Chapter 1

onmental issues and their relation to development have
been approached in a more systematic way. Markets often
Environmental institutions and policies
fail to account for the environmental impact of business, Since the 1960s the Government has been implementing
agricultural, and industrial activities, opening a critical role environmental policies through a variety of institutions, but
for government to correct for possible failures. But many by the late 1980s the Government recognized that it needed
governments have fallen short of fulfilling this important to focus its somewhat diffused institutional efforts more
role, either because they were unaware or did not under- effectively. In 1988 the Agence Nationale de Protection de
stand the economic costs of coastal, urban, or agricultural l'Environnement (ANPE) was created to: (1) analyze and
development without some form of environmental man- monitor the state of the country's environment and (2) to
agement. The Government recognizes that its growth objec- combat all sources of degradation to the natural environtives
in irrigated agriculture, industry, and tourism, ment. In 1990, with the help of intemational experts, the
combined with shifts in the population to the entire coastal Govemment prepared a National Environmental Action
area (where already 77 percent of the population are con- Plan. Environmental management also became a central
centrated in less than 25 percent of the total land area) place objective of the current Eighth Development Plan
pressures on the natural resource base and pose potential (1992-96), the first plan to devote a chapter specifically to
pollution and other environmental problems which can only the environment. In 1991 the govermment created the
be addressed in an integrated fashion. The Government is Ministry of Environment and Regional Planning (MEAT),
undertaking a strategic study of the environment and nat- giving it oversight of the ANPE and responsibility for impleural
resources for the preparation of the Ninth Plan. The menting the govemment's three part strategy:
main environmental problems facing the country today are: * Prevention through environmental impact assessments
Land degradation, due to desertification, drought, flood- (ANPE) for any new project, publication of pollution staning,
and other climatic changes, inappropriate agricultural dards, public awareness campaigns, training and environpractices,
and urban encroachment. It affects over 60 per- mental education;
cent of the country's usable land resources and is leading to * Inspection and monitoring of compliance with environthe
permanent loss of the equivalent of 24,000 hectares of mental and pollution control regulations using research labagricultural
land (about 0.5 percent of cultivated land) a oratories, monitoring stations, and technical staff; and
year; * Curative actions in areas where serious damage has
*1 Water scarcity that puts increasing pressure on existing already been done.
water resources. The Eau 2000 study (1994) and the World The main emphasis is on prevention, and MEAT has
Bank's Water Sector Review (1994) estimate that almost all launched seven programs described in the background paper
of Tunisia's available water resources will be fully developed to implement the strategy. In addition, MEAT intends to
by the year 2000, causing competing demands for scarce consolidate all environmentally related legal codes (there are
supply and imposing constraints to long-term growth; and some 350 existing legal texts related to environmental issues)
* Coastal degradation, from pollution and overdevelop- into a coherent and integrated environmental policy framement
of urban, industrial, and tourist areas at or near the work. The Govemment budget allocation for environmental
coastline. By the year 2010 Tunisia's population is esimated protection has increased over the past decade from less than
to grow by between 3-4 million people, the majority of 0.2 percent of GDP to around 0.4 percent of GDP (0.2 perwhom
will live along or near the coast, increasing pressures cent for MEAT alone) by 1993. This level rises to nearly 1
on marine and coastal resources. 4 percent of GDP when municipal and water, soil, and forest
Problems of water and air pollution, and solid waste dis- safeguarding activities are included. The majority of these
posal are still manageable in Tunisia, and Tunisian authori- budgetary funds comes from foreign assistance (bilateral
ties understand that it is far costlier to pay the dean-up bill grants, METAP, GEF, and loans).
for these problems than it is to avoid them in the first place. Despite Tunisia's well-organized institutional frame-
Consequently, the Government is acting now to put in place work, environmental monitoring and enforcement capacity
regulations and enforcement institutions designed to avoid needs strengthening. Meteorological services should also be
costlier pollution problems in the future. improved. Many countries in Latin America and Sub-
24 TUNISIA S GLOBAL INIEGRAI1oN AND SuSlWNABLE DEvELopMENIP STRATEGIC CHOICES FOR TBE 21 ST CENTURY