D+C Development and Cooperation (No. 3, May/June 2002, p. 12-14)

Within the scope of international cooperation, development policy aims to contribute to sustainable development. This also calls for learning processes on the part of the development institutions and further development of their services, for sustainable development is first of all a framework for a long-term reform process.

The concept of sustainable development ensues from the knowledge that economic and social development and sustainable use of eco-systems are linked with each other. The concept rests on the assumption that it is in the interest of all to design the integration of economic, social and ecological goals. This means it is not an ecological development model, but a comprehensive one. Instead of emphasising the 'limits of growth' and thus sacrifice and in the end confrontation, sustainable development focuses on prevention, improving efficiency, integration, innovation and cooperation in a negotiation process based on partnership.

With Agenda 21, the Rio 'Earth Summit' in 1992 produced an action programme which, besides covering the conservation and sustainable use of eco-systems, also encompasses poverty reduction, changing consumption patterns, population and health care, as well as democratisation and the strengthening of major groups of civil society. Only in this comprehensive sense can sustainable development be accepted as a model at global level.

A long process

Experience since Rio shows everywhere that practical implementation of the paradigm change to sustainable development is a difficult process. There are several reasons for that. Overcoming the obstacles faces all actors with great challenges.

• The concept offers 'guide rails' for a negotiation process, but no concrete goal. The process touches upon vested interests and power constellations. It takes place in a conflict zone. It makes great demands on the ability of all interest groups to negotiate, cooperate and cope with conflicts, on the forming of alliances, and on institutionalised paths in which such a process can be organised in a fair manner.
• A long-term perspective is hampered by short parliamentary terms, companies' annual statements of accounts, acute poverty and pressures to take action due to sudden events. That is why the called for 'ecologising' of commerce and industry and society, in particular, and also the consideration of the interests of poor and underprivileged groups, frequently come up against roadblocks.
• Sustainable development rests on a holistic and global understanding of the problems. But practical action in politics and business is still largely organised along sectoral lines. At present, trans-sectoral structures and harmonisation mechanisms are far too weak to compensate for this deficiency. Successful models are still the exception.
• Sustainable development requires decisions and changes at global, national and local level. Time and again, it has to be clarified which questions are best handled at which level, and how coherence between these levels can be improved. Therefore sustainable development is concomitant with globalisation and decentralisation.

If we aim to make a contribution to sustainable development within the scope of international cooperation we must, not least, allow ourselves to be measured by the extent to which our work contributes to dismantling these and other hurdles step by step.

Technical Cooperation contributions
in sustainable development

International cooperation plays an important role in implementing the sustainable development model. It is a transmission belt, in which the oft-quoted "joint, but differentiated responsibility" of North and South, East and West can be reality.

Technical Cooperation (TC) sees itself as a part of international cooperation. It makes its contributions in various fields of action ranging from poverty reduction, environmental and resources protection and global environmental policy to water, energy, education, rural development, combating AIDS, democratisation, government reform and crisis prevention. Some of these fields will be examined more closely here by means of examples.

Example: Strategies for poverty reduction and sustainable development

It is still too early to make a final assessment of the impact of this process. We can, however, already recognise that in numerous countries, due to the great time pressure, the participation of all government departments and particularly also that of civil society could still be improved. But PRSP must rest on the commitment of all actors and also consider their interests. Therefore the German inputs are mainly directed to support the process dimension of PRSPs, particularly the promotion of participation.

In addition, PRSP must be designed for the long term and rest on a broad perception of poverty reduction. This means that economic, social and ecological aspects are to be taken into account. There is still a need for action in this area in many PRSP processes. In particular, PRSP processes must be better linked with planning processes already underway, such as national action plans on combating desertification and national environmental action plans. In Mauritania, for example, we are supporting not only the elaboration up of a PRSP, but also the development of national strategies to combat desertification and conserve biodiversity. Linking the various processes is important to us.

We welcome the OECD Ministerial Declaration which expressly points in this direction and demands that PRSP and all other strategic initiatives should be oriented on the concept of sustainable development.

Poverty and environment

The connection between poverty, the environment and development cannot be denied. It applies in both directions. In many respects, environmental problems contribute to poverty, and poverty is a cause of environmental problems - although the significance of the latter link is often overestimated compared with other environmental influences, such as industrialisation. To break this nexus calls for changes at all levels, from national politics to local self-help - and also in development cooperation.

Our partners must be supported in their endeavours to integrate poverty reduction as an overarching goal and yardstick into social, sectoral and economic policies at macro-level Therefore, policy development and sectoral reform have gained in importance, while practical target group oriented approaches to poverty reduction in areas such as rural development, education, promotion of small scale enterprises, gender, and so on, remain important elements of cooperation.

Development against the environ-
ment cannot work out

Environmental policy faces great challenges worldwide. Yet it functions as both an independent portfolio and as a cross cutting policy which is involved in the 'ecologising' of all sectors and which, accordingly, must be strengthened. Many of the competencies for implementation (such as for waste management, water and wastewater, forestry management and nature conservation, and so on) are not bundled in environment ministries. Environmental policy, in this regard, competes with the interests of other portfolios. That is why it is dependent upon inter-departmental dialogue, and must help to develop cross-cutting regulation patterns which impact on the most varied sectors and establish strategies for sustainable use of resources in those areas.

Consultancy on environment policy is therefore part of the political process. A policy of sustainability is linked with the strengthening of pluralistic and decentral structures, participation, the forming of strategic alliances, structural reforms, the creation of consensus on the policy's long-term goals, and new forms of political steering. That is why we also always see our work - below government level - as a contribution to democratisation.

Example: National forest programmes -
the societal policy dialogue 'all about the forest'.

• a national declaration on forests which contains a vision and political commitment to sustainable forest management;
• a Sector Review to analyse the forest sector and its connections with others in the context of sustainable development;
• political, legal and institutional reforms which affect both sectoral and trans-sectoral aspects;
• goals and strategies for the forest sector, including a financing strategy to implement sustainable forest management ;
• action plans and investment programmes, as well as implementation of measures and activities including capacity-building, monitoring and evaluation, and mechanisms for coordination, participation and resolving of conflicts.

No future without water

Water is a key to sustainable development and improving people's living conditions. The management and protection of water resources is a responsibility of government, which should work together with commerce and industry and social groups. It also makes sense to select river basins as a geographical starting point.

Government and the municipalities must ensure that water supply and wastewater disposal functions and is organised decentrally as far as possible. But the infrastructure must not necessarily be in government hands. The self-help potential in village communities and agricultural user groups, as well as the financial strength and management know-how of private companies, should be used more intensively. To direct urgently needed investment into water resources development, there is a need for reform of public and municipal finance systems, establishment of a robust legal framework for private investments, and better covering of operating costs.

The reduction of specific water consumption and the recycling of water should have priority over the development of new water resources because this is almost always cheaper, more environment-friendly, and prevents conflicts.

Sustainable urban development and building up of municipal networks in Latin America

This project shows ways in which representatives of politics, municipal administrations, various social interest groups and the people at large can initiate and implement local Agenda 21 processes as a contribution to reducing poverty and sustainability at local level. The regional approach delivers access to experience from various countries and makes it usable for mutual learning processes.

Sustainable urban development
and local Agendas 21

In the past, development cooperation gave priority to attempting to improve the living conditions of people in rural areas in a bid to reduce flight from the land. Current trends, however, show that developmental goals such as poverty reduction and sustainable development can only be achieved if we tackle the challenges in urban areas as well.

Towns and municipalities must be designed to be worth living in, without the consequences of urbanisation becoming an unaffordable burden for future generations. The participation of the municipalities and their people are a decisive factor here. Among other things, it is about developing and implementing a local Agenda 21 in consultation processes between politicians, public administrations, business, NGOs and citizens. Strengthening municipal self-administration capacities, housing policy, land and environment management, slum clearance, transport policy, improving urban infrastructure services, and promoting local trade and industry are further cornerstones of our contributions to sustainable development.

Learning from experience

'Capacity development' stands for a broader approach. Due to the increasing complexity of the range of problems, we know that target group-oriented work at grass-root-level alone, as important as it remains, has only a limited outreach. The capacities for action of people and organisations arises not only from their own strategies and strengths, but also from the actions of other actors, the institutional arrangements and general conditions under which they act. Changing this is part of the political process and calls for the forming of strategic alliances.

Strategic action in terms of sustainable development demands a way of doing things which is different from classic sectoral action not only with regard to the way it comes into being, but also with respect to its content. Action strategies for sustainable development can focus on a few problems or on many. They can be called strategies for sustainable development, poverty reduction strategies or something quite different. In principle, every strategy can grow into a strategy for sustainable development, particularly if it:

• takes equal account of economic, social and ecological perspectives, regardless of their sectoral focus;
• weighs up the short- and long-term significance of goals, problems and approaches to solutions; and
• is embedded in a process which enables the various actors in government, the private sector and civil society to assume joint responsibility for the strategy.

TC focuses its services above all on the designing of processes. On strategy content it offers professional and methodical consultancy, but on principle leaves responsibility and ownership to the clients. Our claim for our consultancy is to deliver a sound balance between orientation on results on the one hand, and process quality on the other. Based on our experi-ence, we believe that only then can a strategy for sustainable development 'make a difference'.

There is still a long way to go

International cooperation can make important contributions to sustainable development, especially if it intervenes at several levels, takes account of the three dimensions of sustainable development (what are these?), is designed for the long term (while not losing sight of short-term problems) and if it is in the true sense 'capacity development'.

When we ask what contribution our work can make to sustainable development in developing countries, we must not forget one thing: we in Germany must also fulfil our responsibility - under the heading of joint but differentiated responsibility - for sustainable development. Sustainable development in developing countries and elsewhere inevitably includes questioning our own pattern of consumption, our energy policy, our agricultural and trade policy, and much more. For not everything that is sustainable for Germany is also sustainable for the world as a whole. An anecdote attributed to Mahatma Gandhi makes that clear very elegantly:

A woman comes to Gandhi and says: "Please talk my son out of eating too much sugar". Gandhi replies: "Come back in two weeks". When two weeks later the woman asks why he did not want to meet her request straightaway, Gandhi replies: "Because your request made me realise that I, too, eat too much sugar. So first of all I myself had to learn to manage with less sugar. Only now can I talk to your son".