International Review of Waste Management Policy - Department of ...

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: St St Petersburg Petersburg Guidelines Guidelines on on Environmental Environmental Funds
Funds
� To avoid or minimize the long-term economic inefficiencies inherent in the
earmarking of funds, expenditure should be targeted to meet environmental
priorities and promote projects with large environmental benefits relative to their
costs.
� Environmental funds should play a catalytic role in financing, ideally offering no
more support for project than is necessary, adapt to changing economic
conditions, and support, not compete with, emerging capital markets.
� Environmental funds should be used in conjunction with, and reinforce, other
environmental policy instruments, such as compliance schedules,
environmental auditing programs and voluntary agreements.
� Environmental Environmental funds funds should should develop develop an an overall overall financing financing strategy, strategy, follow follow follow clear
clear
and and explicit explicit operating operating procedures procedures for for evaluating evaluating and and selecting selecting projects, projects, adopt
adopt
effective effective monitoring monitoring and and evaluation evaluation practices, practices, and and make m
ake effective use of
internal internal internal and and and external external external expertise expertise expertise to to to enhance enhance enhance administrative administrative administrative efficiency. efficiency.
efficiency.
� For For For investment investment projects, projects, funds funds should should have have have well well-designed well well designed program program and and project project
project
cycles cycles to to ensure ensure cost cost-effective cost effective use of resources.
� Environmental Environmental funds funds should should leverage leverage iincreased
i increased
ncreased private private private sector resources resources and
capital capital market market financing financing for for environmental environmental investments.
investments.
� In defining and evaluating fund revenue mechanisms, environmental
authorities should try to ensure environmental effectiveness, economic and
administrative efficiency, equity and acceptability. Systems should provide a
stable base of revenues, be simple in structure, and be easy to monitor and
enforce.
� Environmental funds should ensure transparency and should be accountable
to government, parliaments, and the public for their actions.
Source: Eunomia & University of Pretoria (2003) Fiscal Reform in South Africa, A Final Report for
National Treasury of South Africa.
In Defra’s report, ‘Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund in England 2002-2007’ these
targets are reported but the outcome of each is not. Each of the five aforementioned
targets are measurable in some way – however this is not demonstrated. The case is
same for other WRAP funding streams – where the funding targets are clearly
identifiable but the outcome is not.
WRAP’s Capital Grant Team were contacted but felt they were unable to answer
questions regarding how the capital funding streams were evaluated without
breaching confidentiality of those who received the fund. Their website provides no
substantial information on how this process is undertaken.
Individual case studies are readily available, which suggests that information over the
fund could, and probably has been collated. However, accessing this information is
problematic.
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