Landlocked Developing Countries: Challenges and Priority Areas for Action

Transcription

1 Landlcked Develping Cuntries: Challenges and Pririty Areas fr Actin Landlcked develping cuntries (LLDCs) face a number f special challenges that are assciated with their lack f direct territrial access t the sea, which ften cincides with remteness frm wrld markets, difficult tpgraphy and trpical r desert eclgy. In many cases, additinal factrs like deficient infrastructure, inefficient lgistics systems, weak institutins and high vulnerability t the effects f climate change aggravate the situatin. This incurs high transprt and trade transactin csts, which impse cnstraints n verall sci-ecnmic develpment f the affected cuntries. 16 f the 32 LLDCs are classified as least develped cuntries, and LLDCs ecnmies are characterized by weak grwth rates, limited prductive capacities and a nn-diversified exprt structure - typically a heavy reliance n a very limited number f lw-value bulky cmmdities fr their exprt earnings, which makes them highly vulnerable t external shcks. The remteness frm majr wrld markets is nt nly a principal reasn why LLDCs have nt been very successful in mitigating the side-effects f their lcatin, but als a distinguishing feature frm Eurpean landlcked cuntries. Transprt and related transprt csts are a majr issue fr LLDCs, which are caused by lng distances, difficult terrain, deficient infrastructure cnditins and inefficiency f transit transprt. These difficulties are amplified by the dependence n the plitical stability, infrastructure and institutinal quality f transit cuntries, which are ften develping cuntries as well. The Almaty Prgramme f Actin f 2003 aimed t establish a new glbal framewrk fr develping efficient transit transprt systems. It recgnizes the direct link between transprt, internatinal trade and ecnmic grwth, and aims at ensuring fuller and mre effective integratin f LLDCs int the glbal ecnmy arund five pririty areas: (1) fundamental transit plicy issues, (2) infrastructure develpment and maintenance, (3) internatinal trade and trade facilitatin, (4) internatinal supprt measures, and (5) implementatin and review At the UN Cnventin t Cmbat Desertificatin (UNCCD) COP11 Side Event n Building the Resilience f LLDCs t the Impacts f Climate Change, Desertificatin, Land Degradatin and Drught, pririty areas fr actin were highlighted. These include applying hlistic appraches t address all areas related t climate change and land prductivity 1, prviding supprt t LLDCs t diversify their ecnmic base and prmting reginal integratin, including reginal prgrammes, technlgy centres and reginal netwrks f excellence. Furthermre, strengthening f internatinal supprt and access t financial facilities and supprting participatin in intergvernmental and multilateral prcesses cunt amng these pririty areas. 1 Including pverty, fd security, bidiversity, defrestatin, frced migratin, amngst thers

2 The verarching gal f the 2014 Vienna Prgramme f Actin fr LLDCs fr the Decade is t address the special develpment needs and challenges f LLDCs in a mre cherent manner and thus cntribute t an enhanced rate f sustainable and inclusive grwth. The six pririties fr actin include the fllwing: Pririty 1: Fundamental transit plicy issues Pririty 2: Infrastructure develpment and maintenance Transprt infrastructure Energy and ICT infrastructure Pririty 3: Internatinal trade and trade facilitatin Internatinal trade Trade facilitatin Pririty 4: Reginal integratin and cperatin Pririty 5: Structural ecnmic transfrmatin Pririty 6: Means f implementatin Imprving energy infrastructure and ensuring access t affrdable, reliable and renewable energy and related technlgies are imperative in enhancing prductive capacity t achieve sustained ecnmic grwth and sustainable develpment. Reginal appraches, including the creatin f netwrks f reginal renewable (RE) and energy efficient (EE) centres, will be needed t cmplement and enhance the effectiveness f natinal effrts and internatinal initiatives. Clse cperatin with transit cuntries, strnger reginal integratin and harmnised and cherent reginal plicies will significantly cntribute t imprved cnnectivity and greater interreginal trade t expand reginal markets. And finally, structural ecnmic transfrmatin shuld be based n measures t encurage innvative slutins, entrepreneurship and the use f mdern, cst-effective and lcally adapted technlgies, t create a cnducive envirnment t attract mre diversified freign direct investment, the sharing f experiences and lessns learned and the strengthening f the private sectr. As nted in the reprt f the UNCCD COP11 Side Event, LLDCs are typically particularly vulnerable t the adverse effects f climate change and lack adaptive capacity, institutinal and technical capacity, financial resurces and apprpriate data and mnitring systems. 72% f glbal drylands are in develping cuntries, and 60% f these are in LLDCs. 70% f the 400 millin peple living in LLDCs live in rural areas and heavily rely n land resurces, livestck prductin, fisheries, frests fr fd prductin, exprts, emplyment and energy. Climate change, desertificatin, land degradatin and

3 drught are therefre expected t negatively affect the agriculture, water, envirnment, transprt and energy sectrs. Prir t the COP21 in Paris, signatry states f the UNFCCC were invited t submit Intended Natinally Determined Cntributins (INDCs). These INDCs, which are part f the Paris Agreement, shall cntain their vluntary climate bjectives and measures t jintly achieve the agreed glbal target f limiting glbal temperature increase t well belw 2 C. Starting in 2020, signatries f the Paris Agreement shall submit updated and mre ambitius plans every five years, and frm 2023 nwards, shall publicly reprt n their prgress in reaching their cntributins in five-year cycles. As f May 2016, 31 LLDCs have submitted their Intended Natinally Determined Cntributins (INDCs) t the Secretariat f the UN Framewrk Cnventin n Climate Change (UNFCCC) 2. Each submitted INDC f a LLDC was reviewed t identify which f the fllwing mitigatin and adaptatin sectrs were cvered: Mitigatin Sectrs Energy Waste Transprt Industrial prcesses and prduct use Agriculture LULUCF Adaptatin Sectrs Energy Human settlements/cities Transprt Infrastructure Water Agriculture Frestry Human health The cmmitments f the submitting LLDC, the level f detail in the descriptin f targets and f mitigatin and adaptatin measures varied cnsiderably between the evaluated cuntries. Arund 75% f LLDC cmmitments are either cnditinal upn external supprt r include a cmbinatin f cnditinal and uncnditinal targets. Cnditinality was defined differently amng the evaluated INDCs, but in the majrity f cases referred t technical assistance and financial supprt. The remaining quarter f submitted INDCs cntained uncnditinal dmestic targets, which have t be seen independently frm the mentined need fr capacity building, technlgy transfer r financial supprt. Overall, the definitin f cmmitments in the INDCs f landlcked develping cuntries and the fact that half f these cuntries are currently least develped cuntries indicate that cncrete measures and prjects, that are linked t the develpment pririties f these cuntries and receive strng internatinal supprt, will be needed fr the implementatin f these plans. Rughly 65% f the 31 INDCs cntained cmmitments which referred t a quantified percentage emissins reductin cmpared t a business as usual (BAU) scenari r a base year. The base year was defined differently thrughut the INDCs, which als differed with regard t the timeframe cnsidered (2030, 2050, a perid r n indicatin). 26% f INDCs either cntained cmmitments based slely n plicies and measures, nn-ghg targets r nt quantified GHG targets, and 10% f INDCs cntained an abslute figure referring t a fixed-level target r GHG intensity target. 2 N submissin culd be fund by Uzbekistan

4 Climate Change Mitigatin Of the 31 LLDCs that submitted their INDCs, pririty actin fr climate change mitigatin addressed the energy sectr in almst all cases (30 INDCs r 97%). Agriculture and land use, land use change and frestry (LULUCF) were mentined by 77% f LLDCs (24 cuntries) each. The waste sectr was mentined as pririty sectr by 58% f submitted INDCs (18), the transprt sectr by 53% r 17 cuntries, and industrial prcesses and prduct use by 48% r 15 LLDCs. These fcal sectrs give an indicatin abut the ecnmic structure f landlcked develping cuntries and reflect their needs and challenges, putting a particular emphasis n the critical imprtance f an affrdable, sustainable and reliable energy system fr the future develpment f these cuntries. The measures freseen in the respective sectrs and the verall evaluatin results als indicate a strng nexus between the agriculture, water and energy sectrs. The implementatin f INDCs will thus require a clser crdinatin acrss sectrs and ministries invlved, and culd be aided by the creatin f facilitating structures like inter-ministerial cmmittees, wrking grups etc. Figure 1: Pririty areas fr climate change mitigatin (share f cverage in submitted INDCs) Pririty Areas fr CC Mitigatin 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 97% 58% 77% 77% 55% 48% Energy Waste Agriculture LULUCF Transprt Industrial prcesses and prduct use

5 Adaptatin t Climate Change With regard t adaptatin t climate change, INDCs f landlcked develping cuntries gave highest pririty t adaptatin measures in the water and agriculture sectrs: 77% f submitted INDCs r 24 in abslute numbers, explicitly mentined bth sectrs as imprtant areas fr natinal actin. 65% r 20 INDCs referred t intended adaptatin measures in the energy sectr, the frestry sectr was mentined by 48% r 15 INDCs, fllwed by infrastructure (45% r 14 INDCs) as well as enhancing adaptive capacity f human settlements r cities (43% r 13 INDCs). Human health and the transprt sectr were explicitly mentined by 35% and 32% f INDCs. Since the definitin and scpe f pririty areas varied t a certain extent between the submitted INDCs, sectral verlaps and inaccuracies in the assignment f pririty areas fr adaptatin t climate change are pssible. Overall, the adaptatin areas f highest relevance t landlcked develping cuntries reflect the abvementined challenges and specific circumstances f LLDCs well. The evaluatin f fcal sectrs fr adaptatin t climate change nce again revealed the imprtance fr hlistic, crss-sectral appraches and strnger cperatin t achieve the desired envirnmental and develpment results. Figure 2: Pririty areas fr adaptatin t climate change (share f cverage in submitted INDCs) Pririty Areas fr CC Adaptatin 77% 77% 80% 65% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 43% 45% 32% 48% 35%

6 Technlgy & Financing Needs Internatinal supprt fr financing is a key demand f LLDCs: 87% f submitted INDCs stated the need t attract financing fr the implementatin f the plans. The need fr technlgy transfer r technlgical supprt was mentined in abut tw thirds f the evaluated INDCs, althugh specific technlgy needs were nly stated in abut half f them. Lack f capacity r the need fr training and capacity building were mentined as an imprtant barrier t technlgy implementatin, but als as a mre general hurdle t the implementatin f the plicies and measures cntained in the 31 INDCs. The need fr strnger cperatin in research and develpment (R&D) and in innvative appraches was als highlighted in numerus cases. Due t the mentined dependence f LLDCs n transit cuntries, a clser reginal cperatin and knwledge exchange, strnger reginal integratin and the creatin f cherent reginal plicies have the ptential t imprve cnnectivity, enhance interreginal trade and achieve bth envirnmental and sustainable develpment gals.

7 Cnclusins Internatinal supprt fr financing and technlgy transfer is a key demand in submitted INDCs f landlcked develping cuntries. Cncrete prjects, t a large degree supprted by internatinal finance, technical assistance and technlgy, will be required fr the full implementatin f the INDCs. Capacity building and strnger cperatin in research and develpment will be needed in the fcal areas fr climate change mitigatin and adaptatin. The vast majrity f LLDCs fresee mitigatin plicies and measures in the energy, agriculture and LULUCF sectrs, which shws the critical imprtance f these areas fr a sustainable develpment pathway. Enhancing adaptive capacity and resilience t the adverse effects f climate change is particularly imprtant in the water, agriculture and energy sectrs f LLDCs. Crss-sectral, hlistic appraches linked t the develpment pririties f LLDCs will be needed t take accunt f existing interdependencies (e.g. the water-energyfd security nexus) and tap the ptential fr envirnmental and develpment cbenefits. A strengthening and diversificatin f ecnmic activities in LLDCs, based n the efficient use f sustainable energy surces, are needed t reduce dependencies and transactin csts. Strnger reginal cperatin and capacities can mitigate barriers t e.g. renewable energy and energy efficiency investment, markets and industries which were highlighted in a great number f INDCs. Knwledge netwrks and reginal centres f excellence can substantially enhance the existing knwledge base and supprt the develpment f innvative slutins and technlgies. Innvative and crss-sectral partnerships, as well as multi-level and hlistic slutins will be needed t simultaneusly address the climate, energy and develpment challenges.