beahrs environmental leadership program alumni...

Spring 2004

Beahrs Environmental Leadership Program

Alumni Newsletter

College of Natural Resources * University of California, Berkeley Urban Environment

Issue

• Solid Waste, Mexico

• GIS, Bangladesh

• Forests, Russia

• PPP, Ukraine

• Urban Environmt, India

• Law, Bangladesh

• LA 21, South Africa

• News from St. Petersburg(Regional ELP Center)

Feature Articles 2

SGI: Madagascar 15

SGI: India 16

SGI: China 17

Regional Page: South Asia

18

Regional Page: North Africa/Middle East

19

Regional Page: Americas

20

Alumni Updates 21

Inside this Issue

Greetings to ELPers!

I am just back from a fasci-nating trip to St. Petersburg, Russia. David Zilberman and Bill Sonnenschein (Haas School Leadership expert) went too, and my husband joined for a few days as well. We were in-vited by Svetlana Chernik-ova and Stan Tkachenko

(ELP 2003) of St. Petersburg St. University, to work with colleagues from 11 faculties to set up the Regional Envi-ronmental Leadership Cen-ter for Russia and the CIS Countries, based at St. Pe-tersburg St. University (founded in 1703 by Peter the Great!). It was wonderful that Svetlana and Stan were able to interest professors and researchers from a wide range of disciplines to be interested in this endeavor - and to think creatively about curriculum, teaching meth-ods, and case studies rele-vant for the region. In fact, it was the first time ever that this type of interdisciplinary effort has happened at the University. We gave presentations, dis-cussed the "where, whom, what and how" of the Center,

including a "replication ELP course", targeted short courses for specific groups, and, eventually, a MSc pro-gram with Berkeley in Envi-ronmental Management and Sustainable Development. At the end we signed a for-mal "Letter of Intent" with the Vice-Rector for Research, which falls under the um-brella of a wider Letter of Cooperation between our Chancellor Berdahl (UC Berkeley) and the Rector at St. Petersburg. Now is the hard work of proposal writ-ing, raising funds, and carry-ing out the first course in summer of 2005. So, we are very happy to be launching this Regional or "Satellite" Center to serve the needs of NW Russia and

(Continued on page 4)

Letter from Robin Marsh, Co-Director Beahrs ELP

Letter from David Zilberman, Co-Director Beahrs ELP

Sometimes I must admit that I am becoming an “old -timer,” especially when I think about environmental economics and policy. When I came to Berkeley in 1973 and began working on water quality, animal waste, and similar topics, the U.S. EPA was a newly estab-lished agency that was formed to protect human health and the environment. The Journal of Environ-mental Economics and Man-agement (JEEM) had not yet been established (it was founded in 1979), and Berkeley had not yet offered

formal classes on environ-mental economics. How-ever, there were inspiring and encouraging achieve-ments in resource manage-ment. Professor Richard Norgaard was teaching a resource economics class (Fisheries, Forestry, and Energy), and Andy Gutierrez and Uri Regev began their pioneering work on IPM and Biological Con-trol. At that time I knew of two types of environmental-ists—activists who were fighting for new environ-mental regulations and laws, and lawyers in government

who were writing and imple-menting these laws. Back then, saving the environment was a new concern that had not yet been embrace d by the mainstream. However, for many, it was a mission


Apologizes for the delay in publication—we will do better next time.

In this issue, we hear from 7 fabulous alumni on aspects of their work related to the urban environ-ment. The summer issue will profile Biodiversity, Sustainable Agriculture & Forestry. Looking for-

ward to your submissions on these topics.

Mexico City –the second most popu-lated city of the world – is home to about 20 million people who repre-sent approximately 20% of the total population of the country. The met-ropolitan area of the city is the eco-nomic, social and political heart of the country. It in-cludes the Federal District and 34 counties from neighbor states. Like any other megalopolis of the world, Mexico City faces a big num-ber of environmental problems that reduce the quality of life of its in-habitants including air pollution, water supply issues, and solid waste generation. In the last few months the waste generation prob-lem has received special attention because the only municipal solid waste landfill of the city – “Bordo Poniente” – is approaching the end of its life. The rapid popula-tion growth experi-enced by the city in the last century along with the change in the con-sumer patterns and urban eco-nomic activities have created a large solid waste disposal problem. New life styles adopted in the last decades have brought changes in waste composi-tion. In the 50’s solid waste was

mainly organic; today more than 40% of the solid waste produced by the city is de-rived from petroleum. At present, the daily waste production in the Federal District reaches 13,000 tons. This means that every resident produces approximately 1.5 kg of solid waste every day. The quantity and composition of the household waste de-pends on population and consumer habits.

The most evident environmeal ef-fect due to the inadequate waste management is the visual damage in cities and natural urban and rural land-scapes, but the most serious environ-mental effects are soil and water pollu-tion as well as land-fill gas emissions. These emissions are a product of the disintegration process of the organic waste. Many emissions are toxic and ex-plosive. Greenhouse gases that

contribute to global cli-mate change are also emitted. Mexico City faces a big challenge due to the lack of available dis-posal spaces. The gov-ernment has started a number of measures to address this problem,

including identification of alternative sites to build a new landfill(s) in the neighbor states. However, this op-tion involves political conflicts and

higher costs due to the transporta-tion of waste. On April 2003 the new Waste Law for the Federal District was pub-lished. This law states that busi-nesses, industries and homes are obligated to classify solid waste into organic and inorganic waste. This law should have entered into effect in January 2004; however, its insti-tution has been postponed until Oc-tober 2004 due to lack of required infrastructure and necessary divul-gation. In response to the solid waste prob-lem in the city and recognition of

the relevance of environmental education in the promoting behav-ior change, the “Universidad Iberoamericana” Environmental Program started in

1997 to develop new environmental friendly practices and social partici-pation an integrated solid waste management program. The pro-gram’s main objective is to inform students about the solid waste problem in the city and to promote recycling. This would result in the reduction of the solid waste gener-ated by the University. In order to achieve its objectives the Environmental Program carries out publicity campaigns to endorse the habit change and encourage the separation of paper, plastic, alumi-num and printer cartridges to be recycled. These campaigns inte-grate communication, social mar-


Feature Article Importance of Environmental Education to the Solution of the Solid Waste Problem in Big Cities - Contribution of the “Universidad Iberoamericana, Ciudad de México” Dulce María Ramos (ELP ’03)

PAGE 2 BEAHRS ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERSHIP PROGRAM VOLUME 3 , ISSUE 2

This means that every resident produces

approximately 1.5 kg of solid waste every day.

Mexico City

Bangladesh has experienced an unprecedented upsurge of urbani-zation. The growth of of the capital city Dhaka has been phe-nomenal during the past decades. With population around 12 million, the city is now a thriving industrial and commercial center be-sides being the admin-istrative capital of the country. Ac-cording to a United Nations report, Dhaka will be the fifth largest me-tropolis in the world with a popula-tion of 19.3 million by 2015.

The city has a rather complex ad-ministrative structure with a number of different agencies and metropoli-tan authorities with overlapping re-sponsibilities. Dhaka City Corpora-tion (DCC) has flagged the need for a stronger coordination among the various agencies in order to im-prove the condition of the city. For example, the vital functions of area planning, development, and permis-sion for building construction were assigned to RAJUK (Capital Devel-opment Authority). Similarly, the responsibilities of providing drinking water, drainage, and sewage were given to WASA (Water Supply Au-thority). While the creation of spe-cialized agencies to cope with the increasing demand for services

might have some justification, proper coordination has now be-

come an urgent need in order to administer these services that are critical in shaping the city life in Dhaka.

The demand for urban co-ordination calls for a new way that can benefit all the actors to operate optimally

and complementarily. GIS technol-ogy offers exciting potential to meet this urban challenge by playing a crucial role in a comprehensive de-cision making process. A GIS plat-form with up-to-date city informa-tion, including utility services, land-use patterns, transport network, household con-sumption and supply etc. can initiate collabora-tions among vari-ous agencies by catering informa-tion services re-quired for their planning and operation. A col-laborative GIS can contribute substantially in minimizing the suf-ferings of city people by establish-ing an operational synergy among the utility agencies and thereby shortening the period of roadside

construction and excavation.

A study untaken on Dhaka City re-vealed that the existing information maintained by various institutions are still rudimentary and cannot be readily used by the GIS community. The study also included preparation of a complete set of GIS based ur-ban information for a very small part of Dhaka City and the exercise con-cluded that the geographic relation-ship among the various utility infra-structure has a great deal of opera-tional significance. It came up as an outcome of the study that, a col-laborative GIS platform has tremen-dous potential not only for coordi-nated and efficient operation of ur-ban basic services, but also en-

hancing revenue collection as well as bringing accountabil-ity and transparency in urban manage-ment. As an out-come of the study, Dhaka City Corpora-tion has embarked upon a gigantic pro-gramme on creation of GIS based de-tailed urban informa-

tion which will lay the foundation towards establishing a collaborative GIS platform involving all stake-holders for a better city life in the future.

other institutions. Nevertheless the Recycling Program faces important challenges such as maintaining per-manent campaigns that are neces-sary because of the constant mobil-ity of the student population. Moti-vating students is also a hard job; it remains a challenge to create inno-vative and creative communication strategies with the participation of specialists in different fields.

keting, environmental education and public participation elements. In the past seven years, the Pro-gram has both reduced the total solid waste in need of disposal and increased the amount of recycled material. The Program also has experienced a domino effect be-cause it has been reproduced in

(Continued from page 2) We believe that the environmental education has to be present in all academic levels and that it is spe-cially relevant in higher education as our students will be soon the next decision makers and heads of new families. [email protected] Environmental Program, Universidad Iberoamericana

Environmental education to the solution of the solid waste, cont.

Feature Article Collaborative GIS platform – A Tool for Dhaka City Management Md. Tarik-ul-Islam (ELP ’03)


Dhaka, Bangladesh

David, cont.

Future Regional ELP Center, St. Petersburg

bordering CIS and Baltic nations. We also have a proposal circulating concerning the Regional ELP Cen-ter for Southeast Asia and Oceania. We hope our friends and col-leagues at SEARCA in the Philip-pines are able to make a success of this proposed Center (Gil, Agnes and Vicki - ELP 2001, Nyhria - ELP 2002 and Dulce - ELP 2003). Berkeley is ready to collaborate! On my way back from Russia, I was able to stop by Paris and visit Al-ison Clayson (ELP 2003), which was terrific. We visited offices at UNESCO - Man and the Biosphere, UN Water, etc., and also the Ameri-can University in Paris which is newly establishing a MSc in Inter-national Relations, Conflict Man-agement and Solidarity. They hope Berkeley will collaborate in teach-ing. So many interesting possibili-ties! Leslie, David and I are working hard

(Continued from page 1) reviewing applications for summer of 2004 -you will soon be joined by a great group of environmental pro-fessionals, including new countries like Afghanistan, Jordan and Swe-den. Funding is always a major issue. We're hoping that in 2004 we will establish an Advisory Board to put the ELP on a sustainable fi-nancial footing. Dick Beahrs has generously agreed to lead this ef-fort. We are also supporting seven new SGI projects in 2004 - alums from Madagascar, South Africa, Rwanda, Mexico, Republic of Geor-gia, Russia and Cameroon. You will be learning about their diverse projects and partners over the com-ing year. That's all for now. Next newsletter we will include brilliant pictures from summer 2004. Remember to send in your news and reunions with fel-low alums. Warm regards, Robin

posed “Central Valley Protection Act” that recognized environmental use of water to be a “beneficial use” and established funds to purchase water for environmental protection. This one act introduced a new chal-lenge — effective management of water for environmental quality and amenities. In many situations the main chal-lenge to environmentalist is man-agement of the environment. It is less exciting than a political struggle and may take longer, as it requires new skills, commitment to research, and acquiring new knowledge. More importantly, it requires build-ing a cadre of professionals with the savvy and dedication to pursue bet-ter solutions and make environ-mental conduct part of the daily ac-

and a calling, and legitimizing envi-ronmental consideration in planning and resource management was an urgent priority. Today things are different. There is growing public demand to clean environment, and it is a legitimate policy concern in most countries. Of course, there is still much work that needs to done and good envi-ronmental causes worth fighting for. However, today environmental management is a normal career, and many corporations want to be viewed as “green.” I have experi-enced the transition of the environ-ment to become a mainstream is-sue working on water. In 1991 I studied the impacts of the pro-

(Continued from page 1)

tivities of companies and individuals. This new emphasis on environmental management raises the value of edu-cation of environmental profession-als. The ELP is an element of a new environmental education effort that can generate the leaders of tomor-row. These future leaders need a foundation in science and the knowl-edge and skills of economic and per-sonal management. They need to understand and view the environ-ment within a more general policy perspective and should recognize the differences between what is de-sirable and what is feasible. Never-theless, a three-week program is limited in what it can achieve—emphasizing the urgency in design-ing a professional Master’s program that makes sense, particularly since the environmental sector is expand-ing and firms, governments, and NGOS need professionals in this field. I am afraid that it will take us some


Robin, cont.

David, cont.


18 February, with the seminar "We plant trees together with children", an All-Russian movement "Restore our forest" started in our country. The move-ment is to unite those who grow new forests and green areas, as well as those who want to join the work. Both organi-zations and individuals can take part in it. At the moment there are ten coordinating centers of the Movement in different regions of Russia: in Moscow, Ve-liky Novgorod, Arkhangelsk, Che-boksary, Novosibirsk, Tomsk, Irkutsk, Vladivostok, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. In these centers partici-pants can get any methodological assistance they need (how to plant and take care of trees, where to get saplings etc.) or to meet other par-ticipants in their region. The move-ment has its own Internet site, which anyone can use: http://planting.forest.ru The seminar was organized for the heads of forestry schools and peo-ple who work at regional centers. Specialists from the International Social-Ecological Union (SEU-int) are going to speak there about main problems in the Russian forest sector and about involving children in work on forest conservation. Representatives of Greenpeace Russia are going to share their ex-perience in organization of tree nurseries in rural schools of Central Russia. The participants are also going to

has shrunk several times over as a result of human activity, generally due to the introduction of agriculture on previously forested lands. In all of Europe, only ten million hectares of oak forest remain in the Temper-ate Zone. At the present moment, the exis-tence of sizeable tracts (around 100,000 hectares) is known in Chu-vashy (the former warping oak groves), in the Tul'skaya and Kaluzhskaya oblasts, and in the Belovezhskaya forest on the border of BelÁrus and Poland. The current condition of a signifi-cant portion of oak forests in the Temperate Zone of Europe is con-sidered critical, showing a tendency toward its eventual worsening. The pace and depth of the degradation of these systems is fully compara-ble to that which is observed in the tropical rain forests.

In the past decade, non-governmental environmental organizations introduced ma-jor initiatives to save boreal forests, achiev-ing consider-able results.

Europe's forests, however, consist of both taiga and the broadleaf for-ests of the Temperate Zone, which are widely spread in Russia.

OAK TIMBER TRADE In contrast to boreal forests, timber-ing in the oak forests of the emper-ate Zone of Europe is conducted on a far smaller scale and is decentral-ized, which creates problems for controlling the timbering. Given the high value of oak lumber, these fac-


Feature Article Forests are going to be Restored all over Russia Natalia Belova (ELP ‘03)


be informed how to protect forest from various threats, including fires and diseases. Representatives of forestry schools should be inter-ested in the information about wood

and forest as a cul-tural value, pre-sented by members of the SEU-int. This information will help them with their edu-cational work with children. THE OAKS OF EURASIA - WHERE THE EUROPEAN OAKS ARE Europe's temperate oak forest belt, al-

though in a rather fragmented con-dition, abuts the taiga from the south and stretches from the west-erns edge of Europe (northern Por-tugal and Spain) to the Ural moun-tains. The largest amounts of oak forest in the Tem-perate Zone are found in Russia (3.7 million hec-tares), in France (2.1 million hec-tares), in Ukraine (1.7 million hec-tares), in Germany (900,000 hectares), in Denmark (500,000 hectares), and in Croatia (300,000 hectares). The Oak forests are the richest eco-systems in the temperate zone; once Oak forest were one of the major forests in Europe. THE OAK FORESTS ARE DE-CLINING AT THE SAME SPEED AS TROPICAL FORESTS! Since the beginning of history, the area of European broadleaf forests with the predominance of the oak

The idea of the program is to involve as many people as possible from all

parts of society; to make them feel that oak grove restoration is their achieve-ment and that forest belongs to all of them; and that they should share the

responsibility of caring for it.

The legacy of centralized economic planning, with its energy and re-source intensive produc-tion technologies, has left the Ukraine, along with many CIS countries, with serious environmental problems. Responsibility for providing environ-ment-related services and addressing many local environmental is-sues has been recently largely de-volved to Ukraine’s recently estab-lished 448 self-governing local bod-ies. These self-governing bodies include large cities with populations in the millions, as well as medium sized cities and small municipali-ties. Providing assistance for the environmental problems solving is one of the goals of the UNDP Ur-ban Environmental Governance Program in Ukraine. Although the national and regional level state administrations still re-tain important responsibilities re-garding issues of environment, the municipalities, with their elected mayors, are the front line for local environmental action. It is the mu-nicipalities that now must respond to citizens’ complaints and requests for environmental information, gen-erate the capital resources for up-grading or replacing decrepit sys-tems, establish and successfully implement systems of consumer tariff structures to cover operating costs for urban services, rewrite and pass municipal environmen-tally-related legislation and policies, and develop effective systems and processes of participatory planning and action involving local NGOs, businesses, and communities. Meeting the challenges posed by economic transition, new govern-ance responsibilities, and interna-tional environmental covenants re-

quires local governmental and pri-vate institutions to develop a new

approach for environmental governance. The previous sys-tem used an inflexible, top-down, command-driven ap-proach to environmental policy. Governance needs to be con-sultative and participatory in order to: 1) address the full range of policy considerations, 2) promote strategic problem-

solving agendas, 3) increase public awareness and mobilization activi-ties, and 4) promote public/private sector cooperation within a com-petitive and transparent context. Municipalities and the other local organizations in Ukraine have little previous experience with such types of governance. Urban Environmental Govern-ance Project The Urban Environmental Governance Project was designed as a part of the UNDP Urban Environmental Governance (UEG) Program with the Association of Ukrainian Municipalities as the

executing agent. The UEG Programme consists of three main components: policy and institutional framework; development of public private partnerships (PPP) to solve urban environmental problems; public awareness and environmental education. Our project in the Ukraine falls into the second component of the UEG Program. The cities of Rivne and Ivano-Frankivsk were selected for

participation in the project through a competitive process. The project provides the following types of specific assistance to the selected municipalities, local NGOs, communities, and environmentally oriented businesses in the partici-pating localities: *Developing capacity of public-private partnership (PPP) of se-lected municipality to design and implement local environmental ac-tion plan. *Preparation of Guidelines pertain-ing to the development of local en-vironmental action plans and spe-cific actions within the context of local economic development plans, using PPP approach. *Creation of Web-facility "Partnership for Urban Environ-mental Governance", functioning as Internet platform for dialogue be-tween interested municipalities, en-terprises, NGOs, donors, invest-ment companies and international organizations.

Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) are one of the most attrac-tive tools being used to help ad-dress the urban environmental crisis. PPP are an effective means of establishing coopera-tion between public and private actors and to bundle financial

resources, know-how and expertise to address these urban environ-mental needs. PPPs offer alterna-tives to full privatization, combining the advantages of both the public and the private sector. Their use is based on the recogni-tion that both the public and private sectors can benefit by pooling their resources to improve the delivery of basic services to all citizens. This


Feature Article Solving Urban Environmental Problems in the Ukraine Oleksandr Byelyakov (ELP '01)


Although the national and regional level state administrations still retain important responsi-bilities regarding issues of environment, the municipalities, with their elected mayors, are the front line for local environmental action.

BEAHRS ELP ALUMNI REUNION: Kazim Niaz (ELP ’03) & Bob Murtland (ELP ‘01)

In January when I was coming for my course on Conflict Resolution and Peace processes, we (the alums) were engaged in our cyber discussion. I mentioned, just by the way, to Robin that I will be in Derry for the next 12 weeks at the Uni-versity of Ulster. Soon I received a mail from her that I must meet Robert Murtland, a fellow ELP alum. Derry is small and far off place and believe me I was not expecting to meet someone from BEAHRS ELP here, but such has become the strength of our net-work, amazing!

Bob was in Derry for a few days as he was on his way to Sri lanka for a consultancy, but we quickly coor-dinated a meeting. Bob picked me and a couple of other friends up and we went for dinner and then his house. It was a great meeting.

Bob has worked for about six years in Pakistan and most of that time was spent in Peshawar----- my home town. At times I had the feel-

ing that he knew more about Pe-shawar than me and vice versa. His home was full of things from all around the world but mostly from Peshawar, and I felt I had come to a small Peshawar in the middle of Derry. We talked about common issues like problems of forestry and agriculture in Pakistan. He has worked very closely with the Plan-

ning and Development Department and particularly with my predecessor. We also talked about common friends and promised to meet again in Peshawar soon. Bob gave me a ride in his historical jeep that has traveled to India, Srilanka, Pakistan and Africa. It is a pity that we didn’t have time for more meetings as be-ing a pukhtoon I really wanted to re-ciprocate his hospitality.

Thanks Robin for providing me the opportunity to meet with someone who knows his work, who knows my region and who is a wonderful hu-man being.

ACTIONS TAKEN Even at the present starting stage there are a significant number of tors create a premise for the devel-

opment of small-scale but active illegal cutting in such countries as Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. Re-cent years have witnessed a de-cline in interest toward oaks in com-parison to beeches in the forestry plans of Central and Western Europe. The beech is much more stable in conditions of "new dam-age," and is also easy to cultivate. In Russia, the oak is one of the most valuable varieties, seeing as the beech does not grow there naturally. The situation in the forest sector of the country, however, does not contribute to the continua-tion of the complex work of restor-ing oak forests.

(Continued from page 5) people interested in oak forest resto-ration activities. Oak trees are being planted by activists in the Moscow, Tatarstan, Novgorod and Vladimir regions. We are actively searching for different partners to spread the program to all regions in Russia and abroad as well as to assist activists with information and planting materi-als. The idea of the program is to in-volve as many people as possible from all parts of society; to make them feel that oak grove restoration is their achievement and that forest belongs to all of them; and that they should share the responsibility of car-ing for it.

Forests in Russia, cont.


approach helps municipal authori-ties, private sector, non-governmental organizations and local communities to choose the approach that best fits their local needs, drawing from the lessons learned in partnership arrange-ments around the world. Examples from the Ukraine – Rivne & Ivano-Frankivsk As project aims at the integration of sustainable development principles in planning and decision-making on the local level, a series of awareness-raising workshop and special training courses were conducted in Rivne for local communities and for each target group (youth groups, women, media and local authorities). These meetings helped to define their roles and mechanisms for participatory decision-making process. Participants of trainings and seminars acquired new knowl-edge and systematization of knowl-edge they already had regarding PPP, opportunities, and mecha-nisms of institualization. It is very important that municipality repre-sentatives understood advantages provided through PPP for solving city problems. Private sector repre-sentatives learned much about new opportunities of mutually beneficial partnership generally and in the city specifically. The project also pro-vided assistance in development of Terms of Reference and supported holding of series of seminars for children, volunteers, committees of parents and schools directors on community mobilization and city sustainable development strategy preparation.

(Continued from page 6) The second pilot city – Ivano-Frankivsk – already had a city de-velopment strategic plan (developed in 1999). At the prelimi-nary meeting, the community de-

cided to perform an analysis of the state of the plan imple-mentation and to study major obstacles encountered on the implementation way and update the plan in accor-dance with sustainable de-velopment principles. Since Ivano-Frankivsk is intended to be a tourist center of Pry-carpattia, the city community together with local authori-ties came to an agreement that one of pending city problems is the problem of

domestic wastes management. The city community considers that in order to solve the problem it is necessary to establish a sys-tem for solid do-mestic waste separation. This idea was sup-ported by private business, which can provide avail-able equipment for recycling of PET-bottles. Announcement for solid domestic waste separation and PET-bottles recycling was an-nounced in the lo-cal news-paper

"Galychyna". After result of bidding process, the best private compa-nies will be selected to implement the PET-bottle recycling program. One company will be contracted for solid domestic waste separation and recycling of glass and cardboard, and the other will recycle separated PET-bottles. Contracts will be developed with both companies. All this proc-ess is conducted in accordance with transparency principles (one of the main project priorities). The next important structural project component includes preparation and publishing the draft manual for a local sustainable development strategy formulation “Local sustain-able development planning”. Establishment of efficient partner-ships between local authorities,

community and pri-vate sector in Ukraine has reached the new level. This was achieved by the will-ingness of the munici-palities to actively collaborate in this direction and contrib-

ute their funds to the projects imple-mentation. More details about the project are available online: http://ueg.undp.org.ua (please select English version).

Environmental Problems in the Ukraine, cont.


The Ivano-Frankivsk community considers that

in order to solve the problem it is necessary to

establish a system for solid domestic waste separation.

I have been busy post Berkeley, with ongoing commitments, new work and building up our small company JunctionSocial apart from enjoying our 7 ½ year old twins who are still very much in the age of inno-cence and there-fore quite ador-able. Work is var-ied both geo-graphically and sectorally – keep-ing us all continu-ally on our toes and constantly learning. Given our rich network and fantastic body of experience, it would be great to collaborate with other alums work-ing on urban environmental issues. Below I’ve provided a quick update on the work of my organization JunctionSocial with a focus on is-sues relevant to the urban environ-ment. On behalf of JunctionSocial, I am leading a global evaluation of ado-lescent girls’ health and develop-ment outcomes with a view to learn-ing lessons and furthering the over-all agenda on adolescence. We are focused on 16 countries in West Africa, the Middle East, Mongolia, Russia and Bangladesh. The focus areas are quality, efficacy and or-ganizational issues linked to inter-agency collaboration (UNICEF- NY, UNFPA–NY and WHO Geneva), advocacy and technical support. This assignment is drawing to a close with an internal sharing meet-ing scheduled for mid-May in NY with senior programme staff from the 3 agencies followed by a pres-entation of the lessons learned at the Global Health Council in Wash-ington DC in June 2004. We are also developing a strategy

of social development support for DFID’s water, sanitation and hy-giene portfolio in Bangladesh (DFID is the UK Government’s department

working to promote sustainable devel-opment and elimi-nate world poverty). This is a large and fairly strategic port-folio – including DFID funding to UNICEF and the Government of Bangladesh – to implement one of the world’s largest hygiene promotion and sanitation pro-grammes based on

a demand driven approach. The project will be managed by WaterAid in Bangladesh and imple-mented through an array of NGOs working mainly in the difficult and hard to reach areas of Bangladesh. A component of the project includes a strategy for pooling research and finances around the arsenic issues; mitigation strategies will be coordi-nated by the Bangladesh policy unit charged with coordination, regulation and facilitation of sanitation, water supply (including arsenic issues) and hygiene issues for the sector as a whole. Under this con-tract we provide ongoing support (electronic and through visits) on all poverty, social development and gender, hygiene promotion and communication aspects of the port-folio.

Another current project is the de-sign of the equity component of the Government of India’s Reproductive Health Programme (Phase 2). This is a centrally managed programme

spanning the entire country. The challenge is to create a flexible de-sign that is responsive to the diver-sity and regional and intra-state disparities across the country. The draft already runs to 61 pages!! I personally was charged with the additional task of highlighting the environmental health determinants that are the underlying causes of infant and maternal mortality and morbidity in many cases. This was extremely interesting and is closely linked to my Change Management Contract for ELP.

The above is a sample current work – apart from which research contin-ues to be a personal passion espe-cially where it can be linked to a sorely neglected area of advocacy. My own current area of interest is the whole issue of menstrual hy-giene on which policy makers, prac-titioners and even donors have been silent right through. While highlighting the needs for latrines – which has become a high priority in the run up to the MDGs and post Johannesburg, the entire discourse is silent on the need to ensure that

facilities for women and girls are appropri-ate and sensitively designed. In South Asia, given that the majority of the popula-tion is still unable to afford even low-cost sanitary napkins, men-

strual management issues are mainly about the lack of spaces and water to wash and dry napkins, par-ticularly given the socio-cultural ta-boos against public consciousness or articulation of the issue. One very effective way of ensuring this is addressed is negotiating this in initial project design and later in engineering designs. However given how little has been done around this issue – JunctionSocial


Feature Article JunctionSocial – Reaching out the to Urban Environment Archana Patkar (ELP ‘03)


Given our rich network and fantastic body of

experience, it would be great to collaborate with other alums working on

urban environmental issues.

According to the Statistical Year-book of Bangladesh, 2001, Dhaka, the Capital of Bangladesh has a population of about 6.9 million in a land area of 590 sq. mile (1528 sq. km). In Bangladesh, the percentage of urban population is 20.1 while that of rural 79.9. Due to concen-tration of development and economic activi-ties in the Capital, the rural population, faced with calamities and unemployment, is in-creasingly moving towards the cities. Unofficial sources claim that the population of Dhaka is much higher than 6.9 mil-lion and that it would be no less than 10 million. According to avail-able statistics, 60 percent of the total City population lives in the slum areas. In 1999, the World Bank listed Dhaka, a city of millions, as one of the world’s top polluted City that contaminated its air beyond all ac-ceptable limits. The environment of the City is affected by several fac-tors of which includes unplanned development, non-implementation of laws and plans, lack of co-ordination amongst the service pro-viding agen-cies, am-biguous insti-tutional ar-rangements and so on. The laws on urban planning are not frequently used documents and hardly provide the dwellers any ef-fective legal relief. Over the years, the gap between the laws and the

decisions has become such ac-cepted facts that for most part, even the authorities do not base their decisions on laws!

In addition to the un-planned concrete growth of the City, its environment is also faced with pollution of various forms. The major environmental problems that are confronting the city dwellers include pollu-tion of air, noise, wa-ter; scarcity of envi-ronmental services including garbage

disposal, water, drainage, sanitation, health care, recreational facilities and so on. If one compares the real life picture of Dhaka with the applicable laws in hand, it become obvious that: • The laws on urban planning and protection address most of the envi-ronmental issues; • The laws are hardly imple-mented/enforced; • The long-term practice of not implementing the laws has encour-aged certain bad practices that hin-der planned urban growth; • While the authorities plead ambi-

guity of legal arrangement in implementing the legal provisions, there is hardly any attempt to rectify the legal inadequacies. Our organization – Bang-ladesh Environmental Lawyers Association

(BELA) – is a society of lawyers active in the field of environment for establishing a sound ecological or-der using legal mechanism as a tool. It has already created a repu-tation for obtaining a number of im-

portant decisions in cases affecting the interest of the greater public. Judicial recognition of the need of a sound environment was first made in the writ petition filed by the or-ganization. A group of academies researcher and practicing lawyers and environmental activists estab-lished the BELA in 1992. We are a nonpolitical and nonprofit organiza-tion, which believes that country's lawyers can contribute significantly in implementing and instituting a sustainable ecological order with equity as the underlying principle.

Feature Article Urban Environmental Issues: Any Legal Recourse? Aleya Ferdousi & Rizwana (ELP ‘03) Staff Lawyer, BELA


Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) – is a society of lawyers active in

the field of environment for establishing a sound ecological order using legal mechanism as

a tool.

Local Agenda 21(LA 21) refers to local initiatives geared towards real-izing the goal of Agenda 21. Agenda 21 is the global ac-tion plan for the environment and develop-ment ensuing from the Earth Summit in Rio, 1992. South Africa’s experience with apartheid his-tory and the subsequent de-mocratization process over the past ten years are unique. Experiences en-suing from these events, their inter-action with global process provide vital lessons. Countries emerging from war, differential development as well as effects of uncompromis-ing globalization processes can learn from South Africa. The coun-try’s legal, policy and institutional provisions allude to the principles of sustainable development, the domi-nant discourse globally in the dec-ade. South Africa’s cities not only have to deal with the challenges of the past, rapid urbanization but also strive to achieve sustainable devel-opment. Massive development such as shopping malls, industries, infra-structure, housing projects and de-cay in some areas are evident in these cities. Influx of population from rural areas in the new dispen-sation has resulted in creation of informal settlements and increased stress on existing resources in the cities. This complicates the already complex urban environments, the ability of local governments to plan and provide for the populace. Social and economic priorities seem to take precedence over environ-

mental considerations despite exis-tences of Integrated Development Plans (IDP). IDPs are the statutory

plans for all local mu-nicipalities in the coun-try. IDPs are formulated according to provisions of Agenda 21 and are geared towards sustain-able development at the local level. South Africa has a national Cam-paign Local Agenda 21 initiative. Synergy be-tween LA21 initiatives, this and other statutory plans is critical to ad-dress challenges in ur-ban environments to alleviate duplication of efforts and possible re-

source waste. Pietermaritzburg is a major and capital city, an “aspiring metropoli-tan”, in Kwa-Zulu Natal province of South Africa. Recent legal, policy and institutional changes at the na-tional and local level continue to influence the social, political, economic and envi-ronmental aspects of the city. Studies and field based courses with stu-dents and partners at the Centre for Environment and Development, University of Kwa- Zulu Natal, Pietermaritzburg have identified a void in the environmental dimension in the local and other IDPs. The Local Agenda 21 initiative in Pieter-maritzburg is recognized in the IDP as one initiative to assist the mu-nicipality is addressing its environ-mental issues. The initiative has been in existence for the past six years. It has been acting as a multi-sector group bringing together ac-tors from local government depart-

ments, the local Chambers of Busi-ness, Non-governmental and com-munity organization. To date, the city is still having challenges relat-ing to development of an environ-mental policy, domestic and indus-trial waste management, environ-mental education, training, informa-tion access and dissemination among other critical environmental components. However, there are pockets of success in air quality improvement and management of the cities landfill site. Many factors influence this performance. In con-trast, the Local Agenda 21 in Dur-ban a city 80 Km South East of Pietermaritzburg is a globally ac-claimed initiative. The initiative has evolved bringing about environ-mental improvement in the metro-politan. This and other experiences in cities around the world provide an impetus to my study. Assessment of the local initiative’s progression from conceptualization

throughout its im-plementation will provide vital les-sons. What has worked, what have not worked and why? What issues need im-provement for the future? Analysis

of tangible outputs and timely achievement of targets, resource availability and environmental im-provement attributable to involve-ment in the initiative is critical. The process utilized and factors influ-encing achievement of these out-put/ outcomes and their continuity is critical. The synergy between the participating organizations and the LA 21 initiative is vital in the feed-back mechanism that contributes towards improving the environment


Feature Article Local Agenda 21 Initiatives in Changing Urban Environments Muthoni Ngotho (ELP ‘03)


What has worked, what have not worked and why? What issues need improvement for

the future?

time to build the UC Berkeley Mas-ter’s degree program in environ-mental science (MES) or natural resource management (MNR), but easily envisioned. Individuals hold-ing degrees that are equivalent to an MBA will be trained to work for environmental and resource agen-cies and NGOs and natural re-source and life science companies. Such programs will provide indi-viduals with the right knowledge, experiences, and contacts to make them effective professionals and eventually leaders. Solving envi-ronmental issues now requires combining passion with knowledge, both in natural and social and managerial sciences, and these program will aim to provide it. What about the specifics of such programs? I am guided by my bi-ases and the experience I hopefully gained from the ELP in presenting a short skeleton of a program here. I envision three main sequences of classes. The first sequence is in decision and policy sciences. It should include a class on quantita-tive decision theory; a class on en-vironmental pol-icy; and a class on communica-tion, leadership, and conflict reso-lutions. These classes will com-bine lectures, technical exer-cises, and case studies. The second sequence will be on the basics of science—classes on the fundamentals of physical, biological, and ecological sciences that are relevant to envi-ronmental and resource manage-ment. I cannot say much about top-ics that I am not very familiar with, except to point out these classes will be used to complement the knowledge that students already have. They will provide the neces-sary tools and inform students about the basic concepts. The third sequence will include workshops

(Continued from page 4) on specific topics. We may have classes on biodiversity, water qual-ity, air pollution, global environ-mental issues, the urban environ-ment, environment and develop-ment, etc. The key in each of the workshops will be in-depth projects that will require individual initiative and group cooperation and feed-back. The classes provide a structure and common base of knowledge, but the training should emphasize large individual projects and provide op-portunities for internships and re-search assistantship. A good Mas-ter’s program should also include active seminar series and options for international exchange. It should be integrated with other units within the campus, having a core staff and large number of joint faculty. Its ex-act details depend on the skills and interests of the faculty, and educa-tional programs should be allowed to change as they grow and evolve. I am throwing out some basic ideas here, and I look forward to some feedback.

in the city. This assessment, active involvement, and perspectives of actors are envisaged to enable the researcher to identify elements of a future mechanism pertinent to the situation in the city. Some questions for consideration based on this article would be: What are the causes of environ-mental urban stress? Some school of thoughts point out poverty in the context of Africa, others blame poor planning, while others point to cor-ruption resulting into lack of enforce-ment of policies and incentives to pollution. Some suggestions have been provided in UN documents that Urban Environment can be effec-tively governed through sound and appropriate human settlement tech-nology, research, training and the dissemination of information on en-vironmentally sound human settle-ments planning and management. Input, critique and pertinent litera-ture to my study are welcome from all ELP alumni.



I am throwing out some basic ideas here, and I look forward to some feedback.

JunctionSocial, cont.

is currently collating case studies and experiences, information about cheap disposal technologies etc which will be circulated within the sector in the region. Additionally DFID is now considering the use of menstrual management as a meta indicator for progress towards the MDGs.


most. We went to a variety of meetings as well as the primary

one, and in every meet-ing, people talked about the need for working together, both to get the program moving ahead, and to assure the best in environmental leader-ship. Most had not col-laborated with other faculties in such a grand way before, yet all seemed quite willing to work together, and with us, to create the pro-gram. By the end of our meetings, we had devel-

oped a letter of intent for our two universities to collaborate. The faculty’s enthusiasm for leader-ship education particularly gratified me. The people I talked with placed high value in leadership communication skills. They under-

stood that environmental leaders can develop these skills to help them lead their organizations, affect policy, and work with a wide variety of other interested parties. I don’t believe we would have ac-complished all we did if Svetlana hadn’t done such an incredible job organizing our visit. Everything worked smoothly, from going to meetings to attending lunches (all those fabulous appetizers!) to see-ing sites. We never had a dull mo-ment. I left Russia happy I’d gone, and hoping I’d return soon to work fur-ther on this program.

To Russia with Hope (OK, maybe a silly title!) Bill Sonnenschein


I went to St. Petersburg, Russia, with great hopes. I return home with greater hopes. Robin, David, and I went to Russia at the end of March to ex-plore the potential of creating a regional program for environ-mental leadership at St. Petersburg State University, in conjunc-tion with our Berkeley program. Stanislav Tkachenko and Svet-lana Chernikova or-ganized a meeting with various university faculties to dis-cuss this matter. I left Russia very impressed, with a strong belief that this program has an excellent chance to succeed. The St. Petersburg faculties’ sense of collaboration impressed me the

so it is fitting that Old Europe and newer American institutions should work together to foster peaceful resolution of conflict, a main com-ponent of the proposed new pro-gram. Robin was keen to offer Uni-versity of California and ELP experi-ence in building collaborative proc-esses. After lunch we had a tour of the

AUP campus, which is really just buildings scattered here and there in a very chic (thank god for those boots!) corner of the 7eme arrondisse-ment, within sight of both the Eiffel

Tower and Napoleon's tomb. The walk was punctuated with window shopping ("how can there be so many attractive boutiques"), discus-sions of French politics and franco-American cultural differences (Vive la difference!) and frantic efforts to use a French telephone card to call

home -- so Robin could let Peter and the girls know how hard she was working. We spoke loud Ameri-can English but nobody threw toma-toes or gallic insults, so Franco-American relations are not so bad as the press reports. That evening, a very different kind of gastronomy was offered when Jim Clayson served up his world-famous (vegan) pasta with pesto sauce in the warm intimacy of the Clayson kitchen. Lots of wine, no cheese. Despite Robin's being part of a huge university and Jim's teaching at a tiny one (AUP has a student body of 900), they discov-ered many things in common. Robin's last day took her to the lo-cal market, along the Seine River to the Rodin Museum, past more of those fashionable boutiques, and over the bridge to the Virgin Megas-tore to buy CDs of goldie oldie French cabaret singers to take home to Peter. She confessed that Peter's the family francophile, not her, but I could tell that the City of Lights had brushed her shoulders with stardust and she will be back.

At the very end of March, Robin and Alison McKelvey Clayson had a 3-day get-together in Paris. Robin arrived in balmy Paris wrapped in woolies and boots on her way home from a cold and snowy Saint Pe-tersburg. The boots fit right in with current fashion trends in this part of the world, although the skirt was perhaps a wee bit long to be really trendy, and the boots a bit too short. There were ap-pointments at UNESCO to meet with people in the Man and Biosphere(MAB)program and then a full-fledged French luncheon (wine, cheese and de-sert, but "hold the cheese") with a Dean from the American University of Paris (AUP) who is helping to set up a new MA program in international affairs to-gether with the Institut Catholique of France. Despite its rather mislead-ing name, the Institut is in fact France's oldest private university,

Robin Marsh arrived in Manhattan on Friday, 6 February - a typical rainy and damp February night. But over a warm dinner and chilled drinks, it turned out to be a delight-ful evening to catch up on what has been happening with the ELP and especially its alumni. Busy as ever, Robin had just completed conduct-ing training at Brown University, Rhode Island. I eagerly listened to Berkeley updates, together with my husband, Peter Bartelmus, who was especially interested as he is also in the environment/economics field. As for myself, I am now with the UN Department of Political Af-

fairs and the focus of my work is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. While the substance of my work has devi-

ated from issues of the Summer of 2002 at Berkeley, that training has certainly broadened my approach to my work, as the issue of the envi-ronment and human security is tightly linked. I continue to closely follow environmental issues, espe-cially climate change. I hope you (ELP person) contact me when you are in the New York area for a nice chat and get-together. Reach me by email: <[email protected]>.

BEAHRS ELP ALUMNI REUNION: Alison Clayson (ELP ‘03) & Robin Marsh

BEAHRS ELP ALUMNI REUNION: Liza Morales (ELP ‘01) & Robin Marsh


We are thrilled with the progress of this year’s SGI recipients and...Congratulations to this year’s SGI winners (see last page)! In this issue we hear from alums in Madagascar, India & China.

Madagascar’s rapid loss of forest land and accompa-nying environmental im-pacts, such as the drying up of water sources, are resulting in the disappear-ance of the country’s unique biodiversity at an alarming rate. If the rate of forest loss characterized by the past twenty years con-tinues, most of the coun-try’s forests will disappear before the year 2020. In the eastern rainforest corri-dor, low-yield shifting cultivation, or tavy, has been blamed for large-scale erosion and forest loss. Re-cently introduced state and donor-sponsored programs to decentralize natural resource management to rural communities, Gestion Con-tractualisée des Forêts (GCF) and Gestion Locale Sécurisée (Gelose), aim to reduce tavy through estab-lishing and guaranteeing relative local land tenure. In most cases, they include an initial transfer of resource manage-ment for three years, with a po-tential renewal for an additional ten years (and contin-ual renewals there-after), should the community suc-cessfully manage the resources. Yet, to date, limited evaluation of the programs has taken place. With funding from the Beahrs Envi-ronmental Leadership Small Grants Initiative (SGI) 2003 funding, Be-ahrs Environmental Leadership Program Alumnus, Olga Ramaro-manana, and Berkeley collabora-tors, Dr. Adina Merenlender, Asso-

community to monitor its own pro-gress by establishing and testing a community self-evaluation program. The grant provided a wonderful op-portunity to build on the comple-mentary strengths of the Berkeley collaborators and Beahrs Environ-mental Leadership Program Alum-nus, Olga Ramaromanana. Un-doubtedly, one of the more signifi-cant outcomes of the grant has been the cross-disciplinary intellec-tual debate advanced via email and in person. The ongoing discussion brought together complementary perspectives on monitoring CBNRM programs and challenged the part-ners to reflect on how best to de-sign appropriate evaluation meth-ods for communities, non-governmental organizations, do-nors, and government partners. In the fall of 2003, Catherine and Olga visited the Ampatsy forest community, accompanied by field staff from the forest service and the Landscape Development Interven-tions program, to talk with commu-nity members about the implemen-tation of a community monitoring program. To get to the Ampatsy community from the city of Fiana-


SGI: Monitoring Community-Based Natural Resource Management in Madagascar: Ampatsy Forest as a Case Study Olga Ramaromanana ([email protected]) & Catherine Corson ([email protected])


Undoubtedly, one of the more significant

outcomes of the grant has been the cross-disciplinary intellectual debate advanced via email

and in person.

ciate Cooperative Extension Spe-cialist and Adjunct Associate Pro-fessor, Division of Ecosystem Man-agement, ESPM, and Catherine Corson, PhD Student, Division of Society and Environment, ESPM, have collaborated on the design and implementation of a monitoring and evaluation system for GCFs using a case study in the Ampatsy community, located in the central corridor of Fianarantsoa in the east-ern rainforest. The project explores how socio-economic and biological information can be used to both identify critical components of suc-cessful community resource man-agement and prioritize conservation areas where investment will have the most impact. SGI funds sup-ported enhanced data collection and analysis process, the identi-fication of robust socioeconomic and biological indicators, and the development of a predictive model for successful commu-nity-based conservation. In addi-tion to socio-economic surveys, aerial photos and satellite im-ageries were used to develop maps of regional land-use and land management. Finally, the project aims to empower the

Madagascar, cont. My SGI project is a mixed bag at the moment - some successes, some failures. Along the way I guess I have picked up a PhD in Project Management! Our project is to explore the poten-tial use of non-edible seed oil of an endemic tree called Pongamia Pin-nata as fuel in stationary engines. This seed oil is meant to replace diesel; diesel, in addition to being non-renewable, is decidedly more polluting. We have made consider-able progress in promoting the con-cept. Currently, we have three irri-gation engines working as demon-stration pumpsets, using the seed oil. In addition to using the seed oil, one of the en-gines (the first of its kind) works on bio-gas (out of dung) and pongamia. Our tests show that about 1.1 litres of Pongamia seed oil (filtered) substitute for 1 litre of diesel. Sources of seed oil come primar-ily from two sources. We worked closely with a local NGO to install a seed oil-expelling unit in the area; the addition of this unit was quite a bonus to our project! We have a nursery of pon-gamia plants as well under our care. Recently, we supervised the planting of around 800 pongamia seeds, bring-ing the total in the nursery to around 2000 plants. However, there has been a drought in the project area that caused a

considerable drop in the water table and lead to many farmers not using their pumpsets (fueled by the seed oil) at all. This is a major setback, and one can only pray that the monsoon clouds that come in June-July will remember their old path-ways! The drought resulted in the project not gaining as much visibility within the farming community that it might have had the going been good. Farmers at the moment are simply not interested enough. I hope that this phase will pass when the rains do come. I view the SGI grant as the begin-ning of our project, and not really as a project in itself. We will expand

the nursery to include other use-ful endemic plants, a list of which will shortly be available (to those interested) on our website - www.nityata.org and are commit-ted to creating a larger awareness plan to be imple-mented over the next couple of

years. The progress we have made so far shows that pongamia oil has a terrific future in rural India in gen-

erating local em-ployment in the lean season and in converting the village into a source of surplus energy rather than simply an-other energy consumer.

rantsoa, one follows a dirt road that winds about two and a half hours through the countryside. At various points, the road passes over rice paddies by way of small bridges, con-structed of logs and earth. Much to our dismay, we discovered that our land rover was just slightly over the weight capacity of one of these small bridges (see attached photograph). Luckily, the vehicle didn’t fall through, but only cracked one of the logs. Still, Olga and Catherine opted to walk over the bridges after that! The Ampatsy community meeting was very successful--focusing on how the GCF was working for the community and how to initiate a self-monitoring program. To our relief, at the end of the meeting, several villagers were recruited to help repair the bridge, and our return trip proved uneventful! We highly recommend both the Be-ahrs Environmental Leadership and SGI programs. By partnering aca-demics and field practionners, SGI builds the long-term cross-disciplinary partnerships and innova-tion needed to develop effective solu-tions to development challenges. Such partnerships open up great re-search opportunities for graduate students and faculty alike, and we highly encourage others to participate in the initiative!


SGI: Exploring the Potential Use of Non-Edible Seed Oil M. Gopakumar (ELP ‘01)

Pongamia Pinnata


The progress we have made so far

shows that pongamia oil has a terrific

future in rural India in generating local

employment in the lean season and in

converting the village into a source of

surplus energy rather than simply

another energy consumer.

Under the SGI, the Commu-nity-based Conservation & Devel-opment Research Cen-ter (CCDRC) of Guizhou Normal University, Gui-yang, will facilitate a pioneering Guizhou Bio-diversity Group (GBG) for the province of Guizhou. (SGI partners pictured. Ren Xiaodong, Director, CCDRC (top); Huang Mingjie, Director, International Co-operation Center for Environmental Protec-tion, Guiyang (middle); and Yang Congming, Community Forestry Adviser, Secretariat of Provincial Governor, Guizhou (bottom)).

China is recognized as one of the most impor-tant countries for biodi-versity conservation. A significant proportion of state-protected species are found in Guizhou, including the Guizhou Golden Monkey; Black-necked Crane and the primeval fern tree Also-phila spinulosa.

Guizhou is a relatively isolated, ag-ricultural province that supports a huge rural population of farmers (80%), many of whom are from mi-nority groups. 73% of the prov-ince’s land is based on carbonate karst, which is not condu-cive to agricultural. (Below, Maolan karst forest NNR).

Many farmers view exploitation of natural resources as the simplest

solution to poverty. Soil erosion in Guizhou affects 42% of provin-cial land. It is China’s poorest province attain-ing a per capita GDP of around $1200. Within the NNRs, in Guizhou, income may be as little as 25% of the adjacent county average. This pattern extends to LNRs. Given the com-plex nature of local socio-economic condi-tions, poverty poses the single greatest threat to the sustain-able use of natural re-sources and biodiver-sity. Around half of Guizhou’s Na-ture Reserves have received PRA and com-munity-based conservation training; the 7 National Re-serves are at the forefront of

PRA.

The Biodiversity Group will be a major catalyst, forum and clearing house for facili-tating stakeholders to protect biodi-versity, indigenous knowledge and tradition (picture right– Miaio girls in

ceremonial dress),

strengthening links among the NRs in Guizhou, building a platform for sharing experience on com-munity based con-

servation, and gaining the informa-tion and knowledge for biodiversity protection from outside. The GBG will engage in constant review of alternatives with a wider range of overseas systems and a wider range of stakeholders and long-term obligations to them, and will employ established skills in capac-ity building and support. Education in schools about biodiversity ap-

pears to be lim-ited and may yet need formaliza-tion and latent or hidden talent needs to be identified in col-leges and uni-versities. All ac-tivities will com-bine to benefit biodiversity for the global com-munity beyond Guizhou prov-ince and China.

SGI: Establishing a Biodiversity Group in Guizhou Province, Southwest China Ren Xiaodong (ELP ‘01) & Chris Aldridge


China is recognized as one of the most important countries for biodiversity

conservation.

Regional pages are compiled by the steering committee members and alums from the region. Great job to the South Asia, North Africa/Middle East and Americas in this issues - looking forward to regional pages from Oceania, Russia & CIS & Southeast Asia in the summer issues.

Winrock International India has started a collaborative project with International Water Management Institute (IWMI) to study the use of urban wastewater in agriculture. Wastewater has high potential for reuse in agriculture and pro-vides an opportunity for increas-ing food and envi-ronmental security by avoiding direct pollu-tion of riv-ers and surface water; conserving significant proportion of river basin waters, and disposing of municipal wastewater in a low-cost, sanitary way. However, wastewater for irri-gation poses a number of health and environmental risks at various levels. Though waste-water use in agriculture is an age-old prac-tice, there is lack of system-atic information on the subject, particularly on issues such as farmer’s needs and preferences and health and environmental risks.

This project will contribute to exist-ing knowledge on urban wastewater use for agriculture in India by: (i) undertaking primary research on current practices, cost/benefits of wastewater use in agriculture vis-à-

vis social, economic, health and environ-mental pa-rameters, through in-depth case studies in four loca-tions; (ii) identifying best prac-

tices for mitigation of negative im-pacts; (iii) assessing replicability of potential cost-effective technolo-gies, and (iv) carrying out nation-wide assessments of the extent and significance of wastewater use. The project will sensitize stake-

holders at dif-ferent levels about the nega-tive impacts of urban wastewa-ter use in agri-culture and possible mitiga-tion strategies with the pur-pose of helping water users,

development organizations, govern-ments and research organizations

make sound investments in water for agricultural development. The project runs from January to December 2004, and is focusing on peri-urban and rural areas around the cities of New Delhi (Yamuna river basin), Ahmedabad (Sabarmati river basin), Kanpur (Ganga river basin) and Kolkata (Kolkata Wetlands).

Regional Page South Asia URBAN WASTEWATER: LIVELIHOOD, HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS Sushil Saigal (ELP ‘03)


Though wastewater use in agriculture is an age-old practice, there is lack of systematic information on the subject, particularly on

issues such as farmer’s needs and preferences and health and environmental

risks.

Urban air pollution has plagued North Africa for decades. Control of air pollution, especially in urban centers, is a major environmental prob-lem in North African countries – particu-larly in Egypt, Alge-ria, Libya and Mo-rocco. Egypt passed one the world's toughest environ-mental laws in 1994, at a time when huge public sector facto-ries were pumping smoke into Cairo’s air and fumes from the 1.2 million auto-mobiles, pollution from industrial sites and sand blown in from the Western Desert made sure there was a permanent brownish haze over the capital city. Cairo's daily air quality remains a constant health concern. The city has about one-third of Egypt's population and 60% of the nation's industry. It is esti-mated that problems stemming from air pollution cost Egypt $13 billion over the lifetime of Cairo's 12 million residents. The World Health Organization has reported that the air pollution in downtown Cairo is 10 to 100 times above the level considered safe. Levels of sus-pended particulate matter and lead pollution in Cairo are perhaps the highest in the world. It is estimated that air pollution in Cairo causes up to 25,000 additional deaths per year. The Egyptian government has come under pressure to address the city's air pollution, which ranks among the worst in the world. In the past ten years, air pollution abatement initiatives in Egypt have

led the way in Northern Africa and have begun to reduce pollution and emissions. More liberal trade poli-

cies and the increased production of more afford-able vehicles have helped in the gradual replace-ment of highly polluting, older vehicles. Egypt has built an underground metro system that has made a considerable con-tribution to reducing sur-face mass public transit thus reducing emissions from vehicles. Also Mo-rocco and Tuni-sia have included electrified rail-

ways in their transportation infrastructures. Another target that was of higher priority is the reduction of the sulfur content of fuels. Egypt also introduced the first national unleaded fuel policy in Africa as a part of a comprehensive program to improve air quality throughout Egypt. Cur-rently, 85%of the country’s fuel sup-ply has been converted. Also, the conversion of industrial enterprises to natural gas has been financed. Solar water-heating in remote tour-ist areas have promoted commer-cialization of solar water heating technology in the residential sector

in Egypt as well as in Tunisia. Natural gas in Egypt and Mo-rocco has ac-quired great im-portance in recent years. Other pro-jects under prepa-ration include so-

lar, wind, and waste-to-energy pro-jects in Algeria, Egypt and Morocco.

But perhaps the greatest and big-gest nation-wide project for ad-dressing air pollution in Africa has been Egypt’s Cairo Air Improve-ment Project (CAIP), a seven-year, $63 million effort financed by the USAID, and is one of the largest development air pollution projects ever funded. The project was set up in 1997 and tasked mainly with the conversion of public transport en-gines into LPG- powered engines, discontinuing use of lead pollutants, and curbing dust-generated pollu-tion of the air and relocating pollut-ing industries particularly foundries

outside the cities. The CAIP also monitors the effec-tiveness of pollution abatement schemes through 36 monitoring stations in operation around

Greater Cairo. The network enables the government to measure the success of its pollution-control ini-tiatives. With lead, for example, you need to monitor for at least one year to see if you meet the permis-sible standard. The air-monitoring network is just one aspect of CAIP's strategy, which also involves pro-grams to reduce pollution, not just track it. That includes an economic instrument component, an institu-tional strengthening component, a compressed national gas compo-nent, lead smelter component, vehi-cle emission testing, air quality monitoring and analysis and public awareness component. Two very interesting aspects of the project are its Vehicle Emission Testing,


Regional Page North Africa/ Middle East TOWARDS IMPROVING AIR QUALITY IN NORTHERN AFRICA – EGYPT LEADS THE WAY Ahmed Hassan (ELP ‘03)


It is estimated that problems stemming from

air pollution cost Egypt $13 billion over the lifetime of

Cairo's 12 million residents.

Air Quality North Africa, cont.

Tune-Up and Certification compo-nent. This aspect aims to reduce harmful vehicle emissions from the 120,000 vehicles on Cairo's roads, and its nation-wide program is to promote the use of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) fuel in motor vehicles. CNG addresses the se-vere air quality concerns as it emits about 85 percent fewer harmful pollutants than gasoline. In addi-tion, using natural gas as a trans-portation fuel would provide a new customer segment for Egypt's in-creasingly extensive reserves of natural gas. Recognizing the seri-ousness of air pollution, the Egyp-tian government has embarked on an air pollution abatement program that isn’t just a bunch of acronyms, but is actually a viable model for other North African nations to fol-low.


In 1996 the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) was formed. For the first time, the federal government announced that envi-ronmental concerns would be considered as a national security issue. On this basis, the federal govern-ment proposed two phases of a new en-vironmental vision – they are called "For a Clean Mexico" and "For the Forest and the Water". At the same time, environmental change in Mexico was occurring at the local level. In Mexico City, a highly active sector of the local government (of the Fed-eral District) began proposing rele-vant new laws and some reforms. Some laws/reforms have been ap-proved by both local legislative chambers; others may be in the future. The local government took the leadership over the Federal leg-islature when it published two laws: The Law of Waters of the Federal District and the Law of Solid Re-

siduals of the Federal District. These laws define new obligations as part of the integral strategy to control solid residuals. Additionally, the Normalization Program of 2003 addresses emissions and transfer of pollutants; prevention and control of atmosphere emissions; and re-

siduals. Experts have been simul-taneously exploring the possible application of environmental eco-nomic instruments in our country,

led by recent dec-larations of the SEMARNAT that point for the es-tablishment of environmental taxes (as it hap-pens in other OECD member states). It is important to reflect on how Mexico might im-prove its solid

residuals problem. Nowadays, the introduction of any tax on solid re-sidual waste may require social be-havior modification. I agree with the idea that research may lead to creative treatment and recycling

policies. Waste recycling and be-havior modification will need to be promoted in order to achieve the abatement of pollution activities.

Regional Page Americas Solid Residuals in Mexico: A Brief Comment By Mireille Linares (ELP ‘03)


For the first time, the federal government announced that

environmental concerns would be considered as a national security

issue.

rity and Defense Policy. I cover, for example, EU civilian police mis-sions in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. In practice, what I do, is prepare for, attend to and report about the weekly meetings of the EU Committee for Civilian Crisis Management, together with repre-sentatives from 14 other EU Mem-ber States, 10 Acceding Countries, and the EU Commission. (so rather far from environment...) Tuong-Vi Pham (Vi Pham) (ELP ‘01) [email protected] I have recently joined the Resource Management Group in the Asia-Pacific Program (RMAP), Research School of Pacific and Asian Stud-ies, Australian National University, as a Visiting Fellow for three months. Away from my university in Hanoi, Vietnam, to be in the univer-sity in Australia is quite exciting for me, as I can meet, discuss and learn with and from lots of other academics who are working in simi-lar fields around the Asian-Pacific Region. My duties here include working on writing a paper that is based on the SGI proposal gained supported from ELP last year. A big thanks to the Beahrs Environmental Leader-ship Program, Small Grant Initia-tive, the University of California at Berkeley (supported by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation) for giving me the opportunity! The paper is jointly written by Robin Marsh and I; we are analyzing local resource management strategies in select ethnic groups of northern Vietnam (such as the Nung and the San Chi) affected by globalization. The analysis focuses on the socio-economic and environmental im-pacts of land use transition from subsistence mixed cropping to litchi fruit production for export to China. It examines whether various types of support from informal and formal

institutions have been successful in helping small farmers to compete in global markets and to minimize as-sociated risks. The research report will be pre-sented at a seminar held in the Re-source Management in Asian-

Pacific Program (RMAP) of the Australian National University on April 29, 2004. The information will be shared among academics, whose expertise and interests are in the broader region. It will be pub-lished in the RMAP Program Work-ing Paper Series with a view to pub-lication in a refereed international academic journal I look forward to receiving news from other ELP “family” members. If anyone is just happens to be here in Canberra, Australia, please drop in on my office and say hello or join me with bicycle riding! Canberra is great for this activity. Noel N. Verdote [email protected] I'm doing independent consulting and as you may already know one of the projects I'm working on is the Philippine Efficient Lighting Market Transformation Project (PELMATP). The said project is currently with GEF for final approval (supposedly by May). As soon as we hear from GEF we will finalize the Project Doc).



Stephanie Hodge [email protected]

I am consulting and in Feb 2004 I reviewed the Albania Environmental Programme at UNDP. I am cur-rently getting ready to give a paper on Knowledge Management and building community of practices for a conference in Damascus between April 4-7 (www.syrenviro.com,www.syroil.com). I am writing a sustainable ecot-oursim project proposal for my brother who has built an ecotourism lodge in Canada for funding to make it a energy efficiency demon-stration site for the tourism industry in rural Newfoundland (http://naac.50megs.com/photo.html and www.valhalla-lodge.com). I am also still running and preparing for the Canadian Olympic Marathon Trials in Ottawa on May 31, 2004.

Mari Linnapuomi [email protected]

I am posted for the period 1 Febru-ary - 1 August 2004 in the Perma-nent Representation of Finland to the European Union in Brussels. I work on civilian crisis management which is one civilian element of the rapidly developing European Secu-

Sobona Mtisi [email protected] Greetings from Manchester! I am currently reading for a Phd in Inter-national Development Policy and Management, at the University of Manchester. I'm a bit nervous about the whole thing, but I hope the ideas and training that I got from Berkeley will come in handy, not mentioning the great people that I met and continue to meet. That's all from me (for now!). Tetra - Biro Perencanaan, Eva-luasi dan Laporan )(ELP ’03) [email protected] I’ve included some pictures of my most current visit to a remote, poor and underdeveloped village in The Province of Jambi, in Sumatra on the island of Indonesia. The visit is related to the Adaptive Collabora-tive Management (ACM) Program of CIFOR (Center for International Research). ACM Program is a multi-stakeholder process that fo-cuses on developing local people’s capacity in managing forest re-sources for the sake of sustainable forest resource and people's wel-fare. Please visit CIFOR website (www.cifor.cgiar.org/) for further information on ACM program. At present, I am one of the steering

committee members (out of 4) of the program.

Letter From Kyra Dear Everyone, Putting together the newsletter brought back many fond memories! As always, it’s wonderful & inspiring to hear from you. While editing the articles, I became curious if anyone is working on indoor air pollution in urban or rural settings – there is not much mention of this important is-sue in this issue. My laboratory group is developing a low cost par-ticulate monitor. It’s been undergo-ing trials in Guatemala for a year and we are always interested in sharing our technology with others. Please email if interested. Also, contact me if I can help connect you with graduate students partners here at UCB. Come visit soon! Take good care,

Kyra PS. That’s my grandpa!

Letter from Leslie Dear ELP Alums, Time draws close for the 2004 course, and I’ve been emailing bus-ily across the world to the selected participants. Since 9-11 the big con-cern is about visas. While US State Department policies are becoming more consistent, at the same time the process of getting the visas are requiring more lead time --- which is leading to more sleepless nights wondering who will make it and who will not! We also find funding more difficult this year, but we know we are not alone in this; it is true across the spectrum of organiza-tions. Nevertheless, a good group of colleagues-to-be is forming and will be here sooner than we realize!

Our move to a new CSRD /Beahrs ELP office in Giannini Hall, one of the nice older buildings on Campus, has given us a little more “visibility”, since we are at ground level, right under the College of Natural Re-sources Dean’s Office, and we feel more in contact with the rest of the Department. Our new office now has room for a small conference table and a growing library of refer-ence materials on all phases of natural resources management and sustainable development. Artwork by Robin’s mother (and Roxy, too, I should add!), and my father, as well as beautiful traditional craft objects from around the world decorate the walls and shelves. Out my window is a venerable olive tree, the univer-sal symbol of peace. Our neighbor is Carl Wilmsen, Program Coordi-nator of Community Forestry Re-search Fellowship Program, whom some of you remember from the trip to Hayfork in 2001. At last I have had time to address the long-overdue reworking of the Beahrs ELP web site, and have plans for some good changes. There will be lots more visuals, so keep those photos coming! The new version of the web site will probably be finished after the 2004 course, toward the end of the sum-mer. It has been so gratifying and inspir-ing to read about your projects, col-laborations, and successes, often in the face of tough challenges. Thank you all for keeping in touch. We, too, face a tough road ahead of us as we head toward the November elections. After the summer course is over, I will have more personal time to devote to the campaign to defeat the forces currently at work in Washington. My mother, now 87, is still involved with the NGO “Women for Peace”, and I will be helping her and her group with their campaign efforts. (Maybe we should ask the UN to send some election observers …..hmmm.) Aloha to you all, Leslie


...Memories...


The Beahrs Environmental Leadership Program (ELP) links state-of-the-art environmental and natural resource science and policy at the University of California, Berkeley, with environmental profes-sionals around the world. It is the leading international program within the Center for Sustainable Resource Development of the College of Natural Resources. The core component of the Beahrs ELP is an interdisciplinary summer certificate course in Sustainable Environmental Manage-ment. Participants in the summer course: • Develop an interdisciplinary understanding of key environ-

mental topics; • Explore alternative policies, technologies and institutions that

promote sustainable environmental management; • Strengthen conflict management and leadership skills; and • Experience cross-cultural and cross-sectoral learning from

peers around the world. Course participants continue their learning and peer relations through the Beahrs ELP Berkeley Alumni Network, with an active website, newsletter, and various exchange opportunities.

4 Giannini Hall, University of California Berkeley, CA 94720-3100

We received outstanding applications this year for the SGI RFP. Thanks to all who applied. Below are the projects titles of this year’s recipients. Feel free to contact alums for more details.

• Building a Russian Node of the Ecological Footprint Network Svetlana Chernikova & Natalia Belova • Develop a Small-Scale Prototype for a Solar-Powered Refrigerator for Poor Fishing Communities Alejandro Guevara & Teresita Amezcua • Small River Biological Monitoring for School Students Eka Otarashvili • Monitoring Community-Based Natural Resource Management in Madagascar: Ampatsy Forest as a Case Study Olga Ramaromanana • Farmer-Leaders’ Empowerment Project to Promote Green Environment Rehabilitation and Conservation James Rubakisibo • Leadership Lessons for Best Practice in Estuary-Based Enterprise Development Nhlanhla Sihlophe, Muthoni Ngotho, & Mpumelelo Ncwadi

• Development of Marketing Strategy of High-Value Indigenous Fruit Trees and Medicinal Plants from the Congo Basin

Congratulations to the SGI 2004 Recipients!

Phone: 510.643.4200 Fax: 510.643.4483 or 510.642.4612 E-mail: [email protected] http://cnr.berkeley.edu/BeahrsELP http://cnr.berkeley.edu/csrd

Your business tag line here.

beahrs environmental leadership program alumni...

Documents