Reducing Carbon Emission Through Environmental Conservation and Awareness

At the 2005 World Summit, over 160 Heads of State reaffirmed the centrality of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to the international development agenda. There is growing recognition that sustainable management of environmental resources is inextricably linked to poverty reduction as the impacts of environmental degradation brought on by development practices and climate change are more severely felt by the poor who disproportionately rely on natural resources and environmental services for their survival and well-being. This is particularly the case for women, children, and marginalized groups. In response to this dynamic, the UN system has integrated an environmental assets approach to understanding poverty-environment linkages, which emphasizing strong governance and institutional arrangements, as well as access and control over natural resources, as fundamental to enhancing livelihoods. Sustainable development cannot be addressed without taking into account Gender considerations. With increasing GHG emissions – Africa is expected to comprise 50% of the global GHG total by 2030 – it is important that the region is at the forefront of a global economic restructuring along ecological principles. Indeed, for Africa to achieve the MDGs in all countries, environmental outcomes that matter to poor people must be improved.

Some governments have taken proactive steps to ‘green’ their national development strategies. However, for the East African region, environment issues still factor largely in the periphery, and governments have not adequately prioritized environment as an essential part to sustainable poverty reduction plans and strategies. The trade-offs between conservation and development are strongly influenced by economic measures and indicators. But the political and economic calculations that underpin much of the development decision making are flawed and incomplete because they omit an important set of costs and services, that is, the values associated with ecosystem goods and services. From an integrated system perspective, much of the current decision-making fails to account beyond “direct” values (such as raw materials used for production, consumption and sale) and include potentially higher “indirect” values “option” values (future possible uses still unknown) and intrinsic “existence” values that are of cultural and intergenerational dimension. The belief that development infrastructure lies at the heart of economic growth and regional integration has been prevalent among national governments and donors. Yet natural infrastructure rarely receives the attention and investment needed. Instead, limited budgets are devoted to somewhat narrowly-conceived conservation projects.

Women are often most adversely impacted as they spend more time collecting wood or clean water due to growing resource scarcity. They also suffer from more restricted access to land and other natural resources. At the same time, the East African region is contributing significantly to the global climate crisis. Climate change impacts will intensify existing vulnerabilities and bring a whole additional set of challenges. It is crucial to climate-proof development plans and sector policies and embed adaptation strategies within poverty reduction strategies. Implementing ecosystem and natural resources management plans to rehabilitate and conserve critical ecosystem services, and promoting alternative livelihoods options can play an important role in reducing vulnerability to climate impacts.