CHAPTER FOUR
4.0 INTRODUCTION
4.2.1 TOWARDS INTEGRATED SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PLANNING AT DISTRICT SCALE - A PRAGMATIC APPROACH
As stated in chapter one, unpacking the process of integrating the principles and approach of Agenda 21 into the Ugu IDP affords the opportunity to learn from practice in order to improve on practice in the future. This first fragile attempt at Integrated Sustainable Development Planning can possibly be strengthened through the following recommendations, which are discussed by planning phase:
4.2.1.1 Preparation Phase Recommendations
l&> An extensive Agenda 21 empowerment programme should be undertaken as the first step in the preparation process. The materials used should be easy to understand, translated into isiZulu where appropriate, and multimedia in nature.
For example, photographs, video material, community based diagrams and simple models should be used.
c:> At district scale, appropriate geographic areas, such as 'population or water catchment areas' should be selected for the empowerment process so that systemic interrelation between ecological, socio-cultural, economic and spatial dimensions can be practically addressed by the appropriate 'stakeholders'.
c:> Appropriate and relevant communication media need to be used. For
example: radio announcements, announcements at schools and at church gatherings, loud speaker hailers, newspaper stories, flyers and notices should be used. Here common sense and reflective communicative judgement should prevail.
c:> Sustainability should not be understood as an objective or principle as is stated in some sections of the Ugu IDP. Sustainability should be consistently clarified as the communicative formation of a pathway which stakeholders enter into in order to address the sustainable development challenge. Here the twenty-seven principles and approach of Agenda 21 should be clarified in
a concrete way using the visual media mentioned above. Concrete examples of issues stemming from the 'catchment areas' should be used and debated with participants in the empowerment programme. Applicable principles to be focused upon are then decided upon by participants. This provides guidance on the approach and who the necessary 'stakeholders' should be in the design of the fora (institutional structures) for the Framework and Process Plans.
~ The four pillars of the approach entailing stewardship, securing the local economy, empowerment and revelation need to be agreed to in a concrete and practical way by participants.
~ Empowerment entailing the communicative generation of self-respect, dignity, and the learning about the systemic interrelation of processes and of the legitimate needs, interests, and aspirations of others needs to be established.
~ The communicative judgement of the example systemic processes needs to be engaged in so that capacity building on decision making can be established as early as possible. Here special attention needs to be accorded to the 'voices' and role of the "Major Groups" as stated in the Agenda 21 approach (ICLEI 1992). Major groups include women, youth, children, indigenous people, trade unions, farmers, science and technology communities and NPO'sICBO's.
~ The 'concrete other' entailing complimentary reciprocity needs to be stressed. Here respect, care, friendship, sharing, solidarity and individual recognition, needs to be seen as just as important as the values of formal reciprocity dealing with rights, obligations and entitlements. The 'generalised other', based on formal reciprocity, is thematic in the Ugu IDP.
e:> The empowerment programme should clarify a potential pathway towards sustainability entailing networks of connection between ecological stewardship, socio-cultural well being, appropriate spatial, institutional interrelation and economic enterprise.
U9 Framework and Process Plans should be developed after the empowerment program based on establishing partnerships for collaborative designing and implementation of the Framework and Process plans. Participants need to be capacitated to exercise their communicative judgement for addressing the following:
Q The specification of appropriate fora required for the district context planning process.
Q The refinement of mediaI communication mechanisms developed during the capacity building process.
Q Systemic institutional design for sustainability based on 'an ethic of rights' and a 'ethic of care' with attention to:
.:. appropriate 'district catchment area' localesIarenas for debate;
.:. At district scale, Councillors should be allocated 'catchment constituency areas' which includes their own homesteads. This would ensure that they are accountable to specific populations within the allocated 'catchment constituency areas' since it is difficult to involve all people throughout the district directly in planning processes;
.:. good quality sustainability information and the right to call government agencies, financial institutions and stakeholders to account for failure with respect to the 'ethic of rights' and the 'ethic of care';
.:. the recognition of the diversity of claims for attention;
.:. management, understood within a broader ethical sustainability approach with validity claims to truthfulness, normative rightness, comprehensibility, aesthetic quality, efficiency and effectiveness and empirical correctness;
.:. resources that should be made available for meaningful participation by marginalised groups. This includes resources for sustainability information and for the redress in the cases where such rights are abrogated;
.:. formal partnership agreements for funding, task allocation, learning , monitoring and managing sustainability planning as it unfolds;
.:. there should be balanced participation of major groups, particularly gender, youth, children and people with disabilities as called for in Agenda 21;
.:. co-ordination that should be based on appropriate spheres of competencies;
.:. appropriate time allocation for debate and public scrutiny of Framework and Process Plans.
[8> In addition to the listing of all applicable legislation and policy, the international conventions and agreements should be included in the list.
I:&> There should be a listing of possible applicable 'good practice LA 21 planning and project examples' for consideration as the process unfolds.
4.2.1.2 Analysis Phase Recommendations
Analysis based on a dualistic approach of 'managerialism' and 'sytemic' interrelation should be avoided. The Agenda 21 perspective of communicative action, systemic interrelation and action research is required. A systemic approach should be adopted throughout the phases of the ISOP and management should be placed within this broader approach. This should facilitate more extensive attention to the principles of Agenda 21.
I:&> All of the principles should be considered and addressed where relevant. The analysis of the Ugu lOP reveals that in addition to the principles addressed, specific attention should be accorded to the following Agenda 21 principles which are not addressed adequately in the lOP:
q capacity building and knowledge transfer of systemic sustainability relations (9); risk prevention (14); indigenous knowledge (2); unsustainable consumption and production (8); the precautionary approach (15); pollution costs (16); disaster management (18); cross boundary information (19);
creative mobilisation of the youth (21); dispute resolution (26) and partnership
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formation including potential intemational partners (27).
I:&> Basic action research is necessary. Here working groups addressing 'technical' and local cultural knowledge and wisdom need to gather baseline systemic information in a manner which entails learning and the transfer of knowledge to participants.
I:&> Baseline information relevant to localised guidelines for international agreements, national and provincial policy, and legislative requirements should be collected.
The Agenda 21 approach is also necessary for the various sector plans for appropriate integration to occur. Therefore the district development planners and sector officials should jointly write sector consultant briefs.
I:&> Baseline information needs to be augmented by appropriately designed more technical research such as an SEA with an emphasis on:
q cumulative impacts of strategic systemic interrelated issues;
q participation and not abstract 'consultation';
q socio-cultural impact assessment;
q basic yet important community based mapping of issues;
q Essential strategic economic, ecological trend analysis informed by current statistics, macro-economic policies and HIV/AIDS systemic impact information.
19 The communicative judgement of service standards in particular and of the data collected in general is required in the various fora.
19 Development of a vision with systemic interrelation of socio-cultural, economic, ecological, spatial and institutional elements should be an important component developed towards the end of the analysis phase.
4.2.1.3
Strategies, Projects and Integration Phase Recommendations19 The ISDP strategies are understood as concrete, 'transformative story lines' developed through communicative action and reflective communicative judgement.
19 Strategies and projects must 'make sense':
q from an operational perspective in the sense of realistic costs and design;
q in that they change routine ways of doing things;
q they must be generally understood;
q they should build trust and legitimacy;
q they should be in keeping with appropriate sustainability service standards, which means that existing sanitation standards need to be changed so that costs are realistically set.
q water standards should facilitate cross subsidisation so that 'lifeline' water services can be realistically supplied as occurs in the Ugu lOP.
q strategies and projects need to exhibit exemplary validity so that they can provide for district wide 'stakes' in the spatial framework and in management functions. They can then be used as 'good practice examples' for planning practices elsewhere.
19 The ISDP indicators need to be practical and are a composite of ecological, socio-cultural and economic dimensions. The systemic impact of projects needs to be measured.
19 The participants involved in project formulation should measure and monitor the systemic impacts. Management should thus be placed within the broader
perspective of communicative action and judgement where the validity claims of communicative judgement is thematic. Therefore narrow ' managerialism' should be avoided.
[&> The ISOP strategies should exhibit the following Agenda 21 principles:
c::> People, gender, youth, children and marginalised groups as a focus (1) (20) (6); intergenerational equity (3); rights and 'care' towards resources (2); strive towards biodiversity (4); capacity building (9); meeting basic needs, social justice and eradicating poverty (5); attention to vulnerable people (6); be in keeping with environmental legislation and policy (11) (17); prevent risks (14);
- as shown is in the Ugu lOP.
c::> The following Agenda 21 principles which are not adequately addressed in the case study should be exhibited in an ISOP:
.:. addresses partnership formation locally and internationally (7) (27);
reduce unsustainable patterns of consumption and production where possible; entail the precautionary approach (15); pollution costs (16);
disaster management (18); timely cross boundary information (19);
creative mobilisation of the youth (21); and dispute resolution (26).
I:&> The ISOP integration principle is the sustainable systemic interrelation between ecological, socio-cultural, economic, spatial and institutional dimensions. The narrow instrumental rationality of the lOP process, particularly in the strategies and integration phases, is questioned.
[&> A more systematic sustainability framework should be developed with attention to the linkages between the spatial framework and the sustainability framework. The approach should be focused on sytemic interrelation of dimensions and sectors.
[&> Local-global linkages between objectives, strategies, project and sectoral plans should be addressed systematically.
[&> Appropriate institutional restructuring to address the Agenda 21 principles and approach should occur. Thus appropriate staff, such as an LA21 officer, located within the Municipal Manager's office needs to be appointed. EXisting staff should be capacitated to address the Agenda 21 principles and approach throughout their work in a phased way.
I:&> The greatest challenge for the ISOP is acquiring the necessary funds for implementation. A specific 'means of implementation unit' dedicated to addressing the funding requirements as called for in the Agenda 21 approach needs to be established (ICLEI 1996:23-288)
4.2.1.4 Approval Phase Recommendations
(8) The provincial staff assessing the ISDP on behalf on the MEC require Agenda 21 training so that they can assess the plan appropriately.
4.2.1.5 Implementation, Monitoring and Review Phase recommendations
(8) Appropriate ISDP indicators need to be developed for the Annual Work Plan (AWP) so that sustainability monitoring can occur. This means that composite indicators need to be developed as discussed under the project phase above.
(8) The review process should systematically address the recommendations identified above.
(8) The sector plans and performance management system, which is being developed, should be in keeping with the recommendations for the ISDP as discussed above.
(8) The lOP guidelines need to be reviewed in the light of the ISDP discussed in this study so that the instrumental rationality and 'managerialism', which is called into question, is corrected.
4.2.1.4 Approval Phase Recommendations
Il9 The provincial staff assessing the ISDP on behalf on the MEC require Agenda 21 training so that they can assess the plan appropriately.
4.2.1.5 Implementation, Monitoring and Review Phase recommendations
Il9 Appropriate ISDP indicators need to be developed for the Annual Work Plan (AWP) so that sustainability monitoring can occur. This means that composite indicators need to be developed as discussed under the project phase above.
Il9 The review process should systematically address the recommendations identified above.
Il9 The sector plans and performance management system, which is being developed, should be in keeping with the recommendations for the ISDP as discussed above.
Il9 The IDP guidelines need to be reviewed in the light of the ISDP discussed in this study so that the instrumental rationality and 'managerialism', which is called into question, is corrected.