The thematic focus of the Marrakech Task Force on Cooperation with Africa is agreed to be the implementation of the African 10 Year Programme on Sustainable Consumption and Production. Reflecting regional priorities and possible outcomes of the task force the main areas of activities are as follows:
1. Development of an eco-labelling mechanism for Africa using German expertise and experience in Africa
2. Support the development and implementation SCP action plans at national and local level, contributing to UNEP-DEFRA manual on SCP strategies
3. Research on the potential for Leapfrogging for Africa
4. Supporting the development of networks and knowledge based information tools in the selected fields of action (f. e. waste management and recycling, biofuels, drinking water), including the collection of Best Practice on SCP projects

Target 1:
- Existing initiatives related to eco-labelling that are relevant for the region have been assessed;
- A Regional Expert Meeting on the Development of an African Eco-labelling Scheme was held in June 2007 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It was jointly organised by UNECA and UNEP within the framework of the Regional Steering Committee for the implementation of the African 10-Year Framework Programme on Sustainable Consumption and Production. The participants of the meeting identified key issues and consensus points and they adopted conclusions and recommendations;
- As a follow-up to the Regional Expert Meeting, the African Union Commission, UNECA, UNEP and the Task Force on Cooperation with Africa agreed on key elements as the way forward;
- As a follow-up of the Regional Expert Meeting and the consultation processes, a paper on the 'Structure and Function of an African Eco-labelling Mechanism' has been prepared and presented to the following two regional forums: at the Fifth Session of the African Committee on Sustainable Development in October 2007, and at the African Standardization Platform of the African Organization for Standardization (ARSO) in November 2007.

Target 2:
- A guideline that will serve as a Terms of Reference for the development of a national or city programme on sustainable consumption and production was prepared covering the key steps that need to be developed in the process;
- Based on the criteria that have been developed for the selection of the pilot countries, Tanzania as been selected as the pilot country while Cairo/Egypt and Maputo/Mozambique have been selected as pilot cities for developing SCP programmes. The programme development has been initiated through a Memorandum of Understanding that was signed with the implementing institutions (Cleaner Production Centres) under the guidance of a National Steering Committee;
- Start-up seminars have been carried out at the national level and a regional working session on Developing National and City Sustainable Consumption and Production Programmes was held in October 2007 in Nairobi with the working teams from the pilot countries/cities.

Target 3:
- A consultant with technical guidance and input from UNEP has produced a report that covers the potential role of leapfrogging in promoting sustainable consumption and production in Africa; existing cases of leapfrogging in Africa and other relevant economies as well as the most promising sectors for leapfrogging; and the key enabling conditions for leapfrogging to SCP in African countries.

Target 4:
- A report on Best Practice in African Countries has been prepared. It contains information on selected practices in different parts of the regions and will be disseminated to countries for possible replication of those practices;
- The first issue of BioEnergy International Africa Newsletter was published, under the editorship of the members of ARSCP and ALCANET as part of the September 2007 edition of the Bioenergy International online magazine. The article can be downloaded from the homepage at www.bioenergyinternational.com;
- Through information provided through the existing regional networks, five members of the African Lifecycle Assessment Network (ALCANET) competed for UNEP/SETAC Award on Life Cycle Initiatives. Out of the five submissions, the submission from teams working at the University of Zimbabwe and University of Cape Town took two of the three awards provided for the year 2007. More on this can be obtained from http://lcinitiative.unep.fr.

The Task Force on Cooperation with Africa has been set up to pursue the development and implementation of the 10-Year Framework Programme (YFP) on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) in Africa. A Regional Steering Committee guides the further development and implementation of the African 10-YFP. The Steering Committee is composed of representatives of three UN Agencies, two regional organisations, and two development partners. The Regional Steering committee has met twice since its establishment and provided guidance on the follow-up activities in the African 10-YFP.

The African Roundtable on Sustainable Consumption and Production (ARSCP) has been instrumental in developing the African 10-YFP on SCP and has been supporting the Marrakech Process since it was launched. The African 10-YFP on SCP, which was approved in March 2005 by the African Ministerial Conference on Environment (AMCEN), was launched during a high-level launch session that was held in conjunction with ARSCP-4 and was jointly organised by the African Union (AU), UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and UNEP. Based on the outcome from ARSCP-4, UNEP in collaboration with the Marrakech Task Force on Cooperation with Africa and other regional partners developed a project on supporting the implementation of the African 10-YFP. The next African Roundtable (ARSCP-5) is expected to review the lessons from the follow-up implementations and lay down the basis for subsequent activities including the regional preparation for CSD 18 & 19 which will be focussing on sustainable consumption and production.

One of the key activities that have been identified in the context of the Task Force on Cooperation with Africa and the regional follow-up on the African 10-YFP is the provision of assistance for the development of national and city-wide 10-YFP in the region. For this project, the Task Force has been consulting with key national and local government representatives in order to solicit their commitment and support for the process. Principal local partner institutions have been identified for the implementation of the activities. The draft 10-YFP will be presented and discussed within a consultative forum of stakeholders to develop consensus on the content of the programme and to finalise it on the basis of the input obtained from the forum. The national/city 10-YFP documents will be published in different forms including policy briefs and action-triggering flyers. In order to secure an effective implementation of the activities of the project the following modalities are envisaged: a competent authority of the selected country/city will form a steering committee that provides guidance in the development of the programme and facilitates its implementation; an Institution which is working in areas of SCP will be identified by the Steering Committee to take the lead on implementing the activities; UNEP, through an MOU to be signed with the implementing institution, will provide the required technical and financial support for the implementation; UNEP’s Center on Sustainable Consumption and Production will provide input on methodologies of developing 10-YFP and sharing experiences from other regions; and the ARSCP will work on facilitating the replication of the experience from the pilot countries and cities.

Amount in US$: 370.000

Source(s): Government
Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Germany

Type(s): Computers - Office space - Staff

Source(s): Other
UNEP