the challenge with regard to balancing the need to try and alleviate poverty in the world while simultaneously protecting the environment for all people, now and for future generations.
Unit 4: Environmental Management Uncertainty and Complexity
which we looked at in Units 3 & 4 and focus on how better environmental management (broadly defined) is necessary to achieve both. By now we are well aware of the factors that drive environmental resource management to seek to be sustainable. At its most simple, the earth cannot cope with the number of humans and our activities. The environmental degradation humans are causing together with climate change mean the ecosystems we depend on can no longer sustain human life on the planet if we do not make changes.
Managing the environment to reduce poverty There is no agreed definition of environmental management for sustainable development. One definition might be, “[…] environmental management extends well beyond the activities of environmental institutions in order to meet two fundamental and inter-related challenges: the need to manage and sustain the long-term capacity of the environment to provide the goods and services on which human development depends, and the need to ensure secure and equitable access by the poor to environmental assets and the benefits that they can provide in order to expand people’s livelihood opportunities, protect their health and capacity to work, and reduce their vulnerability to environment-related risks.” (World Bank, 2002:10) As in all of these matters, that is easier said than done.
Addressing environmental management In the previous unit, we looked at the links between the environment and the MDGs and why the environment matters to poor people. The World Bank report, Linking Poverty Reduction and Environmental Management (World Bank, 2002:14) which was prepared as a contribution to the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, outlines four priority areas for sustained policy and institutional change that will reduce poverty and sustain growth by improving environmental management, broadly defined. These are:
Aims The aims for this week are: • To study how environmental management in the broadest sense is vital for success in both poverty reduction and MDGs policies and strategies • To explore how the conflict between meeting needs and protecting resources can be managed and by whom from a sustainable development perspective
• Improving governance to create a more enabling policy and institutional environment for addressing the policyenvironment concerns of the poor, with particular attention to the needs of women and children; • Enhancing the assets of the poor to expand sustainable livelihood opportunities and to reduce the poor’s vulnerability to environmental hazards and natural resource related conflict; • Improving the quality of growth to promote sound environmental management and protect the environmental assets and livelihood opportunities of the poor. • Reforming international and industrial country policies to address the poverty and environmental concerns of developing countries and the poor.
Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this week you should have: • Gained an understanding of what environmental management means in the context of sustainable development • Developed an understanding of the uncertainties and complexities involved for global institutions, national governments and local authorities and communities in managing the environment sustainability In this Unit, we bring together poverty reduction and the MDGs
Based on past experience and current behaviour and policy, it is not easy to see how these are going to be achieved.
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Strategies for Sustainable Development?
World Bank and the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) - not new ones, and not the parties to any particular agreement, should manage Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs). The World Bank’s attempts to ‘green itself’ through an Environmental Strategy, adopted in 2001, have been met with some scepticism and several of the projects it has funded have had serious environmental consequences from direct degradation through social, economic and health impacts on local communities. For example, the Narmada Valley dams in India and the Caraja iron ore project in Brazil. Since the WB also plays a central role in the GEF (established in 1991), the GEF is also under scrutiny. Some say the GEF simply allows the World Bank to ‘greenwash’ its operations (Streck,2001:75 cited in Elliott, 2004:183)
Elliot (2004) discusses strategies that have been designed for the purposes of ensuring sustained development and ‘common but differentiated responsibility’ (a la Agenda 21), categorising them into: • Transfer mechanisms, • Reform of structures, and; • Processes within the globalized political economy and the application of environmental instruments to environmental protection.
Transfer Mechanisms Financial and Technological Assistance: The Bruntland report called for ‘enhancing the flow of resources to developing countries’. Developing countries have argued strongly that without such assistance they are unlikely to meet the costs of mitigating environmental problems. However, this issue has been bogged down in political disputes over additionality and conditionality. Developing countries want these resources to be additional because development assistance is already low - in 2000 aid flows were 10% below 1990 levels, (Elliott, 2004:179) with few donor countries achieving the UN target of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) of 0.7% of GNP. In addition, substantial additional funding is going to be needed to address the sources and impacts of environmental degradation and to meet the challenges of sustainable development. Donor countries, on the other hand, want guarantees on how funds will be spent, that is they want mutual benefit and hence any such funds should be tied to particular programmes that are targeted at global concerns and for global benefits rather than used only to overcome local environment and development problems, i.e. conditional. Technology transfer involves both specific technologies as well as the transfer of scientific and technical expertise and knowhow. The main issue of tension here is whether technology should be transferred at concessional or commercial rates (Elliot, 2004:180). Also contentious is whether or not environmental agreements should include legal obligations for developed countries to facilitate access to technology and financial resources. The developed countries preference for technology cooperation (rather than transfer) and capacitybuilding continue to hold sway in key agreements and commitments from Agenda 21 to the Rio Declaration. The World Bank and the Global Environment Facility: Suggestions for mechanisms to manage the financial aspects of environmental development have come and gone - from the World Atmosphere Fund created at the 1988 Toronto Conference on the Changing Atmosphere to a new Green Fund proposed by the G7 and China at the Fourth Session of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development Preparatory Committee (UNCED PrepComm) in 1992. At the insistence of the richer countries, existing institutions - the
Greenwash is a term coined to refer to the phenomenon in which a company tries to convince consumers and shareholders that it is environmentally responsible, where the purpose is more about image than substance (Clapp & Dauvergne, 2011:183). At the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, Greenpeace distributed the Greenpeace Book of Greenwash and continues to run an anti-greenwash campaign. See the following link for more information: http://stopgreenwash.org Will transfers and mechanisms lead to increased environmental and developmental value? Is it possible that substantial flows of new and additional financial resources to the Global South could increase global inequities and exacerbate global environment and development problems? In answering this question, the following factors need to be taken in to consideration: Even at concessional rates, loans have to be repaid with interest and there is a likelihood that the income required to service this debt will continue to rely on environmentally unsustainable production. It is possible to demonstrate that environmental aid does not target those most in need of abating local pollution (Lewis, 2003) The promotion of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) over Official Development Assistance (ODA), which is supposed to contribute to sustained economic growth including sustainable development and environmental protection, is a ‘deceptive hope’ (Martens and Paul, 1998) because the largest percentage of FDI does not go to the poorest countries, and where it does go to natural resources and primary commodities (the comparative advantage of most poorer developing countries), those industries are often a primary cause of environmental degradation. Similar concerns can be raised with regard to technology transfer. (Northern) technology transfer might be seen as another form of neo-colonialism. Being tied to ODA and more reliant on expatriate expertise technology co-operation
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displaces local expertise. Technology has been the cause of much of the environmental damage so it is counter-intuitive to use it to solve the problem/s it created. Technology transfer is not always appropriate to local needs or concerns. An emphasis on the domestic enabling environment of the Global South (or structural adjustment) at a time when many countries in the Global South face problems of internal inequities and poor governance structures, “allows Northern countries to defer the issue of their own unsustainability” (Elliott, 2004:185). By framing environmental degradation as primarily a problem of the Global South that can be overcome with more ‘money and machines’, allows the Global North to obscure their own need for radical change. This change needs to occur in relation to consumption patterns and in the structures of the globalised economy.
Global Structural Reform Needed The relationship between debt, trade and environmental degradation has been a feature of the UN Conferences on Environment and Development as well as the institutions of global economic governance. For poorer countries, the need to service their debt has often been met by selling off natural resources leading to overlogging, overgrazing and for many, ecosystem exhaustion. Increasingly however, debt is being framed not only as monetary debt (which the Global South owes to the Global North) but also as ecological debt (which the Global North owes to the Global South). Trade is important because it determines the use of natural resources, what pressures are placed on the environment and who benefits from money flows. Yet the international trade rules (primarily through the World Trade Organisation) have pushed for trade liberalisation which views environmental protection measures as having trade distorting consequences. There are those who argue the current rules can and should be used for environmental protection but in reality it is difficult to do so. On the other hand, a number of MEAs which restrict trade have been adopted and implemented outside the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) or the World Trade Organisation’s framework, for example the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
to be traded on the open market are much favoured in recent debates and conferences. Emissions (greenhouse gases) trading has received a great deal of attention and is permitted under the Kyoto Protocol. Much of the debate on climate change now centres around emissions – which a recent UN report, ahead of a major climate conference in Doha in November and December 2012, says is still too slow to keep global temperature below the levels that will have serious consequences. See the following link to an article with more information about this: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/nov/21/ emissions-cuts-climate-changeun. The fact remains that all these mechanisms are highly controversial and subject to ongoing debate. The latest path being forged in the environmental sphere goes outside of mitigation and towards adaptation. It is less about managing the environment and more about managing how humans cope with the inevitability of the changes that are upon us. The first major coordinated adaptation effort, the National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs) were launched by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in December 2008 and are intended to support the least developed countries by addressing their urgent and immediate adaptation needs. For more information see: http://www.earthinbrackets.org/2012/11/21/cross-postfrom-the-washingtonspectator-new-voices-climate-changeadaptation/). Unfortunately, the initiative has been plagued by the issue of finance. Thinking/Discussion Point: Adaptation signals defeat in the management and improvement of the environment. What do you think about this statement?
Concluding Remarks
Increasingly market based financial mechanisms are being seen as providing incentives for reducing environmental degradation by altering behaviour – encouraging firms and individuals away from environmentally unsustainable practises and towards alternatives – and also as a form of revenue gathering. A key modality in this area is the “Polluter-PaysPrinciple” which is intended to promote efficient resource use and avoid trade and investment distortions. Various ‘green taxes’ such as the Tobin tax - a proposal to tax all international currency transactions - that address equity and redistributive issues, have also been suggested. Also, permit trading schemes, in which rights to pollute are allocated in accordance with a predetermined pollution ‘target’ and are then available
Managing the environment, however defined, is a highly controversial and complex area of both policy and practice and one that is constantly under debate. Sustainable development and poverty alleviation in an environmental management context must also address trade, aid finance, debt and cost and responsibility issues in a more transparent way than when addressing either sustainable development or poverty reduction alone. This is a highly complex and controversial area of debate and action within international development and one that is extremely controversial and very immediate.
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Unit 5: What is climate change and how does it relate to development practice? Aims • To understand how and why climate change has become a key component of development practice •T o consider the complexities involved in dealing with climate change • To examine how development practitioners are addressing climate change through programming
Learning Outcomes Upon completion of this unit, you should have developed: • An increased awareness of the chief cause of climate change • An awareness of climate change as a complex public policy issue • An understanding of the impacts of climate change on the poor • An improved knowledge of the practical ways in which development practitioners are addressing climate change If you are interested in continuing your learning, the content for Unit 5 can be accessed via the European Certification and Qualification Association (www.ecqa.org) under Access International Development. Content will be available from early 2013.
Unit 6: Climate Justice as a response to the effects of climate change and its implications for development policy and practice Aims • To understand how and why the climate justice movement/ campaign is emerging and what is being called for • To acquire the knowledge needed to speculate as to the implications of the emerging climate justice focus for development policy and practice
Learning Outcomes Upon completion of this unit you should: • Have developed an understanding of the origins and emergence of the shift to a focus on climate justice • Have developed the ability to engage in educated speculation as to the impact of a climate justice approach for development policy and practice If you are interested in continuing your learning, the content for Unit 6 can be accessed via the European Certification and Qualification Association (www.ecqa.org) under Access International Development. Content will be available from early 2013. Page 15
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For more information on the programme please contact Roisin McEvoy International Development Programme University of Ulster Northern Ireland Email: r.mcevoy@ulster.ac.uk Or visit the project website www.aidproject.eu This project has been funded with the support from the European Commission under the Lifelong Learning Programme. This website reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
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