p. 1

green solutions and sustainable development the conference april 17th ­ 20th 2011 shared understanding page 6 « the main aim of the conference is to provide a platform for local authorities in kenya to deliberate and identify entry point for values and solutions for sustainable local development as they deliver services to the kenyan people on april 17th ­ 20th 2011 local authorities national and international entities and organizations ­ all in all 150 people ­ gathered in machakos kenya to discuss entry points for sustainable local development and identify and exhibit green solutions suitable in a kenyan political social economic and cultural context the municipal council of machakos has organized this conference in collaboration with the association of local government authorities of kenya algak and the sida partnership forum from sweden awareness visions strategies and positive examples were at the heart of four days of intense discussions the program consisted of presentations panel discussions and creative group work it was important to engage the participants on a deeper level to make sure the wrapup of the conference would be the beginning of a strong commitment there s work to be done gender equity page 8 « africas potential page 12 « we have a duty to ensure that concrete measures are taken from across the world to support the government local authorities the private sector civil societies and communities in their pursuit of a more clean and healthy environment lewis nguyai assistant minister of local government in kenya opened the conference inspiration from india page 13 «

[close]

p. 2

editorial staff ingvar rönnbäck coordinator of the conference and founder of adep another development perspective ab the history of the conference jaqueline malavu civil servant in machakos miriam ndeti civil servant in machakos green solutions and sustainable development this conference on green solutions and sustainable development in machakos has a unique history of its own what started out as collaboration between the municipality of machakos in kenya and the municipality of robertsfors in sweden then funded by international centre for local democracy icld has now evolved to become a platform and a meeting place for local and national authorities in kenya ­ as well as for a number of other stakeholders such as swedish and international organizations in the initial phase of this collaboration the two municipalities recognized the need for building partnerships and alliances in the challenging pursuit of sustainable development no municipality or local authority can manage to create a sustainable society unless others many others also commit to this challenge if the ambitious goals of sustainable development are ever going to be achieved local ideas and experiments have to be developed in connection to wider strategies in turn supported by national and international authorities and organizations thanks to the efforts from members of the team in machakos and robertsfors the municipalities have managed to attract the necessary interest in and support for a conference on green solutions and sustainable development in machakos and we agree on the words from his honorable assistant minister of local government in kenya ­ lewis nguyai who in his opening speech said to this end this conference organized in collaboration with interested stakeholders couldn t have come at a better time local authorities should be in the forefront of promoting practical ideas and solutions on sustainable development and green solutions as the participants move forward creating new partnerships formulating visions strategies and working for tangible green and sustainable solutions we hope that this conference will be perceived as an important moment ­ inspiring constructive and performed in a spirit of curiosity and commitment fidelis kimuyo and patrik nilsson mayors of machakos and robertsfors living today the inhabitants of the earth live in a way that s not sustainable in the long run the famous exhibition hard rain ­ our headlong collision with nature addresses this issue bob dylan s song a hard rain s a-ganna fall is visualized in a very emotional and moving way by the british photographer mark edwards sustainable development is an approach to how individuals must live in order to avoid draining the ecosystems and making sure that we can meet our basic needs aiming for sustainable green solution is an alternative way of relating with nature understanding the environment how can we sustain nature so that future generations are better off living in peace nature the future it s more than a product or a project it is a way of thinking which must be integrated into our daily lives everything and anything that somehow supports sustainable developmet reducing green house gases in the atmosphere ­ planting trees agriculture and growing your own food improving the quality of life for humans taking nature into consideration this can be done with through organizations projects and constructions james musyimi civil servant in machakos barbro kalla consultant ­ esam the exhibition hard rain framed the conference and triggered a strong response from the audience the moderator stanley nyoni encouraged the participants to share their feelings and thoughts on how the planet s limits are being exceeded the purpose of this movie was to create a shared understanding of the global sustainability situation the challenge calls for all stakeholders to jointly address this environmental social and political crisis ­ today as well as in the future this message was presented and discussed during the conference to create a shared understanding of today s situation and to form a vision of the future in kenya to make this change abate and resolve these issues green solutions must be used by all means in procedures technologies methods and practices that strive towards the goal of sustainable living participants of the conference were asked what are green solutions to you and the answers were varied linnea roddar internship at adep natalie andersson internship at adep sida partnership forum address se-871 40 härnosand sweden visiting address södra vägen 3d phone +46 08-698 50 00 sida@sida.se www.sida.se we we are all lost when i was young it was greener and there were more trees and more rain now there are more people who don t know how to take care for the land david musau mumama citizen of machakos municipality 2 green solutions and sustainable development green solutions and sustainable development 3

[close]

p. 3

algak association of local government authorities of kenya joel ng etich free pentecostal fellowship in kenya the environmental lens in nairobi 24 participants from 13 different organizations from sweden kenya tanzania angola ghana and uganda were in nairobi when the environmental lens was tested in nairobi as a part of the green solutions week in machakos kenya the environmental lens is a process oriented tool with an attached education material which can be used to integrate environment/climate change into projects and programs within the swedish development cooperation together with partners it is diakonia and the project manager andreas ulfsax which together with swedish cooperative center and forum syd have developed the environmental lens within the cooperation of ten swedish development organizations a cooperation which sida partnership forum supports the result of the first workshop exceeded our expectations states the project manager andreas ulfsax when we asked the participants in the end of the workshop to state how they are planning to use the workshop the suggestions proved both ambitious and tangible the environmental lens facilitates interesting discussions between the participants during the workshop the discussion comprised how climate change influences gender equality and on the connections between environmental issues and democracy the participants also discussed what strategies that are used to work with the causes of environmental problems the tool shows to be both useful and much appreciated andreas ulfsax ends he will facilitate six more workshops in cambodia sweden bolivia zambia jordan and bangladesh during 2011 the project do also promote cooperation between actors and partners from the private sector the civil society and the public sector with the aim to find ways to improve programs and projects through the integration of environmental issues is an umbrella organization that will have the overreaching responsibility for monitoring all municipalities in order for them to live up to the new constitution joyce nyambura who represents the organization at the conference is hopeful for a fundamental change for a more equal representation of society but it will require hard work and commitment from all what about the representation of women in politics the effort to activate women in the political sphere is prompted by a new constitutional requirement in kenya implementing the requirement will be a task for all local authorities and municipalities for this particular conference the in vitation process was clear the main invitees were mayors council chairpersons town clerks clerks to council treasurers and environmental officers currently in kenya there are very few women who occupy these positions according to the new constitution under article 175 principles of devolved government no more than two thirds of the representative bodies in each country government can be of the same gender the new constitution increases the possibilities for women to enter politics and joyce believes that many women will be encouraged to run for county positions whereas in the past they faced many challenges and were often ridiculed and mocked by both men and other women this law makes it easier and more accepted to express an interest in political life it is important to bring women into these positions so that the democratic organs in fact represent society as a whole women voices are especially important as they often live closely with their families and can bring attention to important insights and perspectives concerning family life it will take some time for kenyan society to adapt to these new political requirements however a small number of women are already in parliament so this concept is not entirely new progress will depend on the way the agenda is shaped by opinion leaders and media also when women get into the county govern ments they will at first have to prove their value and show competence then they will be taken seriously as for the risk of puppet candidates meaning that someone else is behind the agenda joyce says that it would be a betrayal by women to fellow women to be manipulated holding important positions it is of great significance to be totally committed to one s cause the political arena in kenya will improve when women are fully represented if development-orientated women enter into office development and change can truly take place women are good at taking the time to listen to details of an issue society will be closer to what we want it to be and statistically corruption will go down with more women there are on higher positions old practices can be reapplied and creative thinking which has been practiced in households by women in the past is again of importance in sustainable living and in a more equal society for this reason it is essential to include women in the decision-making processes joyce remembers an anecdote from when she was young when her mother gathered all the kids for sand stove cakebaking since they didn t have a proper stove in conclusion there is nothing sustainable of keeping women out of politics and decisions as they are often the central being of families and households and have other ideas about what development is and what solutions to issues entails for many reasons it is essential to include women in the decisionmaking processes joyce nyambura algak 4 green solutions and sustainable development green solutions and sustainable development 5

[close]

p. 4

dorothy nduku benson muasa nina mbithe kala and cornelius musyoka kitheka are councillors working in the municipal of machakos against hiv/aids spreading information to the locals about hiv/aids is an important issue therefore it is essential to prevent and sub « scaling up partnerships for sustainable development maina daniel an analyst focusing on the environment and development from wes and abbot consultants contributed to this conference with an in-depth analysis and presentation of what to think about when dealing with and managing private public partnerships ppp s in his presentation many considerations of kenya is one of the areas of the world that finds itself in the grip of the hiv/aids epidemic this is a social and economic catastrophe that hampers human resources to spur sustainable development due this epidemic it has been shown that with increased education the rate of hiv infections can be reduced equally with reduced level of education the number increases one can hence draw the conclusion can that education is needed to prevent more people from getting infected the issue of hiv/aids is of vital importance in relation to kenya s capacity building today the municipal council of machakos is working to prevent hiv aids by means of education it wants to help not only the ones carrying the disease but also their families benson muasa says that with more money and a facility they could do a lot preferably headquarters with complementary small facilities in the different wards would make a change practical relevance where discussed for this reason maina daniel was given the opportunity to write a paper in the conference report in which he could elaborate on this critical issue where so many players seems to make a lot of mistakes and establish partnerships that do not contribute to the well being of the planet and its inhabitants at the end of his presentation he spoke about six key areas to consider when scaling up partner ships statutory and political environment public sector s organized structure detailed business plan contract guaranteed revenue stream stakeholder support and pick your partner carefully he concluded by saying if we can achieve and demonstrate these six key areas scaling up of partnerships and investments in development projects that are sustainable is guaranteed with such a message who could resist reading his paper six key areas to consider when scaling up partnerships the role of media media is a key player in processes and changes in society it has an immense impact on how people will react to changes and it also has a great responsibility to inform update and raise awareness about sustainability and green solutions to its citizens town clerks mayors and local authorities should not ignore the role of the media there are many ways in which to engage in local media justus wanjala from kenya broadcasting corporation the environment and sustainable development are hot topics at the moment and many journalists are interested in projects that highlight these topics justus wanjala from kenya broadcasting corporation encourages all local authorities to seek them out and keep society updated on projects and ideas through radio tv and printed media 1 statutory and political environment 2 public sector s organized structure 3.detailed business plan contract 4 guaranteed revenue stream 5 stakeholder support 6 pick your partner carefully maina daniel analyst from wes and abbot consultants if we can achieve and demonstrate these six keys scaling up of partnerships and investments in development projects that are sustainable is guaranteed 6 green solutions and sustainable development green solutions and sustainable development 7

[close]

p. 5

the symbio the national environment management authority city concept 2030 in 2030 africa will add 400 million urban residents and africa is urbanizing at a high rate nema was established under the environmental management and coordination act emca no 8 of 1999 as the principal governmental instrument in the implementation of all policies relating to the environment in the new constitution every individual has the right to be healthy and to a clean environment these new constitutional rights will put more real pressure on municipalities and local authorities to work towards more sustainable solutions the symbio city concept is a conceptual framework for sustainable urban development in low and middle income countries in 2030 africa will add 400 million urban residents and africa is urbanizing at a high rate intensified longer droughts have been observed over wider areas since the 1970s particularly in the tropics and subtropics sustainable water solutions are in great need and every economy simply must build sustainable urban areas to ensure human wellbeing today and tomorrow the future city is not yet built ­ the window of opportunity is here now the solution lies in turning negative events into positive results triggering political action creating tougher legislation and spurring cooperation between local regional and national authorities and private industry and ultimately involving ordinary citizens thus companies municipalities and gov ernments can begin to turn sustainable ideas into reality finding new ways to treat water insulate buildings and develop automatic energy saving systems and alternative fuels a new insight is that these innovations also turn out to be really profitable why heat water with electricity when you can just put a winding black tube on your roof to heat water why not use anaerobic digestion of sludge into biogas and pure methane collected and treated sewage and wastewater can be made into clean water further treatment of residual sludge can be used as bio-fertilizer on rural farms there are countless good examples of sustainable innovations and the results are profitable for the economy and environment as well as it improves well-being for all waterneer which accumulated can give more then 1 million people 8-10 liters of purified drinking water per day africa s potential emre gürler founder and ceo at africa s potential says with strong conviction that the future emerging market belongs to africa africa s potential s newest partner is water neer waterneer is a mobile water recycling system which purifies highly polluted and toxic water and turns it into drinking water within minutes the capacity ranges from different products from 100.000 liters per/hour to more than 500.000liters per hour accumulated this can give more than 1 million people 8-10 liters of purified drink ing water per day there are customers in sweden finland and india and waterneer is constantly looking for new customers especially in the emerging market of subsahara southeast asia and south america waterneer can be used in sewage systems mines dredging of harbors disaster areas etc emre has a past success story to tell where installment of solar panels in addition to get renewable energy also created 200 jobs for service and maintenance in bubulo uganda 8 green solutions and sustainable development green solutions and sustainable development 9

[close]

p. 6

priyanka dale from society for participatory research institute in asia pria the local authority must adopt a strategic plan and program for achieving local sustainability inspiration experience knowledge from india from the society for participatory research institute in asia pria based in new dehli india contributed to the conference on green solutions and sustainable development with a paper and a presentation on local strategies and participatory approaches for sustainability priyanka dale partnership for local democracy lisa wälitalo gies in order to enable conditions for sustainable development at local level and ends with a discussion on selected challenges and key issues related to participatory development at this conference the voice from pria is important since the early 80 s pria has been committed to strengthening peoples voices in decisions that affect their lives and how to improve governmental responsiveness this is a rights-based approach to development and based on considerable experience and investigations presented the national association of swedish eco-municipalities sekom twenty municipalities joined to create the organization in 1995 and in 2011 the number of participating municipalities had increased to encompass 80 out of all 290 municipalities in sweden i.e an entire 28 the guiding principle of sekom is to encourage development towards a more sustainable society with a sound environment while at the same time en suring a high quality of life the local authority must adopt a strategic plan and program for achieving local sustainability that is in line with the four systems conditions outlined in the natural step framework the main purpose of sekom is to provide a forum and a meeting place where politicians and municipal employees can exchange information and learn from each other s successes and failures the information exchange occurs through the sekom website through courses and the annual conference a main focus for exchange of experience is the corporation through its activities to support member municipalities in the process of translating sustainability criteria into practice another important direction is to increase the number of members who are involved in international projects an example of this is the covenant of mayors ­ a european movement involving local and regional authorities voluntarily committing to increase energy efficiency and use of renewable energy sources on their territories the national association of swedish ecomunicipalities encourages its members to sign this covenant in order to encourage development towards a more sustainable society more specifically priyanka dale presented insights and experiences of pria and partners in strengthening local democratic institutions for sustainable development of the community her paper describes examples of using participatory methodolo learning from nature how can we plan for our societies and buildings karin nyquist an architect from sweden presented a concept on sustainable building ecocycledesign it is a holistic way to design buildings and cities combining beautiful design with system design the mission s main words are reduce reuse recycle renewable and rethinking how can we plan for our societies and buildings priyanka dale descibed examples of using participatory methodologies in order to enable conditions for sustainable development at local level ecocycledesign encompasses concepts such as cost efficiency sustainability energy savings recyclable materials high quality good indoor environment and health karin talked about efficient green solutions that can be used to save collect and reuse all sorts of water i.e collect rain and storm water use shower water to plants and not use drinking water for toi lets and she also demonstrated a waterless toilet she had great interest about how to cool down a house by building a double roof to enable cross ventilation the objective is to minimize the negative impact on nature by closing all the loops and the result is no waste the inspiration to ecocycledesign comes from nature where all loops are closed and there is no waste 10 green solutions and sustainable development green solutions and sustainable development 11

[close]

p. 7

solvatten helps households to save money time avoid diseases and live more comfortably jesper hornberg at the conference explains less firewood is needed for cooking so the households can save both money and time and cooking the food is faster clean cooking a challenge through her work with the stockholm environment institute sei africa centre jaqueline senyagwa has gained experience from the household energy sector she urges communities to make the most of whatever available and sustainable resources they have for example renewable resources can be used such as biogas and solar energy also small hydropower projects or wind turbines can be designed using local resources she believes that the development of renewable energy needs initial investments but insists that there are no regrets in this investment and that it actually pays off innovation on energy serving technologies must advance today we are in a transitional period towards cleaner fuels j solvatten cleans water with sunlight solvatten ab has a sustainable business model with the aim to give people more power and influence over their own lives their product makes everyday life easier for people that are in need of clean water the product is called solvatten which means sun water it is a portable 10-litre container that uses heat and uv from the sun to make unsafe water drinkable put it in a sunny place and after 2-6 hours an indicator turns green which means that the water is now safe to drink the device could be used up to 3 times a day needed for cooking so the households can save both money and time and cooking the food is faster with clean water there will be fewer illnesses in the family which is most important for children under the age of five as they are most sensitive to unsafe water furthermore it gives some luxury to the household as they can wash up in warm water companies and individuals make donations to solvatten ab the donations with solvatten households can save money time avoid diseases and live more comfortably less firewood is make the distribution of solvatten possible local non-governmental organizations with the capacity to distribute and sell are then chosen to carry out the distribution solvatten ab gives the innovation to them for free on two conditions the first is that they don t just give the device away for free and the second is that the buyer receives proper instructions on how to use it these demands are made because they increase the probability that the devise will actually be used solvatten a portable 10-litre container that uses heat and uv from the sun to make unsafe water drinkable 12 green solutions and sustainable development green solutions and sustainable development 13

[close]

p. 8

« practical ideas for sustainable development in machakos municipality are many future decision makers in discussions of the days of the conference were spent discussing the future and what it will bring and how we can make life better for future generations sustainability the next generation is easily forgotten however we need to involve young people from the beginning and teach them how live sustainably in balance with nature rather than destroy in machakos kenya there are two young individuals who have taken on a mission to pass good thoughts practices and knowledge on sustainable living has different meanings for everyone but for miriam munee john and richmond ntenge mutua it means living in a clean and healthy environment practical ideas for sustainable development in machakos municipality are many minimizing consumption reusing and recycling waste plastics planting tree seedlings in water catchment areas organizing and participating in awareness campaigns to conserve the environment raising money to plant fruit and grain seedlings for malnutrition purposes are just a few examples of possible actions with the help of miriam and richmond the green solutions conference will change peoples minds on sustainable development people will start to realize what sustainable development really means the transfer of technology and green solutions will give people hands-on information and methods of how to solve issues with unsustainable living and development it is a great opportunity to find partnerships with other organizations or companies in sweden or locally further miriam and richmond will be able to get better response in order to motivate youth to work and get involved in sustainable development and to involve them in environmental conservation awareness campaigns or programs the work that is being done by richmond and miriam so far in the mazingira youth group is a great example of how to make change happen from within we need to involve young people from the beginning and teach them how live sustainably in balance with nature rather than destroy mazingira youth group is a non-profit environmental organization in kenya and they are working with rural poor communities in machakos to alleviate poverty and building capacities to deal with the root cause of poverty they focus on environmental management activities such as raising funds for planting trees collecting garbage and starting up recycling programs the aim is to empower the group by giving them sufficient knowledge and skills they are in a process of seeking support from the municipality the government and non-governmental organizations in order to increase capacity and effectively implement different projects the philosophy behind the project is to improve young individuals ability to develop and manage resources with emphasis on managing natural resources this will enable them to be self-reliant and self-sustained which is an important component to sustainable development j 14 green solutions and sustainable development green solutions and sustainable development 15

[close]

p. 9

when leaving this conference i will · · · · plan for environmental youth clubs in schools in the community make each student aware of the importance of caring about the environment inform the younger generation about general environmental projects start up a biogas project in schools and in the municipality by utilizing existing sewage matter further down this project can also be extended to households in the municipality write a proposal and lobby for funds by forming community based groups who should be members/beneficiaries then implement organize a youth club focusing on sustainable development make sure that local authorities keep improving increase my personal understanding of green solutions · · · · · · open a rescue centre for street children and orphans create an organic centre for sustainability with a garden for vegetables and recycling for solid waste build a sustainable brick house recycle kitchen water be more conscious and caring about nature encouraging others to be the same learn more about environmental challenges and actively talk about renewable alternatives start a blog that encourages my community to become more environmentally aware create events that i post on the blog demonstrate new green technologies in my home invite city counsellors to a dialogue about environmental problems · · · · · · mazingira yetu yetu ya baadaye wajibu wetu our environment our future our responsibility

[close]