OVERVIEW OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT SYSTEMS IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION PERSPECTIVES ON LOCAL-LEVEL NRM, ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMAT

1. OVERVIEW OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT SYSTEMS IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION & PERSPECTIVES ON LOCAL-LEVEL NRM, ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE ISSUES 5 OCTOBER 2009

2. PRESENTATION STRUCTURE Overall introduction – local government and NRM, environmental and climate change issues Varieties of “local governments” and institutional arrangements – a need to recognise differences and to calibrate actions Developing a matrix of LG actions and the ways in which they impact on NRM, environmental and climate change issues Exploring ways to improve the NECC outcomes of LG actions and activities

3. LOCAL GOVERNMENT SYSTEMS AND THEIR INTERFACE WITH NRM, ENVIRONMENTAL AND CLIMATE CHANGE ISSUES The role of local government in NRM, environmental and climate change issues – many concrete examples and considerable potential for greater role Key comparative advantages of local government (LG) lie in its being “local”: proximate, more in touch with and aware of on-the-ground realities and problems, and more responsive (and accountable) Three main ways in which LGs can intervene in NRM, environmental and climate change issues: Local public expenditure management (planning, budgeting, finance, implementation, monitoring & oversight); Local revenues (taxes, charges, fees, rents); Local regulatory frameworks (by-laws, enabling institutional environments, etc.)

4. LOCAL GOVERNMENTS – VARIETY AND DIFFERENCES (1) “Local government” – covers a wide variety of institutional arrangements and types .. a Province in Viet Nam is a very different animal to a Union Parishad (UP) in Bangladesh – and what a Vietnamese Province can do or does is very different to what a Bangladeshi UP can do or does … need to bear this in mind Decentralisation itself – includes devolution (with powers vested in elected local bodies) and deconcentration (with powers vested in local emanations of the central state) – with very different types of accountability The three dimensions of decentralisation: Political – elected bodies, electoral systems, role of political parties, reserved seats … Administrative – control over human resources, civil service arrangements, etc. Fiscal/functional – mandates, expenditure assignments, functional responsibilities (both devolved and delegated), access to fiscal resources, discretion over budgetary allocations .. Local governments – can vary enormously across these dimensions

5. LOCAL GOVERNMENTS – VARIETY AND DIFFERENCES (2) Urban and rural local governments – often very different in terms of access to fiscal resources, electorates, education levels, civil society development, staffing quality … and with differences in terms of the kinds of NRM, environmental and climate change issues they face and can tackle Sizes – LGs vary a great deal in terms of their size (population and area) .. both within countries (very small Districts and very large Districts in Nepal) and between countries (a Province in Viet Nam versus a Gewog in Bhutan) .. with implications for scale and appropriate actions .. Tiers – some countries have several tiers of LG (e.g. Bangladesh – Zilas [deconcentrated], Upazilas and UPs [both governed by elected local bodies), others have only one (e.g. Timor-Leste – municipalities only) .. with different functions, powers and potential depending on the tier

6. LOCAL GOVERNMENTS – VARIETY AND DIFFERENCES (3) Why is it important to “un-bundle” local government and to recognise differences between local governments (both within and between countries) ? Among others: different types of accountability (upward, downward, horizontal) and representation have different implications for “behavioural” incentives and for responsiveness differences in size have implications for finance, externalities and spillovers differences in mandates and assigned functions have implications for the kinds of issue that LGs can address differences in the discretionary powers enjoyed by LGs increase/reduce their ability to be responsive and “local” Diversity in LG systems and institutional arrangements means that “one-size-does-not-fit-all” .. and we need to avoid bland generalisations and prescriptions

7. LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND NRM, ENVIRONMENTAL & CLIMATE CHANGE ISSUES (1) UNDP, UNEP and UNCDF – working together to develop a guidance note on LGs and NRM, environmental and climate change (NECC) issues This workshop – partly intended to enrich the process of drafting the guidance note by getting input from practitioners and policy makers Framework for discussion is based around a simple matrix, “mapping” and looking at: what local governments in the Asia-Pacific region currently do with regard to NECC issues how LG actions lead to negative, neutral or positive NECC outcomes what types of incentive lead to different outcomes what might be done to improve NECC outcomes resulting from LG actions and activities – and how this might vary depending on different types of local government and differing sets of institutional arrangements

8. LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND NRM, ENVIRONMENTAL & CLIMATE CHANGE ISSUES (2) A simple matrix: “mapping” the LG and NECC interface

9. LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND NRM, ENVIRONMENTAL & CLIMATE CHANGE ISSUES (3) Filling in the matrix – we need YOUR help !! Analysing the matrix: What kinds of LG activity/action result in “negative” NECC outcomes ? And why are they undertaken or implemented ? What kinds of LG activity/action result in “positive” NECC outcomes ? And what explains [incentives] why such activities/actions were undertaken or implemented ? Are there patterns which indicate what kinds of local government are best suited to specific activities/actions ? What needs to be done to improve the ability of LGs to undertake activities/actions that either “do no harm” or lead to positive outcomes ? What are the incentives that can be used ?

10. MANY THANKS – AND FEEDBACK, SUGGESTIONS AND COMMENTS ARE WELCOME AND NEEDED