gpa_east_africa_case.. - GRID Africa GeoPortal - UNEP

tackle wastewater management capacities and coastal management tools and institutions. In1993, the ministers of environment and natural resources of the Eastern African countries metin Arusha, Tanzania and signed a resolution recognising the importance of sustainablemanagement of coastal zones. At the Second Policy Conference on Integrated Coastal ZoneManagement in Eastern Africa and Island States, in Seychelles in 1996, policy makers fromthe region assessed successes and failures in ICZM since Arusha and discussed and agreedon actions. Following these initiatives, additional actions have been pursued to create aregional framework for mobilizing available human, institutional and financial resources toaddress both national and regional priority concerns. The First Meeting of the ContractingParties to the Nairobi Convention in 1997 approved the preparation of a TransboundaryDiagnostic Analysis (TDA) and a Strategic Action Programme (SAP) for the Marine andCoastal Environment of the Western Indian Ocean, supported by a Global EnvironmentalFacility Project Development Facility (GEF PDF-B) grant.Major global and regional level initiatives for municipal wastewater management aremobilised under the Global Programme of Action (GAP) for the Protection of the MarineEnvironment from Land-based Activities adopted by an intergovernmental conference held inWashington, D.C., USA, in 1995. The overriding goal of the GPA is to prevent the degradationof the marine environment from land-based activities, by facilitating the realisation by Statesof their duty to preserve and protect the marine environment. To facilitate implementation ofGPA around the world, UNEP organised, during the period 1996-1998, in co-operation withrelevant regional organisations, a series of regional technical workshops of governmentdesignatedexperts, as well as representatives of international organisations, the privatesector and experts from non-governmental organisations. Seven regional technicalworkshops were convened by UNEP within the framework of the Regional Seas Programmeto identified the priority and stimulate partnerships, modes of co-operation and strategies foraddressing threats to the coastal and marine environment from municipal wastewater.In order to meet the above request the UNEP/GPA Coordination Office developed a StrategicAction Plan on sewage whose principal aim is to support efforts of States to addressproblems associated with pollution emanating from the disposal of untreated or inadequatelytreated waste water into the environment. The action plan is a proposal jointly put forward byUNEP, WHO, Habitat (UNCHS) and the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council(WSSCC). The Strategic Action Plan has three principal components: (i) assessment whoseaim is to identify the problems to be addressed and opportunities as well as cost benefits (ii)management component which assesses measures for addressing the problem at national,regional and global levels (iii) co-ordination at local and global levels and (iv) timetable for itsimplementation.Broader Coastal Environmental ProblemsThe following table summarizes the main issues and problems outlined in relevant countryreports and other relevant sources (Western Indian Ocean, Transboundary DiagnosticReport, 1998).IssueImmediate Cause (s)Kenya1. Water Quality degradation• Domestic Sewage and solid waste disposal• Treatment plant inadequacy2. Habitatmodification/degradation and lossof biodiversity• Industrial solid and liquid disposal• Sedimentation due to deforestation/agriculturalactivities• Unplanned development plans such as tourismdevelopment and urbanisation• Clearing of mangrove forests for salt pansFinal Draft Report – Cost Benefit Case StudiesGPA Strategic Action Plan on Sewage, October, 200067