UNDP and Global Environmental Problems: The Need for Capacity Development at Country Level

What Role for UNDP? Since the 1960s the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has been central to the development activities of the United Nations system. However, the organization is still in search of a role through which it can make a real difference with the structure and resources at its disposal. In May 1996 UNDP’s Executive Board adopted the following mission statement for the organization: ‘UNDP’s mission is to help countries in their efforts to achieve sustainable human development by assisting them to build their capacity to design and carry out development programmes in poverty eradication, employment creation and sustainable livelihoods, the empowerment of women and the protection and regeneration of the environment, giving first priority to poverty eradication.’ This is quite a task, considering that UNDP is operating in some 130 countries, with an annual budget of some $US1.7 billion, of which less than $1 billion are core resources at the free disposal of UNDP. In addition to the above mission, UNDP continues to have co-ordinating responsibilities within the UN at both headquarters and country levels. It could be considered a ‘mission impossible’, were it not for the soft concepts of ‘helping and assisting countries to build their capacity’. UNDP’s primary field of operation lies in the provision of technical co-operation to developing countries and countries in transition (i.e. the former centrally planned economies). The aim of this chapter is to examine an important aspect of UNDP’s role in the move towards sustainable development in developing countries. Sustainable development means improving the quality of human life while living within the carrying capacity of supporting ecosystems. It combines economic, social, and environmental elements and is therefore not far from covering the entire UNDP mission. Our focus is on the following question: What role can and should UNDP play in the international response to global environmental problems? Seeking an answer requires the following steps: (1) assessment of the international, UN-based response to global environmental problems, through conventions, information, and aid; (2) assessment of UNDP’s role in international development co-operation; (3) analysis of capacity requirements at country level for the implementation of international conventions on global environmental problems; (4) understanding the renewed interest in capacity for state intervention in environmental and other fields; (5) conclusions on the role for UNDP, particularly at country level. The significance of UNDP’s role in the international response to global environmental problems lies in the fact that developing-country governments are quite willing to sign and ratify international environmental agreements, but are lacking in capacity for implementation at national level. Given UNDP’s decentralized structure, its institutional presence in 130 countries, its close links with recipient governments, its multisectoral mandate, and its instruments of technical co-operation, we argue for a much stronger UNDP focus on capacity development assistance to the governments of developing countries. Here, UNDP can really make a difference. The chapter builds on two recent studies, addressing UNDP’s capacity as a development organization and its involvement in aid for the reduction of ozone-depleting substances under the Montreal Protocol.