Supplementary memorandum from the Department
for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
This note provides additional information on
Question 12, regarding the financial resources allocated to partnerships
developed for the Summit.
In the WSSD context, partnerships are voluntary
and non-negotiated collaborations between government and civil
society groups. They are intended to contribute to and reinforce
the implementation of the outcomes of the intergovernmental negotiations
of the WSSD (Plan of Implementation and Political Declaration)
and to help achieve the further implementation of Agenda 21 and
the Millennium Development Goals.
In the run up to WSSD, the UN Secretariat requested
that those partnerships seeking "official recognition by
the UN as a Partnership for Sustainable Development" complete
and submit to the UN a registration form. An informal consultative
process, that took place during the fourth Preparatory Committee
meeting in Bali, defined a set of guidelines for qualifying a
proposal as a Partnership for Sustainable Development. The details
provided on the registration forms were checked against these
principles before being posted on the UN WSSD website. The submission
of partnership proposals is an ongoing process and there is no
deadline. To date, 254 partnerships have been posted on the website.
The UN intends to request updates from all partnership leads on
financial commitments made to all Type 2 partnerships before the
end of the year.
The UK instigated, or is involved in, 20
partnerships developed as part of WSSD preparations. This
number includes pre-existing partnerships which were further enhanced
in the run-up to WSSD—such as the Darwin Initiative and
the Great Apes Survival Project (GrASP). Of these 20 partnerships,
13 have so far been registered with the UN by the UK Government
partnership-lead as formal partnerships.
In September, the UN estimated the financial
resources committed to the then-228 partnerships on the UN website
to be $235million (approx £152 million). This was
calculated by totalling the funding for each partnership specified
on the UN registration form by the partnership lead. It includes
funding from both government and non-governmental actors. Those
completing the form are not required to specify the exact amount
provided by individual donors or whether that funding is guaranteed.
Hence, it is difficult to say with any precision how much of the
£152 million is UK, or UK Government, money.
UK GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
FOR WSSD PARTNERSHIPS
The UK Government has committed financial
and non-financial support to the 20 partnerships detailed
in the WSSD partnership grid submitted to the EAC (attached for
ease of reference). In the initial design phases of partnership
development, non-financial support and small amounts of seed funding
are generally required. Also, given the difficulties in pre-judging
existing budget processes, it can be unwise to pledge financial
support in these early stages, despite the PR value in doing so.
In most cases funding for partnerships will be secured progressively
and funding totals will undoubtedly increase as existing and
new initiatives develop.
Non-financial support provided by UK
Government departments (for example, human resources, technical
expertise, provision of equipment and accommodation, publicity,
our convening capacity) is as important in partnership development
as the monetary contribution. This is the case, in particular,
for the EU water and energy initiatives and the London Principles
Project. The participation of a wide range of stakeholders with
shared responsibilities is key to partnership working. Hence,
it would be incorrect to see this work simply in terms of Government
led resourcing, which would run counter to this multistakeholder
effort.
Partnerships between government and civil society
are only one of a number of financing mechanisms for achieving
multilateral agreements. Financing the WSSD commitments will take
place largely through existing mechanisms. Government funding
to developing countries is delivered principally through Official
Development Assistance (ODA). Following the 2002 Spending Round,
UK ODA will rise to £4.9 billion in 2005-06 with ODA as a
proportion of gross national income (GNI) at 0.4% by 2005-06.
The key to effective delivery of ODA and the
implementation of sustainable development is putting developing
countries in the lead in devising and driving forward their own
development, and setting their own priorities. Donor contributions
(including ODA) should be committed in support of this new approach
to development, which was the basis of the agreement at the Financing
for Development Conference held in Monterrey, Mexico in March
this year. WSSD informed the working of the development co-operation
system by highlighting particular priorities, such as access to
energy and safe drinking water. The principal aim of partnerships
such as the EU water and energy initiatives is to facilitate the
achievement of the WSSD commitments and the Millennium Development
Goals by improving the effectiveness and coordination of existing
financing mechanisms and work in these two sectors. The emphasis
is on improving donor coordination, strengthening existing partnerships
and streamlining activities, encouraging the strengthening of
energy/water components of national/regional development strategies,
facilitating information sharing and research coordination and
levering in private sector finance - rather than simply attempting
to solicit new and additional funding from Governments.
FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS
MADE BY
UK GOVERNMENT TO
PARTNERSHIPS
Funding for the 20 partnerships which the UK
Government instigated or supported for WSSD comes from diverse
public and private sources. These include national Governments,
regional public bodies (such as the EU), national and multi-national
companies, international development agencies and international
financial institutions. This can take the form of grants, loans,
risk guarantees, equity investment, among others. Given that much
of this funding comes from regional and multinational sources
it is difficult to calculate accurately what proportion of the
£152 million is UK originated.
The most meaningful figure we can provide is
the financial commitment made to date by UK Government to
the partnerships listed on the WSSD Partnerships Grid. The table
overleaf gives the running total—disaggregated into
those that have been registered as formal UN partnerships and
those that have not.
|
| UN registered partnership | Financial commitment to date (£)
|
|
| REEEP | £322,078 |
| Partners for Water and Sanitation (PAWS) |
£1,396,840 |
| Centres of Excellence for Technological Innovation for Sustainability in Africa (CETISA)
| £73,872 |
| Sustainable Tourism Initiative (STI) | £350,000
|
| EU Water for Life | No funding as yet committed
|
| Global Village Energy Partnership (GVEP) |
£110,000 |
| EU Energy Initiative | No funding as yet committed
|
| Partnership for Principle 10 (PP10) | £110,000
|
| Global Alliance for Building Sustainability (GABS)
| No funding as yet committed |
| Congo Basin Forestry Initiative | No funding as yet committed
|
| Asia Forest Partnership (AFP) | No funding as yet committed
|
| Oceans: Blue Water to White Water | £65,000
|
| Oceans: High Seas Biodiversity | No funding as yet committed
|
| Great Apes Survival Project (GrASP) | £475,000
|
| Running total: | £2,902,790
|
|
| | |
| | |
| | |
|
| Non-UN registered partnerships | Financial commitment to date (£)
|
|
| Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)
| Approx £320,000 |
| London Principles Project | No funding committed. Considerable non-financial support provided.
|
| FORGE Group CSR Guidance | £50,000
|
| Darwin Initiative | £19 million
|
| UK Forest Partnership | No funding as yet committed
|
| ECGD | No funding yet committed to actual projects. But at least £50 million will be made available for suitable projects.
|
| Running total: | £69,370,000
|
|
In addition to the WSSD partnerships, the UK Government is
also involved in a range of other multistakeholder initiatives
that will help to take forward sustainable development domestically
and internationally, but were not instigated or enhanced specifically
for WSSD. These include among others, the UK Biodiversity Partnership,
the Public-Private Partnership for the Urban Environment (PPUE)
and the Public/Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF).
December 2002
|
