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| THE ARICAN CIVIL SOCIETY FORUM IN NAIROBI, KENYA
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| 1. Introduction |
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The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) takes place at a time of serious environmental, political, social, and economic crisis for Africa, and indeed for the world in general.
After years of unrestricted abuse of the environment, pollution, erosion of biodiversity and skewed development in favour of the north, we now face the prospects of serious environmental disaster. Global warming, climate change, accelerated deforestation and desertification, and the pollution of oceans and communities manifest this. This crisis poses a threat to millions of livelihoods and indeed to life itself on earth.
The environmental crisis now threatening our future is as a result of the accelerated social devastation now gripping our continent and the world. Hunger, poverty and diseases are on the increase, unemployment, inequality within and between nations has widened, and social tensions are on the rise. On the other hand, environmental degradation in turn compounds the impoverishment of the African people.
Economic crisis, stagnation and sometimes disintegration of African economies have now become a permanent feature of our landscape in Africa. Years of externally imposed structural adjustment programmes have failed to deliver the promise of growth and development. To the contrary, African terms of trade have worsened; we face accelerated de-industrialisation and the continents economic infrastructure is deteriorating rapidly. External debt continues to be a crushing burden on the African economies and people. More resources now flow out of the continent in excess of investment flows into the continent. The promise made in Rio of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) equal to 0.7% of the GDP of developed countries has never been realised
While we are convinced that the crisis of our continent is not fully of our own making, we point out the important fact that a long history of autocratic governments, corruption, greed, patronage and violation of human rights by the ruling elites has contributed to the crisis now being faced by the continent. The lack of prioritisation for resource allocation is cause for concern. Rising social tensions and the self-interests of the ruling elites and foreign commercial interests have fuelled the continent’s wars. Insecurity, political and social instability have deepened Africa’s environmental and development crisis.
We acknowledge that it has become crucial for Africa to recognise the relationship between security, human development and the environment in our continent. It is however equally important for us to recognise that issues of security and the environment are inextricably intertwined with those of democratic governance. Security and the restoration of the integrity of the environment cannot be realised without democratic and participatory government.
Whereas the Rio Declaration and Agenda 21 represented brave and laudable attempts to address the twin challenges of poverty and ecological disasters, the world’s leaders have failed to rise to the challenge. Lack of implementation, meagre resource allocation, unequal allocation of resources between north and the south, and the absence of political will, have undermined the promise of the Earth Summit.
We note that the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) is being promoted as a path of sustainable development for Africa. We draw attention to the fact the NEPAD did not emerge out of a process of consultation that involved all aspects of civil society. This goes against a culture and practice of participatory democracy.
The forces of globalization that have shaped the world and our continent in the last decades have deepened and entrenched poverty, marginalised peoples and nations, and accelerated ecological disintegration. This globlisation process has entrenched unequal power relationships between the north and south and has undermined the sovereignty of African nations.
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