Mainstreaming and Measuring Sustainability in the Development Planning Process: The Use of Strategic Environmental Assessment as a Tool in Ghana

Abstract

Environmental assessments began in the 1960s in the United States of America, to increase environmental awareness. Currently, environmental assessments have gained legislative backing in most countries of the world. They are guided by regulations that stipulate administrative procedures with respect to the participation of the public, and records that document the decision-making process, and may be subjected to review by the judiciary. In this light, two major environmental assessment frameworks are usually employed. They are the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA). EIA is employed when assessing projects whilst SEA is carried out for policies, plans and programmes (PPPs).

The Ghana SEA approach uses a set of user-friendly tools and it is carried out based on a number of steps. This approach was initiated by the experience of using SEA for the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS) I, which set a benchmark for subsequent SEAs conducted under the guidance of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) at sectoral and district levels. A major development in the Ghana SEA approach has been the expansion of the usual three (3) pillars of sustainability as set out by the Brundtland Commission’s Agenda 21 to four (4) pillars. The “social” pillar has also been broadened to incorporate cultural diversity. Thus, sustainability pillars in Ghana include; the natural resources, socio-cultural, economic, and the institutions. The institutional pillar has been added as the fourth pillar of sustainability. In Ghana, these four pillars define and constitute the term environment. Thus, to ensure that sustainability is effectively mainstreamed into the development planning system all four pillars should be at par in any policy, plan or programme. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh iv

The application and use of SEA has been central to the development planning process of the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in Ghana since the year 2002. However, in 2012 the government of Ghana created forty-six (46) new districts bringing the total number of districts in the country to two hundred and sixteen (216). These forty-six (46) new districts (untreated) were carved out of the old (treated) one hundred and seventy (170) districts. Although these new districts (untreated) had knowledge of the SEA tool, they were not applying it because they had not been trained on its use and application with respect to the preparation of their Medium-Term Development Plans.

The study examines the impact of using the SEA as a tool for mainstreaming environmental sustainability considerations and dimensions in Ghana especially because of the absence of empirical studies on the effectiveness of using SEA as a sustainability mainstreaming tool. It further evaluates the perception of respondents on SEA’s sustainability mainstreaming capabilities as well as to ascertain the level of understanding of respondents concerning the use and application of SEA.

The two hundred and sixteen (216) MMDAs in the ten (10) regions of Ghana were considered in the study. Two (2) out of the four (4) core members of the District Planning Coordinating Unit (DPCU) were randomly sampled to respond to the questionnaire. A total of four hundred and thirty-two (432) questionnaires were administered: three hundred and eight (308) of the respondents fully responded. The analysis of the data was thus based on three hundred and eight (308) responses. The Chi Square, Propensity Score Matching, and Likert frameworks were employed in analyzing the data. The study examined the impacts of using the SEA on the four (4) pillars of sustainability as per the “Ghana SEA Approach”.

With respect to the institutional pillar, the overall results of the study indicated that SEA has not significantly impacted the institutional dimensions of MMDAs, especially when it

comes to implementation. Based on the rating criteria of the “Akoben” Environmental Performance Rating and Disclosure System (EPA, 2015), all MMDAs sampled scored 52.94 percent on Green budgeting, which indicated that the manner in which MMDAs incorporated environmental factors in the budgeting process was “Good”. The results indicated that the procurement design of MMDAs was “Unsatisfactory” with a score of 41.18 percent. This could mean that procurement activities undertaken at the MMDA level did not create opportunities and synergies for environmental sustainability. The results also showed that a good number of MMDAs were enforcing their environmental bye-laws and had in place mechanisms for environmental communication. The scores for MMDAs’ enforcement of environmental bye-laws and the existence of an environmental communication strategy were 55.29 and 54.12 percent respectively.

The impact of using SEA on the economic pillar, however, was significant. According to the study, economic dimensions of the MMDAs have been positively impacted, particularly with respect to employment levels, which have been on a sustained increase. There was also a positive and significant impact on the natural resource pillar as a result of the use and application of SEA by MMDAs. This implies that natural resource and environmental management were adequately incorporated into the District Medium Term Development Plans of the various MMDAs. On the socio-cultural pillar, the study showed that the use of the SEA framework had positive impacts on the three (3) socio-cultural variables and indicator considered in the study. Whilst sanitation, under-five child and maternal mortality rates were on the low side, housing settlement was on the high side.

In order to determine the impact of SEA in the development planning process, looking at both the old districts which have been trained in the use of SEA and the new districts which have not been trained in the use of SEA, a Propensity Score Matching was also carried out. The estimates revealed that using SEA increased annual expenditure of the MMDAs by University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh vi

4.5%. That is, MMDAs that used SEA had their annual expenditure increased by this percentage. This is because the use of SEA in drawing up policies, plans and programmes (PPPs) has an impact on budget (Green budgets) preparation and resource allocation, which has led to the integration of environmental issues into the decision-making process i.e. during planning and implementation at the MMDA level. The model estimates further revealed that Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies using SEA as a tool for mainstreaming environmental sustainability issues into their District Medium Term Development Plans have maternal mortality and under-five child mortality decreased by 1.7 and 2.5 percentage points, respectively.

The study therefore concludes that the use and application of SEA as a sustainability mainstreaming tool in development planning is effective. Possible explanations for this is the building of capacity in SEA for core members of the District Planning Coordinating Units in the one hundred and seventy (170) District Assemblies over the years by the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Development Planning Commission.

The study recommends that government strengthens the institutional capacity of the MMDAs to enable the institutional pillar to be at the same level as the other three pillars to ensure that sustainable development is achieved. In addition, respondents perceive that SEA can enhance sustainable economic growth if it is effectively employed.

On the issues of environmental mainstreaming gaps, the study showed that SEA, as currently applied in Ghana, does not influence implementation of the District Medium Term Development Plans of MMDAs, since all four pillars were not at par. Finally, the study showed that all MMDAs in Ghana have significant levels of understanding of the SEA framework as well as a good perception.

The study recommends that the gaps that exist be filled by putting in place the necessary legislation and regulations to back the effective implementation of SEAs in Ghana. It is also recommended that a monitoring and evaluation regime be established within the EPA to track progress of activities on the impact of SEA, particularly at the MMDA level. This will enhance the activities of the EPA and the MMDAs in the effective utilization of the SEA tool in order to achieve sustainable developmen