P - A - E - S- Partnership for African Environmental Sustainability

NEWS AND EVENTS

18-21 February 2003

Managing Sustainable Development Locally: Reducing Poverty and Environmental Degradation, convened by Managing the Environment Locally in Sub-Saharan Africa (MELISSA), Partnership for African Environmental Sustainability (PAES) and the World Bank-Africa Region

We, the participants of the Regional Workshop,

Having shared experiences and deliberated on a broad range of issues,

and

Having agreed to forge a way forward;

and

Having committed ourselves to the eradication of poverty in Africa through the pursuit of sustainable development,

and

Having recognized and appreciated efforts made to promote the local management of the environment through the MELISSA programme;

Hence agree as follows;

To disseminate the workshop outcomes to all participants and relevant stakeholders at local, national, regional, bilateral and multi-lateral levels.
To undertake an advocacy program to gain and win political endorsement and support for sustainable development programmes from national and local governments.
To initiate programmes aimed at extending the lessons learnt and experiences shared in the workshop to others through similar meetings of key stakeholders at the regional, national and local levels.
To establish, strengthen and keep the network of participants active as a means of generating feedback.
To work in partnership with national and local governments, communities, private sector and civil society organizations with the view to integrating sound environmental management practices in all poverty reduction programmes in order to achieve local sustainable development.
To mobilize resources from beneficiaries, communities, private, local, national, bi-lateral and multi-lateral development partners for the attainment of the workshop outcomes.
To undertake research aimed at legal, institutional and policy reforms, so as to create an enabling environment for poverty reduction and sustainable development.
To ensure that thorough and continuous consultations are made with key stakeholders during the formulation and implementation of programmes for sustainable development. Upon the formulation of such programmes, guidelines should be developed and publicized widely to key stakeholders in order to ensure their effective participation.
To initiate, design and implement community driven sustainable development programmes.
To promote policies that encourage corporate social responsibility in sustainable development.
To mandate PAES in partnership with AULA and ICLEI under the political leadership of the Mayor of Jinja, to coordinate the implementation of the workshop outcomes.
To promote knowledge development and capacity building of local governments to undertake and integrate "sustainability" in all their development programmes.

Finally, we express our profound gratitude to the Government of the Republic of Zambia and Lusaka City Council for their support and hospitality, the Guest of Honour, the Hon. Deputy Minister of Local Government and Housing, the Government of Norway for funding the Workshop, the Mayor of Lusaka City Council, and the Mayor of Jinja Municipality, Uganda, for their participation, contribution and support, and further acknowledge the valuable contribution from- Norwegian Institute for Urban Research and Studies (NIBR), UNDESA, AULA, ICLEI, CARE International, PAES, MELISSA and the World Bank.

Done on 21 st February 2003

Lusaka , Zambia