Overview This workshop was organized by the Environment Department featuring presentations by colleagues from the Social Development Department of the World Bank as well as CIDA, WRI and Yale University Political Science Department. The focus of the session was on the catalytic role of civil society and how demand side issues play a critical role to improve environment and natural resources management. Objectives This workshop aimed to illustrate through a number of case studies the use of different tools that can strengthen the demand side of governance such as (a) strengthening social accountability through civil society activism; (b) EA for participatory decision-making; (c) NGO involvement to strengthen access to information, participation and justice. Participants More than 45 Bank staff working on strengthening civil society and governance issues attended the workshop. Participation from colleagues in various country offices as well as other development institutions significantly enriched the session.  Key Messages The Underlying Framework: Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration and The Aarhus Convention. The workshop began with an overview presentation of major international conventions and efforts to promote public participation, access to information and justice with respect to environmental and natural resource issues. It began with key elements of the Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration which states that at the national level each individual shall have appropriate access to information and the opportunity to participate in a decision-making process. This stresses the importance for states to encourage public awareness and participation by making information widely available. The presentation also discussed the Aarthus Convention which is an international body of legislation containing key principles on access to information, public participation and access to justice. The key role that environmental courts play in adjudicating laws and regulations and improving accountability was emphasized. The presentation also described the important role the Bank plays in this context, in particular in its efforts to incorporate and monitor governance indicators, law enforcement in Bank operations, scaling up community based natural resource management in investment lending and strengthening disclosure and dissemination of global natural resource information. Strengthening Social Accountability through civil society activism: The case of reducing air pollution in Delhi. Delhi is one of the most polluted Indian cities. Rapid population growth, vehicle expansion and increase in airborne pollutants are some of the main factors underlying Delhi air pollution problems. The presentation illustrated the case of a successful effort to reduce air pollution in the city. Key to this process was civil society activism, the role of the judiciary and close cooperation with the media. The presentation also provided a vivid example of policy-making as a non-linear, conflictual and contested process. EIA as a tool for participatory decision-making: The Calabash experience. While it is well recognized that public participation, particularly in the environmental assessments done as part of development projects can help improve overall performance, in many countries, EIA legislation and its implementation still does not include public participation mechanisms. The presentation on the Calabash experience showed how public participation in EIA, can help increase transparency, trust and confidence and establish basis for long-term collaborative relationship. This two year initiative involved capacity building of communities in the SADC region of South Africa to be more effectively engaged in the EIA process. One important lesson learned from the Calabash initiative is to start working from what is working in the sector and build from there. The Calabash experience also illustrated that engagement of local communities in the EIA process can be a slow process, and that communities have to learn how to participate effectively. Strengthening access to information, participation and justice: The Access Initiative. The presentation on the Access Initiative (TAI) provided an example of an initiative to use an indicator-based tool to assess government performance with respect to (1) access to information (2) public participation (3) access to justice. A key aspect of the initiative is to build capacity of coalitions of national NGOs in using an evidence based methodology ( i.e. the indicator tool) and strengthen their advocacy regarding Principle 10 of Rio Declaration issues linked to the environment. For example, in Uganda, use of the TAI indicators helped identify gaps in the old Freedom to Information Act and convinced the government to adopt a revised Freedom of Information Act. Environmental Governance in Indonesia: Looking Backwards and Forwards in the Forestry Sector. This presentation highlighted some of the major problems in the Indonesian forestry sector and how deforestation affects the loss of revenues through illegal logging, and adversely influences rural livelihoods. The presentation stressed the points that information is often scarce. Further, information also needs to be in a form it can be useful to policy-makers and be incorporated into the decision-making process. The presentation illustrated the case of the Indonesia Forest Monitoring and Assessment System (FOMAS)—an effort initiated by the Bank together with Conservation International. FOMAS objective is to establish conditions for transparency in the forestry sector by (1) making relevant, reliable, accurate and up-to-date forest sector information continuously available to decision makers and to the public, 2) assisting decision makers in using information for policy-making, and 3) strengthening civil-society capacity to hold the government accountable A key point highlighted by the presentation was the importance of monitoring and sharing information for good environmental governance. Addressing social accountability across sectors. The workshop concluded with a presentation on key concepts and mechanisms for social accountability. Some of these mechanisms include citizen participation in decision-making, lobbying and advocacy campaigns, independent budget analysis, corruption monitoring services, citizen advisory boards, etc. Country specific examples of Bank work where such mechanisms have been at play were presented including the Judicial System Monitoring Program in Timor Lester, Environmental Information Campaigns in Mongolia and Community Scorecard Initiative in Gambia. The presentation helped to place the work on strengthening the demand side of environmental governance into the broader context of the Bank’s work in this area.     |
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