South African – Danish Environmental Co-operation
Denmark’s environmental aid
In the aftermath of the United Nations’ Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in
1992, the Danish parliament decided to boost Denmark’s foreign aid with additional
funds for environmental assistance.
This contribution to global sustainable development is primarily executed through direct
co-operation between Denmark and selected developing countries
Nature and Energy
Denmark’s environmental assistance is designed to assist the targeted nations and their population to
 | protect nature and promote the sustainable use of natural resources; |
| prevent and decrease pollution of air, soil and water; and |
| promote the use of alternative energy and a more efficient use of traditional energy resources. |
The aid is guided by local needs, which gives it a very wide scope. It, for instance, includes the work environment.
Equal Partners
A fundamental principle of the Danish assistance is the creation of alliances between authorities and organizations in Denmark and their corresponding institutions in the recipient country. This can mean government-to-government co-operation or involve partners from municipalities, industry, universities or Danish and local environmental organizations. The Danish parliament is aiming to draw on as many resources in Denmark as possible in the attempt to help the aid recipients.
Most of the environmental assistance is spent on government-to-government programmes. This will typically involve projects aimed at strengthening environmental and energy administration. Projects are identified and planned in co-operation between the Danish Ministry of Environment and Energy and the relevant ministries in the recipient country. The projects are then implemented by local authorities assisted by Danish consultants, normally drawn from Danish consultancies but also from ministries or local government in Denmark.
A minor part of the aid is channelled through Danish NGOs co-operating with partners in the developing countries. The aim will often be to increase the general public’s environmental awareness. Danced has further supported a wide ranging network covering eight Danish universities and several universities in Africa and Asia. Industry has also been involved through a special programme transferring Danish know-how and technology to industries in Thailand and Malaysia.
Needs and Ownership
Danced is promoting need-driven aid as well as local ownership to the individual projects. In most cases the choice of supported areas is normally (but not necessarily) guided by the existence of Danish know-how and experience in the specific field.
The need for environmental assistance by far exceeds the resources. It is therefore crucial to concentrate on areas where the need is large and activities will have a lasting effect. The selection of these areas happens through constant dialogue at governmental level. The resulting programme will also guide the assistance rendered by private organizations, industry and universities.
Local ownership of the individual projects is secured through a process involving all participants. At two or three seminars ideas are exchanged by all interested parties, guided by a Danish consultant. The resulting project document reflects decisions reached by consensus. This process will hopefully secure local backing of the project when it reaches the implementation phase.
In most cases there will be Danish expertise available in the fields identified as the most important. Danced’s partner countries are all in the process of industrial expansion and urbanization and typically fight the same problems experienced by Denmark over the last decades.
Three tools
Capacity building: The overriding principle for the environmental assistance is capacity building in ministerial departments, other authorities, organizations, industry, universities, schools and media. The aim is to secure the necessary administrative and technical competence to solve problems. But a further and equally important aim is to disseminate understanding of the need for a more thoughtful use of the environment and natural resources. The involvement of the public in this huge project is of crucial importance to the efforts made by authorities.
Demonstration projects: Parallel to the capacity building, Danced works with pilot projects trying out concrete methods to protect the environment. This can be technological installations, waste collection for recycling, sustainable forestry and attempts to reconcile the needs for conservation and the public’s need for natural resources. The idea behind the demonstration projects is obviously to spread the lessons learnt to the rest of the nation and to other countries in the region. But demonstration projects also play a major role in the capacity building process, since hands-on projects usually enhance motivation.
Co-operation: The third tool is assistance to creation of co-operation between relevant parties – Danish and for instance South African NGOs, universities or research bodies. Danced can also spend aid money on helping governments to establish contacts to financial institutions in order to obtain funding for large environmental investments. In this way relatively limited Danish resources can help the recipients to take major steps towards a better environment.
Denmark’s environmental assistance to east and central European countries and to developing nations in Africa and Asia is part of the Environment and Disaster Relief Fund (EDRF) set up by the Danish government in 1992. The EDRF will reach half a per cent of Denmark’s GNP in 2005, approximately six billion kroner or R5,8 billion. Presently just over four billion kroner is spent annually. Half of this goes to environmental assistance, divided equally between the European countries and developing countries.
Five countries in south-east Asia and 11 in southern Africa have been chosen as targets for the assistance rendered to developing countries. The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible for the aid to the poorest countries while the Ministry of Environment and Energy administers the environmental assistance to more industrialized countries like South Africa, Malaysia and Thailand.
The Ministry of Environment and Energy has established a special unit, Danced (Danish Co-operation for Environment and Development), to handle the environmental assistance to Africa and Asia. Danced’s budget in 2001 is just over 400 million kroner. The money is divided almost equally between the two regions in Asia and Africa. From 1994 to 2000, Danced disbursed approximately two billion kroner to 300 larger projects.