Presentation by Patrick ten Brink of IEEP at the EESC workshop of 23 March 2011. On SD Goverance for Rio+20

1. Institute for European Environmental Policy
Sustainable Development Governance at National, Regional
and Local levels in a Global Context, preparing for Rio
Patrick ten Brink
Senior Fellow and Head of Brussels Office, IEEP
PREPARING FOR THE 2012 RIO SUMMIT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
THE CONTRIBUTION OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN EUROPE
Session 2: Strengthening the Institutional Framework for Sustainable
Development - Reforming Sustainable Development Governance
23 March 2011 - 10.00 am – 5.30 pm
Meeting room VMA 3
Van Maerlant street 2
1040 Brussels
1

2. Structure of the presentation
Governance challenges & responses
Risks
Water
Biodiversity
Climate
Deforestation
Progress & Opportunities
Stockholm to Rio
Conventions: global framework for national to local action
Subsidy reform: national action with local to global implications
 Marine: Fisheries/Coral Reefs
 Steps to a Green Economy: multi-level governance
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3. Governance Challenges: Multiple
WEF: Global Risks Landscape 2011
Perception data from WEF Global Risks Survey
Governance Challenges: Multiple
WEF: Global Risks Landscape 2011
Perception data from WEF Global Risks Survey
National, regional & local
risks “variations on a
theme” of the above 3
WEF(2011)
Global Risks 2011
(6th Edition)

4. Risk interconnections
Complexity/synergy
Risk interconnections
Complexities: Interactions & Synergies
WEF(2011)
Global Risks 2011
(6th Edition)

5. Water stress, availability & sanitation
1.1 billion people live without clean
drinking water
2.6 billion people lack adequate
sanitation (2002, UNICEF/WHO
JMP 2004)
1.8 million people die every year
from diarrhoeal diseases.
3 900 children die every day from
water borne diseases (WHO
2004)
Many poles for action: countries (inc. cooperation), regions, cities, citizens, companies
• Investment in environmental infrastructures, regulation, pricing, innovation.
• Investment in Green infrastructure/natural capital. Rewarding benefits / PES
• Labelling and consumer information et al. 5
http://www.worldwatercouncil.org/index.php?id=25

6. Water: National action to facilitate local action
Hydrological services: Aquifer recharge;
Governance: measurement, policy Improved surface water quality, reduce
synergies, rewarding benefits provision
frequency & damage from flooding`
Tool: Mexico national PSAH framework
with local applications: PES to forest
owners to preserve forest: manage & not
convert forest
Results:
Deforestation rate fell from 1.6 % to 0.6 %.
18.3 thousand hectares of avoided deforestation
Avoided GHG emissions ~ 3.2 million tCO2e
National step forward re MDGs
Reduce Deforestation Address Poverty
Munoz 2010); Muñoz-Piña et al. 2008; Muñoz-Piña et al. 2007.

7. Water: Nation on nation impacts: Consumer
responsibilities
UK external water footprint – Understanding the implications of our consumption
Local action: San Francisco “meat
free Mondays”; Ghent: Thursdays!
For citizens: info, labelling & footprints
WRAP and WWF (2011) See also OPEN:EU for more on footprints:
http://www.oneplaneteconomynetwork.org/

8. Governance challenge: Biodiversity loss
Biodiversity loss leads to loss of natural wealth, ecosystem services, 8
UNEP (2011)
benefits to economy and society/wellbeing (see TEEB (2009,2010,2011) MEA (2005) UNEP Yearbook 2011

9. Contribution to Governance solutions -
Understanding the value of nature
“I believe that the great part of miseries of mankind are brought upon
TEEB for Policy Makers report have made of the value of things.”
them by false estimates they
Benjamin Franklin, 1706-1790
“There is a renaissance underway, in which people are waking up to the
tremendous values of natural capital and devising ingenious ways of
incorporating these values into major resource decisions.”
Gretchen Daily, Stanford University
Book announcement: The Economics of Ecosystems and
TEEB Reports: http://www.teebweb.org/ Biodiversity in National and International Policy Making now
Summaries (in range of languages) and chapters available from Earthscan

10. Governance : Understanding and responding to
the value of nature, our “natural capital”
Provisioning services
• Food, fibre and fuel
• Water provision
• Genetic resources
Regulating Services
• Climate /climate change regulation
• Water and waste purification
• Air purification
• Erosion control
• Natural hazards mitigation
• Pollination
• Biological control
Cultural Services
• Aesthetics, Landscape value, recreation and
tourism
• Cultural values and inspirational services
Important to appreciate the whole set of eco-
Supporting Services system services & take into account in
• Soil formation decisions – and not only after they have been
lost and oft costly substitutes needed. This is
+ Resilience- eg to climate change
critical for good governance at all levels.

11. Cities understanding the value of their natural assets
Multiple Benefits: at the Urban level – City of Toronto
• Estimating the value of the Greenbelt for the City of Toronto
• The greenbelt around Toronto offers $ 2.7 billion worth of non-market
ecological services with an average value of $ 3, 571 / ha.
→ Implication re: future management of the greater city area ?
Ecosystem Annual Value
Valuation Benefits (2005, CDN $)
Carbon Values 366 million
Air Protection Values 69 million
Watershed Values 409 million
Pollination Values 360 million
Biodiversity Value 98 million
Recreation Value 95 million
Agricultural Land 329 million
Value
Source: Wilson, S. J. (2008)
Map: http://greenbeltalliance.ca/images/Greebelt_2_update.jpg

12. Challenges to governance: Climate Change
Avoiding the problem, adapting to what we cannot avoid .
UNFCCC: Multilateral context for national action: shared responsibility, mechanisms
Key: National, regional & city actions – especially in context of insufficient global (or
national) commitment & actions
• understanding adaptation needs, investment in adaptation (man made and natural capital), spatial planning
• 12
Mitigation: RES, energy efficiency, ETS, taxes/charges, subsidy reform, innovation, avoided deforestation, restoration
+ labelling, consumer information and consumer choice UNEP (2011)
UNEP Yearbook 2011

13. Challenges to governance: deforestation
UNFCCC, UNCBD + bilateral + domestic + private + NGO + peoples
Multiple paths for action, diff. interests & opportunities & 13 costs
Instruments: REDD+, bilateral aid, national commitments, city procurement etc

14. Stockholm to Rio to Jo’burg to Rio
Stockholm Conference Rio Summit WSSD Rio+20 Earth Summit
United Nations United Nations Conference on World Summit on UN Conference on
Conference on the Environment and Development Sustainable Sustainable
Human Environment (UNCED) – also known as, Rio Development or Development (UNCSD)
Conference, Earth Summit Earth Summit 2002
1972 1992 2002 2012 2015
?
MDGs
UN's first major conference
on international 172 governments &108 Johannesburg Themes:
environmental issues heads of state/government declaration
a green economy
Beginning of modern Climate: UNFCCC Millennium Development in the context of
political and public Goals (MDGs) poverty
awareness of global Biodiversity: CBD eradication and
environmental problems Global Compact sustainable
Desertification: UNCCD
development,
Emergence of Restore the world's
Agenda 21 (Cities et al)
international depleted fisheries for 2015 an institutional
environmental law Forest principles framework for
sustainable
Led to the creation of UNEP development.

15. Governance: commitment to Conventions
Rio Rio+20
Issue: awareness: need for national Issue: need for implementation –
government commitment national, regional, city, citizen
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UNEP (2011)
UNEP Yearbook 2011

16. Subsidy Reform : Win-win: environment-economy
Subsidies: over $1trillion/year: a mix of “the good, the bad and the ugly”
Opportunities: win-wins, reduce lock-in, progress towards a green economy
Free up money to help with MEAs

17. Global Fish stocks: an overexploited,
underperforming natural asset at risk of collapse
Source: adapted from FAO 2005
 Half of wild marine fisheries are fully exploited; a further quarter already over-exploited
 At risk : $ 80-100 billion income from the sector
 est. 27 million jobs short term vs long term
 over a billion people rely on fish as their main or sole source of animal protein

18. Marine: Critical natural asset in danger
Need: reduce pressure on coral reefs, MPAs et al & encourage GHG reductions
@ -450ppm and 2 degrees already accepting major losses
Critical governance issue: MPAs and no-take zones: government spatial
planning/regulation/enforcement, need to factor in local (short term)
acceptability, transition challenges & sustainable financing for MPAs.

19. Steps to a sustainable green equitable socio-economy
Past: Global Commitments & Near future: Medium term: Long term: sustainable,
resource efficient, green,
National env. measures “walk the talk” “Turning the curve”
equitable socio-economy
Implementation Transition to a Decarbonisation
Commitments new green
New Resource Efficiency
economy
commitments
paradigm
Resource limits
Learning from
success & failures Measurement Ecosystem capacity/limits
& transparency
Absolute Decoupling
Making multilateralism work
+ Risk management
Differentiated responsibility:
multiple actors, interests, Beyond GDP measures
incentives, opportunities – multi-
level governance Equity
Building consensus & Happiness
partnerships
Solutions: Economic signals/markets;
+ve Environmental Policies Integration /
measurement and assessment; regulation; spatial
mainstreaming planning; greening the supply chain; investments
Limited integration/mainstreaming
– policy in innovation & natural capital; labelling and
Continued losses of natural capital
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coherence certification; consumer choice/responsibility &
social norms for a sustainable economy / society.
1972 1992 2012 2020 2050

20. Thank you
Patrick ten Brink
ptenbrink@ieep.eu
IEEP is an independent, not-for-profit institute dedicated to the analysis,
understanding and promotion of policies for a sustainable environment.
www.ieep.eu
The Manual of European Environmental Policy
http://www.europeanenvironmentalpolicy.eu/