The Uganda Coalition for Sustainable Development (UCSD) Rio and Beyond

Transcription

1 The Uganda Coalition for Sustainable Development (UCSD) Rio and Beyond

2 What is the Uganda Coalition for Sustainable Development (UCSD)? The UCSD is a network or more than 40 NGOs dedicated to coordinate advocacy and lobby work around issues and commitments made by world governments towards sustainable development, inspired by the Rio+10 project (A Civil Society project for preparation of the Johannesburg Summit of 2002) The UCSD was registered in November 2004 as an NGO (Reg. No. S5914/5345). Since its inception in 2001, UCSD has actively participated in Uganda Civil Society preparations for the Johannesburg Summit on sustainable development; UCSD s Vision and Mission The Vision of the Coalition is humanity sharing the resources of our planet in a Sustainable manner guided by the principles of universal justice as set in Rio and subsequent summits. Our Mission is to contribute to sustainable development through follow up of the Johannesburg summit outcomes and subsequent global declarations in Uganda. Objectives of UCSD Our development objective to increase the public participation and civil society network s advocacy in order to influence and enhance implementation of national, regional and International levels of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation The Specific objectives are as follows: To initiate and support the processes of dialogue on sustainable development issues at national, regional and International levels. To undertake advocacy work in to promote sustainable development principles at national, regional and International levels. To provide and facilitate forums for the exchange and dissemination of information. To establish and maintain an information center that will facilitate Civil Society Organizations and Non Governmental Organizations capacities to influence and enhance sustainable development.

3 To support the generation of information and research topics relevant to enhance sustainable development at national level and beyond. To support other initiatives that aim at promoting sustainable development at local levels and beyond, through Coalition members efforts. UCSD s working strategy The Coalition s development approach is multipronged and seeks to: Build on the previous achievements and challenges, partnerships and other aspects of work since 2001 Encourage collective civil society actions as far as possible that are agreeable by consensus to UCSD and its partners. Theme based group work provides UCSD s entry point on this where: Partnerships with likeminded civil society and other development actors at the national, regional and global levels will be sought and / or strengthened Focus on raising global public attention and action to address the unsustainable development policies and citizen lifestyles in Uganda and East Africa, as part in relation to water, energy, and land resources at the national, regional and global civil society networks. UCSD shall contribute to the global civil society initiatives to influence and monitor the post 2015 global development framework to integrate environmental sustainability and poverty eradication, bearing in mind the need for inclusiveness, equity, transparency and accountability as well as the Rio principles. Governance Structures: 1. The General Assembly: is a supreme governing body which decides and approves policies and plans for UCSD. It meets on a yearly basis. 2. Executive Committee: is charged with overall supervision of the activities of the secretariat and taking specific decisions; including those

4 regarding the strategic direction and process the UCSD participate in, staffing and technical assistance among others, meets quarterly. 3. The Secretariat: is tasked with day to day administration, management and implementation of UCSD s activities. It is headed by a Programme Manager. Key achievements Information sharing, networking research and and advocacy work From 2006 to 2009, under the umbrella of the East African SusWatch Network, UCSD has been working with Tanzania Coal ition for Sustainable Development and Kenya SusWatch Network to implement the East African Civil Society Watchdog Project for Sustainable Development in the Lake Victoria basin ( ) with support from Government of Sweden. One of the key achievements has been preparation of information communication and education materials for awareness raising and advocacy. Under this Project, UCSD has prepared a number of policy briefs for example the Civil Society Watchdog Discussion Paper series to influence technocrats and decision-makers involved in Lake Victoria basin development over a wide range of issues including climate change adaptation, solid waste management, among others; Posters, Printed newsletter and E-bulletin for information sharing and public awareness raising and education on REDD+, Lake Victoria, climate change and energy issues among others. These can be accessed at www. ugandacoalition.or.ug. UCSD is currently the Regional Lead Agency for The East Africa Sustainability Watch (EA SusWatch) Network a network of NGOs from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania spearheaded by Uganda Coalition for Sustainable Development (UCSD), Sustainable Environmental Development Watch Network (SusWatch Kenya), and Tanzania Coalition for Sustainable Development (TCSD). EA SusWatch Regional Secretariat is hosted by UCSD in Kampala, Uganda and is implementing the Lake Victoria Environment Management Project (LVEMP II) Civil Society Watch Project that seeks to lobby and advocate for realization of results-based

5 performance from LVEMPII and implementation of the East African Community Climate Change Policy (EACCCP). More information about this can be found at: From January 2014, UCSD partnered with University of East Anglia, University of Edinburgh Rethinking Environment and Development in an Era of Global Norms: An Exploration of Forests and Water in Nepal, Sudan and Uganda. This research responds to the unprecedented emergence of global environmental norms, particularly those intended to reconcile natural resource management with poverty alleviation in a just manner. The research has the overarching aim to examine the effects of global environmental norms on poverty alleviation in the Global South through explorations of forests and water. Since 2009, UCSD has also been an implementing partner on REDD net project that aims to build capacity of southern civil society to champion the interests of the poor in the area of REDD+ ( Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and from forest Degradation including conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of carbon stocks in developing countries. REDD-net is a partnership between UCSD, The Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE), the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), and Regional Community Forestry Training Centre for Asia Pacific (RECOFTC) - The Center for People and Forests. The REDD-net programme is coordinated by by UCSD in Africa. More information can be found at: Based on UCSD s work on REDD-net project, it partnered with the University of Southampton to implement a research project (Safeguarding local equity as global values of ecosystem services rise). UCSD has provided a case study of the Trees for Global Benefit in Uganda. Uganda Coalition for Sustainable Development (UCSD) has an MoU with Fairfood International since November 2011, where areas of cooperation include sharing knowledge and expertise in the areas of general research on the food and beverage industry in the Lake Victoria Basin (UCSD) and on trends and developments in the food and beverage industry (Fairfood International); and conditions of production

6 and trade and major issues within agricultural supply chains in the Lake Victoria Basin (UCSD) and major issues within product specific supply chains, e.g. pineapple (Fairfood International). fairfood.org/ Mobilization of other civil society actors UCSD has been actively involved in mobilization of other CSOs. For example Ugandan NGOs in preparation for the Johannesburg Summit; was part of the National Organizing Committee for the Ninth Conference of Parties of the Ramsar Convention (COP9) that took place in Kampala; co-hosted the International Network Secretariat of the Global Sustainability Watch Project ( ) in Kampala; the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) in Uganda and recently part of the Rio + 20 Task force of the Beyond 2015 Campaign How to become a UCSD Member? 1. Regular membership is open to Ugandan Legally registered NGOs/ CBOs. 2. Other organizations. Individual or foreign organizations are eligible to become Associate members. 3. Corporate members being individual, organization, UN agency or other bodies that supports UCSD to implement its objectives. 4. Members pay annual membership subscription fee. They are also entitled to attend UCSD meetings, publicity of their work on sustainable development locally and internationally, access to information materials within the possession of the Secretariat for example the biannual Newsletter and possible linkages with other civil society networks working for sustainable development elsewhere. 5. Aspiring members can contact the UCSD secretariat on the address below for details regarding the procedures for becoming a member.

7 UCSD Partners and Supporters Government of Sweden to UCSD / EA Suswatch Network to implement the LVEMP II Civil Society Watch Project (November Oct 2014). UCSD is a research and dissemination partner under the Project: Rethinking Environment and Development in an Era of Global Norms: An Exploration of Forests and Water in Nepal, Sudan and Uganda, supported by the Economics and Social Research Council / Natural Environment Research Council / DFID ( ). UCSD was part of the Rio + 10 Task force of the Beyond 2015 Civil Society Campaign to define the Campaign s engagement with the Rio+20 Earth Summit that took place in Brazil in June UCSD is a Partner to the REDD-net programme that is supported by The Norad and World Bank from ( ) UCSD is a research and dissemination partner under the Project: Safeguarding Local Equity As Global Values of Ecosystem Services Rise, supported by the Economics and Social Research Council / Natural Environment Research Council / DFID ( ) Fairfood International: Capacity development in advocacy work related to sustainable development in the Lake Victoria basin based on a Memorandum of Understanding UCSD was a Partner to the East African Civil Society Watchdog Project for Sustainable Development in the Lake Victoria basin ( ) that was supported by SIDA MS Uganda provided sustained support for UCSD secretariat ( ) Danish 92 group supported the 2.25 years Global Sustainability Watch Project to which UCSD co-hosted the International Network Secretariat in Kampala. Since December 2013, UCSD was selected Lead Agency for Environment and Natural Resources under the East African Civil Society Forum (EACSOF). UCSD is a member to the International Network for Sustainable Energy (INFORSE) UCSD is a member of the Uganda NGO Forum UCSD is a member of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance

8 For further information please Contact: The Programme Manager Uganda Coalition for Sustainable Development (UCSD) Kabalagala Nsambya, Towards Nsambya Housing Estates. P.O. Box Kampala, Tel: Website: