Environment Liaison Center International (ELCI)

From TrustAfrica wiki - African Regional Organizations

Environment Liaison Center International (ELCI)
P.O. Box 72461 – 00200, Nairobi
Tel: +254 020 8566172-4
Fax: +254 020 8566175
Email: scope@scope.org.pk or info@elci.org

Tanveer Arif, Executive Director, tanveera@elci.org

Description

Environment Liaison Centre International emerged from the first Earth Summit in Stockholm in 1972, and was established in Nairobi in 1974 to track international environmental processes, when the United Nations Environment Program was located there. It is a global coalition of 134 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working on issues of environment and sustainable development in more than 80 countries 59 of which are from Africa. The Mission of ELCI is to make information a useful tool to improve the environment measurably. Its vision envisages enlightened societies in ecological abundance. Its objectives are:

• To build the capacity of NGOs and community-based organizations (CBOs) by facilitating access to relevant information and information exchange;
• To promote sustainable environmental projects and programs;
• To involve NGOs/CBOs in issue-based workshops and seminars;
• To encourage NGOs and CBOs take an advocacy role in international environmental conferences.

ELCI’s primary focus is on land acquisition; land tenure systems; lobbying and advocacy; network building; community capacity building; institutional development; legislation, regulations and legal support; policy research; women's access to land; conflict and conflict resolution; land and water rights; environmental sustainability; and extractive industries. ELCI seeks to address the land issue in Kenya because the quest to achieve equitable access to land is central in conflict resolution. The organization believes that land policy should serve the multiple goals of equity, poverty reduction, income growth, economic efficiency and sustainable environmental management.

Among the old and current contributors are development agencies in Canada, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, UNEP, Action Aid, the Heinrich Böll Foundation, the Humanist Institute for Cooperation with Developing Countries (Hivos), Worldview International and the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology.

Track Record

ELCI was the lead facilitator of the Civil Society Organization Consultative Stakeholders working group on pro-poor policy on water sector reforms initiated by the Ministry of Water Resource Management and Development. This enabled civil society to make a significant number of recommendations which were included in the subsidiary legislation of the Water Act 2002.

ELCI published ECOFORUM, a flag-ship quarterly magazine highlighting environmental and sustainable development issues. The magazine, with a print run of 15,000 copies reaches an estimated 60,000 readers. Other ELCI products include issue specific community guides to environmental management and law in Kenya, posters, thematic video documentaries on water, HIV/AIDS and the environment, waste management, wildlife, mining, quarrying and livestock/pastoralist related land issues.

ELCI played a pivotal role in supporting the National Organic Market Development Initiative in Kenya through the annual EcoFest event held in Nairobi. It convenes weekly organic farmers markets. The Initiative led to the formation of the Kenya Organic Agriculture Network (KOAN), which has mainstreamed organic principles within the existing policy on agriculture, food security, nutrition and soil fertility. It also aided development of organic agricultural policy and guidelines for production and processing of organic products and harmonization of organic standards in East Africa.

Between 2003 and 2005, ELCI coordinated a civil society initiative to advocate a rapid phasing out of leaded fuel in East Africa by sensitizing the public, lobbying governments and the private sector to accelerate the phasing out of lead in gasoline.

Challenges

Although ELCI has realized major milestones, some challenges hamper its operations. One is the lack of good governance now being addressed by the new director, Mr. Tanveer Arif, who took office in February 2007.

Besides, ELCI suffers from a shortage of core funds to maintain a viable secretariat. It also suffers from a lack of commitment from donors and board members to contribute to the organization.

Opportunities

ELCI sees opportunity in promoting coping mechanisms, tenure and land management systems that arrest natural resource degradation, contribute to its restoration and reverse the downward spiral of natural resource and agricultural productivity decline.

ELCI needs to build consultative mechanisms between NGOs including foster roundtables with governments, donors and corporations to improve on good governance in Africa. The results should be monitored and communicated widely to attract funding.

ELCI has the opportunity of integrating the various agendas such as the two concepts of sustainable development and human security. An integrated agenda would incorporate human rights, democracy and governance, ecological sustainability, economic efficiency and social equity. While the achievement of human rights for all is an objective, the activities and policies of international institutions and corporations could be assessed against a human rights criteria. Indeed, for ELCI to meet the challenges and live up to its vision, mission and objectives, there is a need for massive long term funding.