Final
NATIONAL CAPACITY SELF-ASSESSMENT FOR GLOBAL MANAGEMENT (NCSA)
PROJECT OF THE GOVERNMENT OF TONGA
July 2004
Project of the Government of Tonga
Proposal for GEF Funding
Country Name : Kingdom of Tonga
Project Title: National Capacity Self-Assessment for Global Environmental Management (NCSA)
PIMS Number: 2658
GEF Implementing Agency: UNDP
GEF Focal Area: Multiple
Operational Programme: Enabling Activity
National Executing Agency: Department of Environment
Country Eligibility: Tonga is a party to the CCD, CBD and UNFCCC.
Convention Participation[1]:
Convention / Date of Ratification / Accession / National Focal PointCBD / May 1998 / S.T. Taumoepeau Tupou
Secretary for Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
UNFCCC / July 1998 / Mr. Uilou Samani
Director of Environment, Department of Environment
CCD / September 1998 / S.T. Taumoepeau Tupou
Secretary for Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
GEF Financing: US$200,000
PDF A US$25,000
Government Contribution: US$25,000 (in-kind)
Estimated Total Budget: US$250,000
Estimated starting date: August 2004
Duration: 18 months
LIST OF ACRONYMS
AMT Aloua Ma’a Tonga
BPOA Barbados Plan of Action
CBEMP Capacity Building for Environment Management in the Pacific
DoE Department of Environment
GDP Gross Domestic Product
GEF Global Environment Facility
IWP International Waters Programme
LFF Langa Fonua ‘a Fafine Tonga
MAFF Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Food
MLSNR Ministry of Lands, Survey and Natural Resources
MoF Ministry of Fisheries
NDMO National Disaster Management Office
NDMPEP National Disaster Management Plan and Emergency Procedures
NECC National Environmental Coordinating Committee
NPA National Plan of Action
NBSAP National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan
NCSA National Capacity Self-Assessment
NGO Non-Governmental Organization
PEIN Pacific Environment Information Network
TONEIN Tongan Environment Information Network
PSC Public Service Commission
POPs Persistent Organic Pollutants
SDP7 Strategic Development Plan Seven
SOPAC South Pacific Geoscience Commission
SPREP South Pacific Regional Environment Programme
TDT Tonga Development Trust
UNCBD United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity
UNCCD United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
UNCED United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
UNEP United Nations Environment Programme
UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
TABLE OF CONTENT
I BACKGROUND, CONTEXT AND RELATED WORK 5
II PROJECT RATIONALE 14
III PROJECT OBJECTIVE 15
IV PROJECT ACTIVITIES 16
V INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK & ARRANGEMENTS 22
VI REGIONAL COORDINATION 24
VII PROPOSED NCSA ORGANISATION CHART 26
VIII NCSA TIMELINES 27
IX NCSA BUDGET 28
X ANNEXES 29
1. Background, Context and Related Work
1. The Kingdom of Tonga lies between latitudes 15 and 24 degrees South and longitudes 173 and 177 degrees West. The Kingdom is an archipelago of more than 170 named islands (only 36 are currently inhabited) with a total land area of approximately 747 sq. km. This is only about 2% of the Tonga archipelago’s estimated EEZ of about 700,000 sq. km. The archipelago is basically a double chain of islands running in a north-northeast direction with small, high, volcanically active islands on the west, and lower, larger raised coral islands on the east (Park, 2001)[2]. The main limestone islands are Tongatapu, ‘Eua and Vava’u. The island of Tongatapu make up almost half of the land area and the majority of the Kingdom’s population of about 100,000 people live there.
2. The Tongan people are Polynesian in origin and the socio-political order is a blending of traditional Polynesian elements and Western influences. The social structure has three tiers consisting of the Royal Family, nobility and the people. The population is unevenly distributed amongst the islands. In Ha’apai alone, the population density varies from 2 inhabitants per square kilometer on Tofua to 685 inhabitants on Kotu island[3].
3. All lands in the Kingdom belong to the Crown with four tenure categories: i) Hereditary Estates of the King; ii) Hereditary Estates of the Royal Family; iii) Hereditary Estates of the Nobles and Matapule; and iv) Government Land. Land from any of the four categories can be leased, but no land in Tonga can ever be sold. The King, with the consent of the Privy Council, has the power to retrieve land from any holder for public purposes, in which case, the dispossessed may be compensated with replacement land, money or both.
4. The climate of Tonga is characterized by a wet season during December to April and a dry season from May to November. On Tongatapu, the average annual temperature is 23°C with a maximum of 32°C and a minimum of 11°C. The islands in the north receive on average about 2,600 mm of rainfall per annum while those in the south receive about 1,700 mm per year. Notable droughts have occurred in Tonga in 1926, 1930, 1952-53, 1977-78 and 1992[4].
5. Tropical cyclones are a common occurrence in Tonga. On average, two cyclones affect Tonga per annum but this figure disguises the fact that there is more than a 50% probability that no cyclones will affect Tonga in any particular cyclone season while in other years; three or more cyclones may pass through the group.
Sustainable development context
6. Tonga has an agriculture-based economy organized around semi-subsistence small holdings. Subsistence production focuses on a range of customary root crops such as yams, taro, sweet potato and, more recently, cassava. Commercial production has focused on copra and copra products but these have been severely affected in recent years by drought, cyclones and falling world prices. As a result, considerable effort has been made to diversify into higher-value export crops notably vanilla, banana and squash but these too, have proven hazardous ventures because of the problems of quality control, diseases and major fluctuations in supply and demand[5].
7. During the period 1981-1985, the natural resource sector (i.e. agriculture, forestry and fisheries) was expected to be able to contribute more than 40% of GDP and it was predicted that this would increase by 15% during the 1986-1991 period. Unfortunately, these predictions were not realized as a zero and negative growth rates were experienced for the respective periods. Agriculture value-added rose by almost 11% in 2000 as root crops and squash production recovered strongly but growth in 2001 was a modest 1.3%. In the same year, the primary sector share of GDP fell to just under 30% compared to 50% in 1975. During the period 1994-2001, the fisheries sub-sector accounted for approximately 22% of the value added in the primary sector[6].
8. Tonga’s economy is vulnerable to fluctuations in remittances and aid. Past attempts to broaden the productive base of the economy and lessen the dependence on transfers have not been successful; hence remittances and aid will undoubtedly continue to factor significantly in Tonga’s economy despite government’s genuine desire and policy to support diversification and growth of exports[7].
9. Official aid has been an important source of funds for Tonga’s economy during the past three decades, often exceeding the level of exports. In 1992, it is reported that aid contributed about 27% of the GDP, with Australia the largest donor, followed by Japan, EU and New Zealand[8]. Multilateral and regional agencies with environmental assistance programmes in Tonga include AusAID, NZAID, UNDP, UNEP, SOPAC, SPC and SPREP.
Institutional setting
10. The Department of the Environment (DoE) was established as a fully fledged government department in July 2001 by a Privy Council Decision in recognition of the growing importance of the environment and natural resources management as the basis for sustainable economic, social and cultural development of the Kingdom of Tonga. DoE is a relatively young and small, but very active body with wide spread responsibilities for the protection and management of the Kingdom’s environment. DoE was formerly the Environment Planning and Conservation Section (EPACS) of the Ministry of Lands, Survey and Natural Resources (MLSNR) (see also paragraphs 31 and 32.).
11. DoE’s 2001-2003 mission statement observed that the department was “in the business of coordinating sustainable resource based development of the Kingdom of Tonga”[9]. It was therefore the role of DoE to monitor compliance by those government Ministries and development agencies with environmental responsibilities under various Acts of Government. The 2004-2007 Corporate Plan for the Department provides a new mission ‘to sustain the integrity of the ecosystems of Tonga to support life and livelihood’[10].
12. The DoE coordinates regional and international environmental matters in Tonga including those relating to the Rio Conventions and is the Executing Agency for a number of UNDP/GEF-funded environmental projects in Tonga. They include the recently concluded South Pacific Biodiversity Conservation Programme (SPBCP), the Climate Change Enabling Activity, the Capacity Building for Environment Management in the Pacific (CBEMP) and the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) project. Other donor-funded projects such as the GEF/UNEP project on Biosafety and the EU-funded Pacific Environment Information Network (PEIN) are also managed by DoE.
13. The Fisheries Act of 1989 empowers the Ministry of Fisheries (MoF) ‘to prepare and keep under review plans for the conservation, management and development of fisheries in the waters of the Kingdom of Tonga[11]. A new Fisheries Management Act 2002, provides the Minister with powers to establish community-based fisheries management areas wherein communities police and regulate fishing activities in their own foreshores and lagoon areas.
14. The 2004-2007 Corporate Plan states that the goals for the Ministry of Fisheries shall be ‘the development of Tonga’s living aquatic resource industries to the highest level of use compatible with ecological sustainability with structures of ownership, participation and technology that maximize the benefits to the people of Tonga’. The first business principle for the achievement of the Ministry’s goals is listed as the ‘conservation and protection of the environment’.
15. The Ministry of Fisheries has undertaken fisheries stock assessments for the purpose of formulating policies for the sustainable utilization of marine resources in Tonga. However, the lack of capable staff has resulted in the lapse of follow up assessments in the past seven years. The Ministry operates a nursery to spawn and grow giant clams, trochus and seaweed for release into the wild and to communities to replenish over-fished and degraded reefs. The Ministry actively participates in several environmental working groups including the NBSAP and the Biosafety working groups.
16. The activities of the Quarantine and Quality Management Division and the Forestry Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food (MAFF) have direct relevance to the environment. The former aims to, amongst other things, avoid the introduction of new pests and diseases that might affect agriculture production in Tonga. The latter promotes the planting of forest tress, the development of land use plans that integrate forestry and agriculture production, and the inter-cropping of coconuts with a wide variety of crops including vanilla, kava, fruit trees and forest species[12].
17. MAFF operates tree nurseries throughout the islands to produce seedlings for community planting. The Ministry is also encouraging the recycling of green wastes and helps monitor the health of the watersheds on ‘Eua from soil erosion as a result of road construction and other human activities. MAFF is a member of the NBSAP and Biosafety working groups. Such participation is essential not only to ensure integration with the environment sector but assist in the achievement of its own goals and objectives.
18. The Ministry of Education has primary responsibility for the provision of basic education in the Kingdom of Tonga. It also provides short term training to meet the training needs of civil servants and private organizations as identified to the Ministry by the organizations concerned.
19. At present, environmental studies and social sciences are taught at the primary level. Environmental science is taught through relevant subjects such as geography, chemistry, biology, physics and social sciences subjects at the secondary level. The Ministry also supports and encourages schools to participate in environmental awareness and clean up campaigns from time to time. The Ministry is represented at senior level at the Steering Committees for the NBSAP and Climate Change projects in Tonga.
20. The MoE is anticipating a change from the current education-based system to a more skill-based education system for Tonga in the near future.
21. The Tonga Visitors Bureau (TVB) integrates the preservation and conservation of Tonga’s natural resources that play an essential role in torusim attraction like coral reefs, underwater caves, whales and rainforests as is evident in the creation of a small Ecotourism Section within its structure. TVB, in conjunction with other relevant government agencies look after tourist attraction sites in Tonga.
22. The Public Service Commission (PSC) was established in July 2003 as a separate agency of government. It is responsible for coordinating the implementation of the Economic and Public Service reform[13] programme of government. The main objective of the Public Service reform is to establish a framework for a performance-oriented public service and the Commission is thus required to develop a performance management system that would enable the assessment of performance by employees. This system is expected to become operational soon. The NCSA will complement and build on the current experience of the PSC in the undertaking of performance assessments.
23. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) is the National and Political Focal Point for regional and international conventions and treaties to which the Government of Tonga is a party. It serves as the clearing house for information but does not have the technical capacity to review or comment on technical reports prepared by line Ministries for the secretariats of international conventions. MFA has the final say on what conventions government will sign although this decision is often based on the advice of the relevant technical agencies of government.
24. The Strategic Development Plan Seven, 2001-2003 was prepared by the Department of Central Planning in consultation with all other agencies of government. Besides its economic and social significance, the SDP7 affirms a commitment by the government of Tonga to the maintenance of a healthy and unpolluted environment and to the thoughtful management of natural resources for the present and future generations of Tonga[14]. The central policy guideline in relation to the use and management of natural resources is to promote environmentally sustainable development that is consistent with the priority economic and social needs of Tonga[15]. This provides the platform for the planning and implementation of activities under the mandates of line Ministries and Departments such as DoE, MAFF, Fisheries and others.