Environmental Fiscal Reforms- Saadullah Ayaz

1
Environmental Fiscal Reforms
Saadullah Ayaz
2

• ABOUT IUCN
• IUCN- International Union for Conservation of
  Nature and Natural Resources is the worlds
  oldest and largest global environmental network-
  a democratic membership union with more than
  1,000 government and NGO member organizations,
  and almost 11,000 volunteer scientists in more
  than 160 countries worldwide
• IUCN helps the world find pragmatic solutions to
  our most pressing environment and development
  challenges. It supports scientific research,
  manages field projects all over the world and
  brings governments, non-government organizations,
  United Nations agencies, companies and local
  communities together to develop and implement
  policy, laws and best practice
• IUCN has a status of an Observer in UN General
  Assembly

3
WHAT DOES IUCN DO?

• Knowledge IUCN develops and supports cutting
  edge conservation science, particularly in
  species, ecosystems, biodiversity, and the
  impact these have on human livelihoods
• Action IUCN runs thousands of field projects
  around the world to better manage natural
  environments
• Influence IUCN supports governments, NGOs,
  international conventions, UN organizations,
  companies and communities to develop laws,
  policy and best-practice
• Empowerment IUCN helps implement laws, policy
  and best-practice by mobilizing
  organizations, providing resources, training
  people and monitoring results

4
IUCN- A GLOBAL UNION
Headquarters in Gland, Switzerland
5
THE DRIVING FORCE

• IUCNs VISION

• A just world that values and conserves nature

• IUCNs Mission

• Influence, encourage and assist societies to
  conserve the integrity and diversity of nature
  and ensure any use of natural resources is
  equitable and ecologically sustainable

6
CORE PROGRAMME AREAS
7
OUR STRUCTURE
8
IUCNs VALUE PROPOSITION
9
IUCN IN PAKISTAN

• A long term commitment since 1985
• Several offices, around 112 staff, Country office
  at Karachi
• largest Country Programme of the Union in the
  World since 1996

10
MEMBERS IN PAKISTAN 29
11
Introducing Environmental Fiscal Reforms
Banking with Nature
12
ENVIRONMENT AND POVERTY NEXUS

• A healthy environment is crucial to poverty
  reduction and sustainable growth
• With the degradation of ecosystems comes a
  decline in the quality of environmental services
  that ecosystems provide
• The annual cost to Pakistans economy of
  environmental damage and natural resource
  degradation is nearly 365 billion rupees, or 6
  of GDP (WB 2006)
• Immediate and most severe effects of
  environmental degradation are suffered by the
  poor
• Strengthening environmental management can
  support economic growth, while improving health
  and productivity. Financing pro-poor
  environmental management in conjunction with
  other development activities is of the utmost
  importance

13
WHAT IS EFR?

• Innovative policies are required to achieve
  development targets while ensuring environmental
  sustainability. Environmental Fiscal Reform (EFR)
  is one such approach, and allows fiscal resources
  to be managed in such a way that development
  challenges can be tackled without sacrificing
  environmental conservation
• BANKING WITH NATURE
• EFR has been described as a strategy that
  redirects government taxation and expenditure
  programmes to create an integrated set of
  activities in support of sustainable development
  and conserves environment
• The idea is to use fiscal instruments, directly
  or indirectly modifying the prices of
  biodiversity related goods and services, to
  influence behavior in order to provide incentives
  for environmental protection. The funds raised
  through these measures can be channelled to
  specific priority sectors, such as environmental
  conservation and poverty reduction

14
ENVIRONMENTAL FISCAL REFORMS

• It is in this context that environmental fiscal
  reforms (EFR), and particularly pro-poor EFR, can
  assist the government in broadening the revenue
  base, while achieving both poverty reduction and
  environmental goals
• The environmental benefits of EFR includes
  pollution prevention and improved natural
  resources management mobilization of funds for
  investment in pollution control and safe disposal
  of waste and mobilization of funds for
  enforcement activities
• VIABLE EFR INSTRUMENTS FOR PAKISTAN
• Charging appropriate prices and user charges
  for various natural resources extraction
  activities and social services
• Making polluters pay for internalizing
  externalities that polluters impose on the
  society rationalizing environmentally harmful
  subsidies and taxation measures and streamlining
  budgetary processes so as to further the goals of
  environmental improvement and poverty reduction

Environmental Fiscal Reforms
15
BENEFITS OF EFR (WIN-WIN-WIN)
16
EFR TESTING AND APPLICATION IN PAKISTAN
17
EFR PROJECT PROFILE

• AIM
• Poverty reduction and environmental improvement
  through undertaking a set of environmental fiscal
  reforms initiatives.
• FINANCIAL SUPPORT
• Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC)
• DURATION
• May 2006 to April 2009- Extended till June 2010
• PROJECT PARTNERS
• IUCN, Planning Commission, district Government,
  Abbottabad
• RESEARCH PARTNERS
• Pakistan Institute for Development Economics
  Sustainable Development Policy Institute
• PILOT DISTRICT Abbottabad

18
PROJECT COMPONENTS

• Action Research and
• Awareness Raising
• Enabling Institutional,
• Legal and Policy Framework
• Capacity Building
• Piloting Select EFR Options
• Wider Dissemination for Replications

19

• Action Research
• - Research reports on solid waste, drinking
  water, and quarrying and
• mining, fiscal decentralization
• - Five (05) fact sheets completed (for easy
  understanding)
• - Sector wise recommendations translated
  into Urdu
• - Situation analysis of solid waste
  management in Nawanshehr town
• - Water analysis of natural water resources
  (survey by PCRWR)

20
http//www.iucn.org/about/union/secretariat/office
s/asia/asia_where_work/pakistan/projects/archived_
projects/proj_arc_efr/
21

• Advocacy, Partnerships and Capacity Building
• - Liaison with City District Government of
  Abbottabad
• - Extensive awareness, community
  organization/ mobilization for
• development participatory solid waste
  management system in
• Nawanshehr (pilot)
• - Trainings
• (Community) PSWM, waste segregation,
  reduction, disposal,
• composting)
• (Local administration) solid waste
  management, efficient collection,
• waste segregation, safe disposal, route
  planning/ mapping

22
PILOTING EFR OPTIONS (Case Study of Solid Waste
Management in Abbottabad)
23

• Development and operationalization of a
• participatory solid waste management
  system in UC Nawanshehr
• - Social Mobilization
• community groups, youth associations,
• school children and women folks
• dialogue conducted (70 shopkeepers)
• door to door campaign (725 houses)
• Citizens seminar, youth forum
  operationalized
• - Social Organization
• sixty two (62) community activists
• School Environmental Clubs (09
  established)

24

• Capacity building
• training of staff of Town Committee on
• participatory solid waste management, mapping,
  segregation, recycling, coordination with line
  agencies (district government)- 16 staff members
  trained
• training community groups on participatory solid
  waste management system, developing and
  sustaining primary collection system,
  organizational management, financial record
  keeping, coordination and liaison development
  (62 activists trained)
• Other training of communities ( women) on
  kitchen gardening and compositing (90 trainees)

25

• Improved measures for primary collection of
  waste
• model system nine (09) beads were developed
  in the area (each comprising of around 120
  households)- at source segregation of organic
  and recyclables have also been introduced in 09
  beads
• (08) mohellahs where communities have hired
  their own waste collectors through nominal
  contribution (pro- poor initiative)

26

• Development of secondary waste collection system
  
• - Proper designed secondary collection points
  have been developed in
• nine (09) mohellahs,
• - Route planning for waste collectors (map
  developed)
• - Repair of tractor and improvisation of
  existing trolley

27
the change
28

• Application of Pro- poor fiscal measures
• in solid waste sector
• - Eight (08) mohellahs have hired waste
• collectors (paid from revenue)
• - Revenue from selling recyclables by
• School Environment clubs
• - Nineteen (19 kitchen gardens from
• organic compost)
• - (19) garbage merchants have been
• registered in lieu of payment
• of tax to the Town Committee
• - A frame- work for scavengers is also
• being devised to regulate
• their working

29
ACHIEVEMENTS OF EFR PROJECT

• Progress achieved as per MTR recommendations
• Research work received high appreciation
• Chapter from EFR project was published in the
  Oxford University Press, London
• Technical paper on EFR (Pakistan Engineering
  Congress 2010)
• Three papers on EFR presented in Special
  Technical Session on EFR at the 23th Annual
  General Meeting of Pakistan Society of
  Development Economics
• Panel discussion were held on Pro-poor
  Environmental Fiscal Reforms during Conference
  on Peace and Sustainable Development in South
  Asia Issues and Challenges of Globalization
  held at SDPI
• EFR as subject at PIDE (M. Phil/ MSc. Env.
  Economics Programme
• Wider replication of EFR in IUCNs on- going
  programmes (BPSD)
• Opportunities for up- scaling (district level)

30
LESSONS LEARNT

• Efficacy of EFR proved (revenue, pro-poor support
  and env. sustainability)
• In-depth research. Findings to be tailored to
  create real understanding and integration into
  policy and decision making process
• EFR being new concept putting in pace a self
  sustaining long term EFR mechanism requires
  improved coordination mechanisms essential to
  obtain long term results in this regard. local
  level consultations extremely important to
  develop consensus among stakeholders to select
  and adopt EFR options
• Buy-in from policy-makers is only possible if the
  project is able to demonstrate concrete changes
  on the ground dedicated attention to carry out
  work is of essence, at least for a next couple of
  months till the system is effectively tested and
  completely adopted
• Capacity building at all level is a must since
  expertise not available anywhere
• Strong linkages with provincial and federal
  government tiers are required
• Up scaling and replication of EFR activities is
  essential

31
WAY FORWARD (RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PAKISTAN)

• Successful institutionalization of - Reform
  Process.
• Quite an easy job??? (in complex socio-
  political situation)
• Support translation of learning form EFR research
  in to actions (elsewhere in Pakistan)
• Long- term impact integration into sectoral
  polices/ plans-
• buy- in from policy makers
• Ensuring self- sustenance of pilots continue
  provision of technical backstopping
• Capacity building/ awareness (at all levels)-
  gaps?
• Up- scaling and wider replication of EFR is
  suitable areas in Pakistan in other sectors
  (drinking water, eco-tourism, quarrying and
  mining etc)

32

• Thanks

For more information Saadullah
Ayaz Coordinator Climate Change/ Environmental
Fiscal Reforms/ Clean Air Initiative for Asian
Cities IUCN Pakistan Email saad.ayaz_at_iucn.org