The role of freshwater resources, marine ecosystems and wetlands in accomplishing the needed socio-economic development goals is widely recognized in EAC region. However, water insecurity is one of the major socio-economic problems that undermine the regional efforts in improving the quality of life of the people.
On the face of it, water should not be such a constraint to development as the region is endowed with vast and abundant water resources.
The Declaration on Land Issues and Challenges in Africa, endorsed by the African Union (AU) 13th Ordinary Session of Heads of State and Government, held in Sirte, Libya in July 2009, invites Regional Economic Communities (RECs) to convene periodic regional platforms to facilitate experience sharing, lesson learning, and dissemination of best practices in land policy formulation, implementation, and monitoring based on Member States experiences. It further invites RECs to capture and address issues of land policies within their respective common agricultural policy framework.
East Africa is well endowed with a variety of ecosystems that provide varied services, as well as habitats for a wide range of species.
The EAC‘s role and mandates on biodiversity conservation are provided under Chapter 19 of the Treaty for the establishment of the East African Community.
Four of the eight biodiversity hotspots in Africa are found in the EAC and are located at shared trans-boundary sites where they are critical for regionally migratory species. These hotspots are:
Eastern Afromontane biodiversity hotspot (Rwanda, Uganda and the DRC);
Coastal Forests of Eastern Africa biodiveristy hotspot (Kenya and Tanzania);
three
East African mountains provide indispensable goods and services for both highland and lowland communities, and harbor unique biodiversity, provide non-timber forest products, water, food and energy security at local, national and sub- regional levels.
Pressure from human activities and climate change is leading to rapid montane biodiversity loss, land degradation and increasing disasters, jeopardizing mountains’ capacity to support livelihoods.
Under Article 111-2(c) of the Treaty, the Community sets to ensure sustainable utilization of natural resources like forests and other terrestrial ecosystems. The East African region has a wide variety of forests that support a wealth of biological diversity.
The major forest types include:
The forests are vital to people’s livelihoods and regional socio economic development through provision of goods and services.
An ecosystem is a collection of communities of both living and non-living things that are interrelated. While many ecosystems exist on land and in the waters of the world, terrestrial ecosystems are those that are found only on land.
The biotic, or living things found in an ecosystem, include various life forms, such as plants and animals. The abiotic, or non-living things found in an ecosystem, include the various land-forms and the climate.
The terrestrial ecosystems in the region include forestry resources; mountains ecosystems; mineral resources; land; and biodiversity.
USAID/Kenya and East Africa has partnered with the EAC Secretariat in an effort to strengthen the Community's collaborative conservation and management of transboundary natural resources.
Over its 3-year duration, startting July 2019, the project will focus on the following 3 objectives:
In strengthening harmonization of regional policies, strategies, plans and legal frameworks that support effective and efficient conservation and management of transboundary ecosystems in East African Community, the project will support:
Further the poject will work on strengthening the capacity of regional institutions to sustainably manage critical transboundary ecosystems as well as increase awareness of the economic and intrinsic value of living wildlife and reduce demand for wildlife products.
During its implementation, the project will also stablish and operationalize an effective regional coordination mechanism to strengthen inter-agency collaboration on wildlife conservation at regional and international level.
The main instruments available under international law for countries to collaborate on a broad range of global environmental challenges are international conventions and treaties on environment and natural resources also known as Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs).
MEAs are agreements between states which may take the form of “soft-law”, setting out non legally-binding principles which parties are obligated to consider when taking actions to address a particular environmental issue, or “hard-law” which specify legally-binding actions to be undertaken toward an environmental objective.
Amongst the global environmental issues that MEAs are designed to respond to include: loss of biological diversity, adverse impacts of Climate Change, depletion of the ozone layer, hazardous waste, organic pollutants, marine pollution, trade in endangered species, destruction of wetlands, etc.
The East African Community (EAC) Partner States have committed to making every effort to ensure the effective implementation of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) signed and ratified by the EAC Partner States, including:
The EAC Partner States have also committed to strengthening regional cooperation to address the persistent challenges related to sustainable development and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
The problems of pollution are not limited to the borders of a country. The harmful effects extend beyond the borders of the originator of the pollution. That is why development of policy frameworks for Pollution Control and Waste Management is a priority for the Environment and Natural Resources Sector of the EAC Secretariat.
All Partner States are parties to the Eastern African Regional Framework Agreement on Air Pollution (Nairobi Agreement, 2008). The States agreed to develop actionable targets to address air pollution in the following key areas: Transport, Industry and Mining, Energy, Waste, Vegetation Fires, Indoor Air pollution, Urban Planning and Management. The EAC is working on development and harmonisation of standards and regulations on pollution control and waste management. The EAC Secretariat is working on the implementation of the provisions of the Eastern African Framework Agreement on Air Pollution, and developing the EAC Electronic Waste Management Framework and Management of Plastic and Plastic Waste Disposal.
Almost 90% of the energy sources in households in the EAC region is from traditional technologies that contribute to air pollution, negatively impacting human health and the environment. This is a problem that Partner States are working hard to resolve. All EAC Partner States have environmental pollution regulations on land and water.
Weak vehicle import and emission standards has resulted in the importation of old second hand vehicles, consequently increasing air pollutant emissions. EAC Partner States are taking significant steps to reduce the age limit of vehicles imported into the region.
The EAC Secretariat is working to harmonise effluent discharge standards, strengthen the capacity of EAC Partner States in enforcement of pollution control laws and establish pollution monitoring system in the EAC, and urges Partner States to allocate more resources for the implementation of conventions to which they are party such as Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants.
The EAC is grappling with air pollution from transportation, industry, mining, waste management, and open burning, among others.
The EAC Partner States recognise that development activities may have negative impacts on the environment leading to the degradation of the environment and depletion of natural resources and that a clean and healthy environment is a prerequisite for sustainable development according to Article 111 of the EAC treaty.
The EAC Polythene Materials Control Bill 2011 was passed by EALA. It provides for the control and regulation of use, sale, manufacture and importation of polythene materials and products in the East African Community.
The Meeting of the EAC Working Groups on Environment and Natural Resources Management in July 2011 observed that there was need to develop regional waste management guidelines, build the capacity of relevant institutions to track hazardous materials and pollutants including electronic waste and to develop industrial and domestic waste management facilities such as analytical laboratories.
In Article 28 of the Protocol on Environment and Natural Resources on Management of Chemicals, the EAC Partner States commit to develop and harmonise policies, laws and strategies to protect human health and the environment against the adverse effects of toxic chemicals and products containing toxic chemicals. The EAC Partner States also commit to developing measures to control illegal trafficking of chemicals proved scientifically to be hazardous, toxic or persistent in the environment. In Article 29, the EAC Partner States pledge to develop and harmonise common policies laws and strategies relating to illegal dumping or trafficking and transboundary movement of hazardous wastes and other wastes.
E-waste contains chemical elements that have adverse effects on the environment and human health. A quick analysis of the existing e-waste management mechanisms in the EAC Partner States reveals that all the five countries lack concrete regulations for e-waste, despite the continuously growing number of ICT users.
The World Conference on Disaster Reduction was held from 18 to 22 January 2005 in Kobe, Hyogo, Japan, and adopted the present Framework for Action 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters. The Conference provided a unique opportunity to promote a strategic and systematic approach to reducing vulnerabilities and risks to hazards. It emphasises the need for, and identified ways of, building the resilience of nations and communities to disasters.
An Africa Regional Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction was proposed to contribute to the attainment of sustainable development and poverty eradication by facilitating the integration of disaster risk reduction into development. In 2007, a regional multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder forum on disaster risk reduction, namely the Africa Regional Platform for DRR, was established under the facilitation of the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) Africa. The First Consultative Meeting of the Africa Regional Platform took place in Nairobi, Kenya in the same year to review the progress of the implementation of the Africa Regional Strategy and the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA).
The EAC Secretariat co-hosted the 4th Africa Regional Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction (AfRP) from 13th-15th February 2013, in Arusha, Tanzania. The Government of the United Republic of Tanzania, the African Union Commission and UNISDR jointly hosted the meeting. The meeting was successful in preparing the Africa’s Statement on Disaster Risk Reduction that was agreed upon by 45 African countries. This was based on recommendations and decisions that reflect the achievements of African institutions and African leadership in meeting the priorities of the internationally agreed HFA.
The EAC’s focus is on providing strategic guidance to Partner States, facilitating the implementation of the sub-regional strategies and programmes in line with the Africa Regional Strategy, the Programme of Action and the HFA coordination, particularly in respect of inter-state initiatives.