Issue: 40
On his last day, February 26, 2009, at UNDP, outgoing Administrator Kemal Derviş thanked the staff for their dedication to the goals of the organization and outlined some of the development challenges ahead.
“We have made impressive strides in our work across the globe, from helping countries meet the MDGs to tackling climate change, working on democratic governance, crisis prevention and recovery and the AIDS response,” Derviş said. “And we continue to make progress on reform, working with the rest of the UN family towards a common good. To this end, each and every one of you has played an important role, and I thank you.”
Speaking about the current economic downturn, Derviş acknowledged that it posed very serious threats to development around the globe and sound policies were needed to address it.
“While a worsening of the economic situation in the immediate future is perhaps unavoidable, the speed and strength of the recovery will depend on the policy responses and their effectiveness,” Derviş said. “The policy responses need to mitigate the impact of the crisis on the most vulnerable populations and countries as the impact of the crisis will be too overwhelming for poor countries to respond on their own.”
“Even stronger collaboration between UNDP, the UN family, the World Bank and other partners will be critical to both identify the most vulnerable situations, as well as to design and implement an effective response. Second, the response to the crisis can be made consistent with launching the foundations for a renewed impetus towards long-term sustainable development. In striving to meet these challenges, I remain convinced that perhaps more than ever the world needs the UN family to deliver results as effectively, coherently and efficiently as possible. And without doubt it needs a strong UNDP, as the UN’s key coordinating development network.”
Derviş concluded by saying that he would continue to be involved in global and development issues and that he looked forward to remaining connected to UNDP.
“Saying goodbye is certainly not easy,” he said. “But as I said before: once UNDP, always UNDP.”
In the meantime, former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark was appointed as the new head of the UNDP. Clark, who was nominated by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, was elected unanimously by the 192-nation UN General Assembly. She is expected to take up the post in late April. Clark will serve a four-year term.
Over 25,000 participants from 150 countries took part in the 5th World Water Forum, from March 16th to 22nd in İstanbul, making it the world’s biggest ever water-related event. One thousand media representatives followed the event. Four thousand policemen were on duty to ensure security. 20 million dollars were spent for the Forum. Many recommendations, proposals, commitments, initiatives and a Ministerial Declaration came out of more than 100 sessions during the Forum. In one of the sessions on March 16, 2009, third edition of the United Nations World Water Development Report (WWDR-3) was presented. The report warns against a water crisis if measures are not taken immediately.
Demographics and the increasing consumption that comes with rising per capita incomes are the most important drivers or pressure on water. Demand for energy – for heat, light, power and transportation – is increasing rapidly. The increase in the production of bioenergy has potentially important impacts on water quality and availability. The world’s population is growing by about 80 million people a year, implying increased freshwater demand of about 64 billion cubic metres a year. An estimated 90% of the 3 billion people who are expected to be added to the population by 2050 will be in developing countries, many in regions where the current population does not have sustainable access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation. Because of migration, the world will have substantially more people in vulnerable coastal areas, with 18 of the world’s 27 megacities (populations of 10 million or greater) in the next 20 years.
According to the UN’s water report, which is a joint effort of the 26 UN agencies and entities which make up UN-Water, working in partnership with governments, international organizations, non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders, more investments are needed in safe drinking water and sanitation. This investment is proved to contribute to economic growth. For each $1 invested, the World Health Organization estimates returns of $3-$34, depending on the region and the technology. Investments in water infrastructure by the US Army Corps of Engineers between 1930 and 1999 yielded returns of $6 for each $1 spent and controlled flood damage despite rising population numbers and property value at risk over the period.
Institutional and human capacity development, to prepare institutions for current and future water and related challenges are also needed. Pluralistic governance, transparency and interactions among parties with different interests during decision-making are also necessary for a solution.
The third edition of the World Water Development Report draws attention to the fact that the world is on track to meet the Millennium Development Goal target on drinking water. Current trends suggest that more than 90% of the global population will use improved drinking water sources by 2015. However, the world is not on track to meet the Millennium Development Goal sanitation target. Between 1990 and 2006 the proportion of people without improved sanitation decreased by only 8 percentage points. Without an immediate acceleration in progress, the world will not achieve even half the sanitation target by 2015. Based on current trends, the total population without improved sanitation in 2015 will have decreased only slightly, from 2.5 billion to 2.4 billion.
The Forum is a unique platform where individuals from both inside and outside the water sector can interact and debate, creating broader awareness for water related issues and a resolve to find solutions. In addition, it provides the opportunity for Ministers, Local Authorities and Parliamentarians to consolidate their different perspectives with those of experts and civil society.
After the previous Fora, held in Morocco (1997), the Netherlands (2000), Japan (2003) and Mexico (2006), the 5th World Water Forum was held in March 2009 in Istanbul, Turkey.
Bridging divides for water
Given Turkey’s strategic position between East and West, North and South, but also the conceptual barriers between different water cultures, between developed and developing regions of the world, and the need to bring together the many ongoing initiatives around the world related to water issues, “Bridging Divides for Water” has been chosen as the overarching theme for the Forum in Turkey.
The six main themes of the forum were: “Global Changes & Risk Management”, “Advancing Human Development and Millennium Development Goals”, “Managing and Protecting Water Resources and their Supply Systems to meet Human and Environmental Needs”, “Governance and Management”, “Finance”, “Education, Knowledge and Capacity Building”.
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22 March has been celebrated as the World Water Day since 1993. This year, World Water Day is dedicated to promoting responsible cooperation between countries in managing their shared sources of freshwater. Such an approach to managing water systems can boost international trade, economic development and strengthens peace, security and cooperative relations between countries. In recognition of these linkages, the theme of this year’s World Water Day is "Shared Water - Shared Opportunities".
Almost half of the world’s land surface is covered by shared, or transboundary, lakes and river basins. Clean, dependable sources of freshwater are necessary for every aspect of human life, including drinking water, sanitation, recreation and agricultural and industrial production. Nearly half of the world’s population is dependent on these shared bodies of water.
As climate change progresses and continues to alter the hydrological cycle, more and more countries will experience water stress due to inadequate sources of water and increasing variability in the availability of water.. Such a scenario, accompanied by excessive and inefficient water use, chronic pollution and weak or poorly enforced policies and laws, could cause tensions between countries that share the same rivers and lakes (transboundary waters). Currently, there are 145 countries that share one or more transboundary water systems.
Although water-related conflicts between countries do occur, only rarely has water been the main reason behind tensions that can escalate into war. Since 1948 there were 37 incidents of acute conflict between countries over water. Yet, during the same period, over 300 international agreements were signed on transboundary cooperation, such as a 1960 treaty that laid out a plan of use of the Indus water basin between India and Pakistan and a 1995 agreement on the use of shared waters in southern Africa. Such responsible and shared management of transboundary waters has many benefits, as it builds mutual respect, understanding and trust among countries and promotes peace, security, trade, and job creation. In other words, sharing water provides opportunities for better lives and livelihoods.
One of the most striking successes in shared waters management is the treaty governing the use of the Danube River. The Danube is the most international river basin in the world, passing through 13 countries before emptying into the Black Sea via Romania. The past 150 years has seen the steady degradation of the ecosystems of both the Danube and the Black Sea. After the fall of the Soviet bloc, however, the countries along the Danube have cooperated on the monitoring and improvement of water quality and quantity in addition to instituting a damage control system to minimise accidental chemical spills. This regional cooperation yielded many results, such as the establishment of 75 water quality monitoring stations in the Danube basin and agreement on governance reforms to reduce nutrient pollution. Through these reforms and major investments, industrial, municipal and agricultural pollution was reduced virtually eliminating dangerous oxygen depletion in the western area of the Black Sea and leading to measurable signs of ecosystem recovery. The restoration of the Danube River and Black Sea illustrates and underscores the significant environmental, socioeconomic and political benefits that can be gained through multi-country cooperation on transboundary waters.
Held as part of the events of the 5th World Water Forum, the exhibit at İstanbul Technical University Natural History and Science Museum will be open until June 14.
Turkish Minister of Trade and Commerce Zafer Çağlayan, who participated in the official inauguration ceremony on 18 March, stated in his opening speech that in order to solve issues regarding water, states should increase infrastructural work on clean water. Çağlayan also thanked UNDP and Coca-Cola for bringing the exhibit to Turkey.
After the inauguration, there was a “policy dialogue” event of UNDP at the exhibit on March 19. Cihan Sultanoglu, Deputy Director of RBEC of UNDP, in her speech pointed out the importance of water scarcity and its impacts on social and economic developments (please click here to access the speech of Cihan Sultanoğlu). She mentioned UNDP’s “Every Drop Matters” project, which is implemented in partnership with Coca Cola, as a good example aiming to increase access to safe drinking water in the region. Sultanoğlu said that one of the successful outputs of this partnership was to bring this prominent exhibition to Istanbul.
During the policy dialogue, a panel of UNDP water governance experts shared information about their individual projects and how their collaborative efforts are contributing to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and improving access to water and sanitation services. They also stressed the importance of effective water governance, pointing out the strong correlation between proper governance and economic growth and poverty reduction. The audience also engaged in the panel, raising thoughtful questions about the role of dams and asking whether or not enough is being done in order to reach the MDGs by 2015. Panel members noted that despite their efforts, much more needs to be done, and called upon all agencies at all levels to replicate their efforts.
The panel consisted of Andrew Hudson, Principal Technical Advisor for GEF International Waters; Paul Taylor, Director of Cap-Net; Sulan Chen, Global Environment Facility, Land Degradation, POPs and International Waters Programme Specialist; Bogachan Benli, Project Manager of “Every Drop Matters” project; Håkan Tropp, Water Specialist, Energy and Environment Practice; and Alastair Morrison, Project Manager of the UNDP Water Governance Facility at SIWI, with Senior Water Resources Advisor Dr. Joakim Harlin as the moderator.
The Water Exhibit, previously held at American Museum of Natural History in New York between November 3 2007 – May 26 2008 and later in Singapore, will be presented in South America, Asia, Australia and North America by 2011.
The Water Exhibit, which aims to contribute to protection of water resources, presents interactive installations to help people of all ages to discover characteristics and miracles of water. Demonstrating the significance of water in human life, the Exhibit consists of 10 parts which include disparate living things that collect, store and use water in a unique way, information regarding amount of water in different parts of our planet, people’s habits on water usage, examples of accessing clean water and local stories of people.
Work on women rights, which has been supported by UNDP all along and has been given impetus by the EU process, made a progress. New Horizons spoke with Selma Acuner, the Coordinator for International Relations of the Association for Supporting and Training Women Candidates (KA-DER), Ankara Branch, which aims to increase women participation in politics and cooperates also with UNDP in this context, regarding the establishment of the “Woman-Man Equal Opportunities Commission”. Seeing it as an important development, Selma Acuner states that the Commission is a great step forward, in opening up democratic spaces in Turkey and also for mainstreaming a gender equality perspective in policy formulations. It brings a new institutional dimension for equality between women and men.
Selma Acuner (S.A.): The establishment of the “Woman-Man Equal Opportunities Commission” is very prominent because it adds a new phase to the institutional dimension on gender equality in Turkey and necessitates the establishment of different institutions at all levels. In other words, a decentralized structure, rather than a centralized one, is needed; since 50% of Turkey’s population is women and they are not all the same. Different policies are needed in different regions; therefore issues on women cannot be solved in a centralized manner. Establishment of an entity at the Turkish Grand National Assembly, the highest level of decision making mechanism in Turkey, is a proof of embracing an institutional approach for the equality concept or the struggle against inequality. This is of great significance. This also shows that there is an increasing political will on the issue. More importantly, this signifies the formulation of policies demanded especially by women non-governmental organizations for the last 15 years.
Also, we have always demanded this commission, because institutions in Turkey, like state, family and market, should be transformed through a perspective based on equality between women and men. This transformation requires changes in laws as well. Institutions do not transform without any reason. Laws will be changed followed by changes in mentality and policies.
If there is a commission at the highest level, various law proposals will go through the commission which will analyze them through a perspective based on equality between women and men. The commission for instance will have the right to examine a law on public works and will share its ideas on laws concerning local administrations or finance. Indeed, how this commission will function is very crucial. Given that it works effectively, it can influence all the laws, proposals and decisions. In addition to that, in case of violation of women rights, women will apply to the commission which will search ways to solve problems directly related to women.
UNDP Turkey: Can individuals apply to the commission?
S.A.: Sure. An institution like this will examine the laws in Turkey and compare them with international laws to see to what extent they are compatible or not. The commission can carry out international work and investigations outside Ankara. It will struggle against all the gender-based discriminations, there is an article which stipulates the commission to prevent and find solutions to all the gender-based discriminations. Answering each and every application in 3 months at most, the commission has so many benefits. The decision to establish the commission was made as a result of the struggle of women for 12 years.
What is more, this commission will work in close cooperation with non-governmental organizations. Demands from grass-root levels can be formulated into policies. This commission is under the obligation to do public reporting, that is sharing its reports with the public thereby acting as a monitor, which is common in European Union especially in northern countries. Reports accessible by the public mean that public can monitor as well. Thus, this is a prominent development concerning democracy.
UNDP Turkey: The women movement has a long history in Turkey. Why was the “Woman-Man Equal Opportunities Commission” established recently and not before? Did the civil society have a role in the period leading up to the establishment of the commission?
S.A.: I will summarize the history which UNDP itself was part of. The General Directorate on the Status of Women was established in 1990s. During that time UNDP had a project on the participation of women in development. In addition to enhancing human capital, examining legal documents through a perspective based on equality between women and men and establishing relevant institutions, one of the aims of that project was to institutionalize the equality between women and men equality. A recently implemented UN Joint Programme is in fact a continuation of the project... In the context of that programme, gender equality commissions were established in the municipal and provincial assemblies of 6 pilot provinces.
There are many actors including women organizations, members of parliament, academics and related institutions, who led to the establishment of the commission at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey...Women organizations started to plead more strongly this institutionalization especially after the Beijing Platform for Action in 1995-1996. Thus, members of parliament gradually started to be interested in the issue. Finally, in an effort to progress in EU accession negotiations, four political parties at the Turkish parliament cooperated to establish the equality commission. We should not overlook the pressure of women organizations on the issue.
UNDP Turkey: Well, as the coordinator for the international relations of the one of the most important women's organizations in Turkey, what do you think of the women's movement in Turkey and the cooperation among women's organizations?
S.A.: Let me say that when the Turkish Criminal Code came to the agenda in the EU accession process, women's organizations with very fragmented perspectives got together under Women's Penal Code Platform initiated by the “Women's Human Rights” project. The women's organizations increased awareness, carried out discussions and technical work so as to change around 30 articles in the Turkish Criminal Code. After the necessary amendments were achieved, all organizations went back to their mandates. Turkey is one of the rare countries where different women's organizations can come together when a common purpose emerges.
UNDP Turkey: What is the situation in Turkey now? What should the Commission do regarding woman-man inequalities in the laws?
S.A.: Equal Status Act should be passed now. To give more information on the law, I can say that it is a law, present mainly in northern countries, which deals with inequalities faced by women at a workplace or establishing gender mainstreaming plans at workplaces and discrimination of women regarding wages. There have been efforts continuing for many to create an Ombud system in Turkey, in fact we demand the establishment of equality between women and men Ombud in Turkey.
Starting from 1990, there have been thirty EU reform packages and many changes demanded by women were made in the Civil Law, Turkish Criminal Code and Labour Law. There is a paradigm shift in the Turkish Criminal Law. That is, for the first time ever, women are regarded as individuals. According to the previous Turkish Criminal Code, when a crime is committed against a women, that was deemed as a crime “perpetrated against the family or social order” therefore the perpetrator would be punished less. Now, the crimes against women and the girl-child are considered as “crimes perpetrated against the individual” and there is sentencing. This is a real paradigm shift achieved by the common efforts of women organizations and the parliament.
Currently, there are four articles in the Turkish Criminal Code that need to be changed. One of them is about obscenity. The meaning of obscenity should be clarified, for there are punishments on that. Secondly, there were modifications on virginity tests in the Turkish Criminal Law. Still, the law allows virginity tests to be done for girls without their permission. The argument is that: “Can we get a 6 year-old girl’s permission at the court?” If I am not wrong, in Germany they found a way to deal with it. A girl is accompanied by a psychologist who interviews her. The article should be modified in such a way that a state should not have a say on women’s body. Thirdly, there is an article which states “relationship based on mutual consent between people in the ages of 15-17”. It is a problematic article...Fourthly; people with different sexual orientations are not protected in the Turkish Criminal Law. In fact, EU has directives on the issue.
Regarding the Labour Law, I believe that it should be overhauled again since was passed very rapidly. There are serious concerns about job safety of employees. For example, “sexual harassment at workplace” is seen as a crime but the definitions are not clear or there is discrimination in recruitment, so certain definitions should be clarified.
Women are absent in political life!
UNDP Turkey: What is the situation of Turkish women in politics?
S.A.: In Turkey, there is a crisis concerning women’s participation in politics. Only 9% of members of parliament are women in the Turkish parliament. With that percentage, Turkey ranks the last in Europe and we have 50 women members of parliament. This is the progress achieved since 1934. In general, the critical threshold is around 187. That means we should have at least 187 women members of parliament so that decisions taken at the parliament can be influenced. 50 women members of parliament are not a lot, yet this is a significant development.
In conjunction with this, the percentage of women mayors in Turkey is 0.56%...It is not even 1%; local administrations are very salient. When municipal and city councils are taken into consideration, it is around 1-2%. Now imagine that there are approximately 3,200 city council member. Only 300 of them are women. Currently, there are 18 women mayors. Imagine that only one metropolitan mayor, all the rest are mayors of districts...Now can you say that women are in decision making mechanisms? Of course, no...Can you claim that women can make decisions for their sake? No you cannot. Who makes decisions on behalf of women? Men members of parliament, men mayors, men municipal council members, men city council members always do so...I have no objection to that of course men will be present, women, however, have their own problems due to the fact that they are women. For example in rural areas, which route will mothers use to take their children to school? What kind of municipality services is needed for that? Nurseries and early child nursing services are needed. Since these are not the issues faced firstly by men and they are not priorities for men. When you hear a woman mayor candidate, you can notice that these are the first issues on her agenda. So, this is where the change will come from. Let me point out that both women and men should be included in the issues of equality between women and men. I personally do not believe that a person should be a member of parliament or a mayor only because that person is a man or a woman.
UNDP Turkey: Well, a woman can be sensitive but can lack experience. A person who knows how to manage a project is necessary. What do you think?
S.A.: That can happen over time with the help of a team, for me sensitivity is of top priority. We need a 30% quota, the Law of Political Parties and the Election Law should be changed.
Currently, Turkey is a member of the European Women’s Lobby. Regarding that we have a coordination group under which are 80 organizations. The European Women’s Lobby launched a 50-50% campaign in Europe. In fact, Europe has the same problem and Europeans say: “We can no longer tolerate the underrepresentation of women.” Now the target is 50% in Europe.
For many years we have talked about the Quality Law. Quality is not a quota; it is a law on its own which is based on equal citizenship. The Quality Law is on our agenda, there can be changes in the constitution after the local elections. We would like to have the Quality Law included in the constitution. We would like to see changes in the Election Law and the Law of Political Parties. If we cannot achieve these changes and only depend on bylaws of the political parties, women will not have any chance when there are challenges in democracy and political parties do not function well. Because politics is very much related to money and nepotism based on coming from the same place. Well, you live in a different city with your spouse, to be in politics means you work even in the evenings. Recently we had news, I am not sure where exactly was that. A woman becomes a mayor candidate and her husband strives to preclude that and eventually they divorce.
There is this mentality in Turkey “my wife is in public, how that can happen?” still gender-based discrimination in jobs exists in Turkey. Women should be at home taking care of children and the old; men produce, make money and are in public. Law-making is related to public and is not done at home. Therefore, women do not have a voice in the areas where laws are made and income is distributed or rights are defined. How can we talk about democracy in such a situation? Firstly we should solve this problem. The key to that is the equal distribution of responsibilities between men and women on family, patient, senior and child care and backing it with in an institutionalized manner. That is exactly on the agenda of the Commission on the Status of Women this year.
Solutions should be sought in a structure where state, private sector, local administrations and parents are involved. Sources should be earmarked for that. Otherwise, only women are burdened with care of family. Maybe there are not obstacles in the laws concerning women’s participation in politics or public but if there are not policies to support women and services provided for child care, women simply stay at home. It is said that women have a responsibility to take care of children. This is really a serious problem. The issue of inequality in Turkey can be remedied by legal directives, regulations, political determination and in a holistic manner which includes the participation of all related parties. As you might notice, I rarely mention the concept of equality, I talk about inequality which exists. Inequality should be reduced, equality is an ambiguous concept which does not exist.
UNDP Turkey: What are the results of your cooperation with UNDP and how is the current project with UNDP going on?
S.A.: One of the projects carried with UNDP was about providing trainings in various cities on creating awareness on gender mainstreaming. Development experts and high level officials also participated in those trainings and we had meetings with governors. Then, other trainings were provided in consultation with deputy governors and mayors. This was two years ago. The main aim of the project was to increase awareness among high level government officials on equality between women and men. It was in fact a salient training full of fruitful discussions.
The second project with UNDP, which recently came to an end, involved trainings on the participation of women in politics. Th
The overall objective of the project, which was launched by Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MoEF), State Planning Organization (SPO), Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (TÜSİAD) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), is to develop the capacity of Turkey to participate efficiently in the international climate change negotiations and to join the flexible mechanisms of Kyoto through better experiencing the Voluntary Carbon Markets.
Speaking at the kick-off meeting, Chairman of the Environment Working Group of TÜSİAD Musa Galip Eroğlu stated TÜSİAD is very keen on cooperating with UNDP in the project (please click here to read the full presentation - in Turkish). Sema Beyazıt, Expert on planning at SPO, expressed her belief that the project will support Turkey in the climate change negotiations. UNDP Deputy Resident Representative Ulrika Richardson-Golinski emphasized the private sector should take the lead on tackling the challenges posed by climate change, from investing in clean new technologies to encouraging countries and industries to make the necessary adaptations to change (please click here to read the full presentation). Deputy Undersecretary of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry Sedat Kadıoğlu mentioned the importance of solar energy in the climate change management. Making the last speech, Project Manager of UNDP Bahar Ubay provided comprehensive information on many aspects of the project including goals and methodology of the project (please click here to read the full presentation – in Turkish).
The project is very important in formulating Turkey’s position in the expected International Post-Kyoto Treaty on Climate Change leading to the negotiations in the Conference of the Parties (COP15) in Copenhagen on 7-18 December 2009.
Background Information
UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol and Flexible Mechanisms
In 1994 the United Nations (UN) agreed by consensus that all countries should agree on the commitment to stabilize global atmospheric concentration of CO2 at a ‘non-dangerous’ level. This goal was institutionalized in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The UNFCCC brought countries together for the first time, but did not commit them to any binding action to tackle emissions levels. In 1997 the Kyoto Protocol (KP), a stand-alone treaty (but housed under the UNFCCC), was adopted, which committed 36 developed countries to reduce their emissions on average by 5.2 % below their 1990 levels (these countries are listed in Annex B of the Kyoto Protocol).
Development of Carbon Markets
To enable compliance, the Kyoto Protocol established Flexible Mechanisms to allow these countries to meet their targets by trading carbon credits or emission reduction units. The compliance market is the product of these Flexible Mechanisms established by the Protocol. These mechanisms are: the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM); Joint Implementation (JI); and Emissions Trading. In addition to this, several nations and groups of nations have developed their own trading mechanisms to help them meet their targets; the biggest of these is the European Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS).
How does Voluntary Carbon Market differ from others?
The voluntary carbon market (VCM) has developed independently of government targets and policies and is a place where anybody, from businesses, to Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), to individuals can participate in the business of offsetting. Carbon credits are also created in the Voluntary Market, but unlike the compliance market where credits are tradable under the Kyoto flexible mechanisms (that is to say, they are ‘fungible’), credits in the voluntary market are generally non-fungible—they are not tradable between schemes. The main drivers for organizations or buyers of those carbon credits from voluntary carbon markets are to comply with anticipated mandatory emission trading schemes and/or address individual and cooperate social/environmental responsibilities.
What is the status of Turkey under the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol?
Turkey defines her situation as a sui generis case vis-à-vis the current climate regime. When the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was adopted in 1994, Turkey as a member of the OECD, was included among the countries of the Convention’s Annexes I and II. At COP 7 in Marrakech, 2001 the name of Turkey was deleted from the Annex II of the Convention (Decision 26 / CP.7). With this Turkey remained Annex I Party of the UNFCCC, in a position that is different than that of other Annex-I countries. Turkey acceded as the 189th Party to the UNFCCC on 24 May 2004.
Why Promote VCM Practices in Turkey?
Turkey was not a Party to the UNFCCC, when the Kyoto Protocol was adopted. Therefore, Turkey’s name was not included in the Annex-B of the Protocol, which lists the individual targets for Annex I Parties. However, Turkey has recently adopted the national law for ratifying the Kyoto Protocol; the country will not take any quantified emission limitation or reduction commitment within the first commitment period of the Protocol. Turkey’s accession to KP does not entail direct addition of her name to Annex-B depending on the decision 26 / CP.7. Besides, Turkey still cannot participate in the mechanisms CDM/JI/IET, as only non Annex I Parties can host CDM and only Annex B Parties can do JI and International Emission Trading (IET). Participation in the Voluntary Carbon Markets (VCMs) seems to be the only realistic possibility for Turkey in the period 2008-2012 for a smoother integration with the post-Kyoto period.
Why is it time for Turkey to build on national capacities?
Turkey expects that her special circumstances differentiating her from other Annex-I countries will be taken into consideration in the shaping of the post-2012 regime. Turkey wishes to see certain flexibilities for her in the new agreement. Hence, building on national negotiation capacities is essential for an enhanced international climate change dialogue. In addition to this, development of national capacities on flexible mechanisms through better experiencing the VCM will enable the country to benefit from the current experiences while setting up the post-Kyoto architecture for practicing the flexible mechanisms of the Post-Kyoto Treaty.
The “Life Plus Youth Programme”, which has a fund of 1.5 million dollars and aims to develop solutions to social and environmental issues from the youth perspective, provides support for projects by young people in the ages 16-26. Besides financial support worth 5-50,000 dollars, training and consultancy services are also provided for environmental projects.
The projects supported within the framework of the “Life Plus” Youth Programme are selected every year from applications received from all over Turkey. The projects, which develop solutions directed at particular environmental issues, are expected to focus on implementations such as awareness raising, empowerment, the organisation of an activity or the realisation of a research. It is very important that the projects include collaborations with local administrations and non-governmental organisations and therefore are sustainable.
Among ongoing projects, the ones that stand out are “Seyfe Dryland Becomes a Lake,” “Manyas Demands its Clean Water Back” and “Step by Step Clean Gediz” all of which aim to preserve water resources and wetlands. The “Seyfe Dryland Becomes a Lake” prepares a participatory action plan together with local people that includes the reasons and methods of solution for the desiccation of the lake. “Manyas Demands its Clean Water Back” aims to institutions, the private sector and local administrators for the prevention of the pollution of the lake. The “Step by Step Clean Gediz” project consists of an initiative to raise awareness regarding the pollution of the river and to prevent the pollution with the participation of students. Another environmental project initiated in Balıkesir and entitled “One Drop One Thousand Crops Everywhere” aims to encourage drip irrigation in agriculture and to prevent waste of water and loss of soil.
How are projects selected?
The first stage consists of the presentation of a preliminary application where the fundamental aspects of the project and the theme of the project are presented succinctly. The preliminary application is evaluated by a technical committee. Following this evaluation based on a set of criteria, representatives of eligible teams are invited to the “Life Plus Meeting” held in Istanbul. The aim of this one week meeting is to provide young people with the opportunity to get together and to evaluate and develop their projects in workshops held with other young people and with specialists. The teams that participate in this training acquire the right to make the principal application. Following the evaluation of the principal applications by a selection committee consisting of representatives from UNDP and from Coca-Cola, the projects to be provided support by the Programme are selected.
Application calendar for the period 2009 - 2010
20 March 2009 Beginning of applications for the 5th Period
15 May 2009 Deadline for preliminary applications
22 June 2009 Announcement of preliminary application results
12 July 2009 Meeting in Istanbul
31 July 2009 Deadline for principal applications
07 August 2009 Announcement of winners
For all questions regarding applications: info@hayataarti.org
The “Life Plus” Youth Programme Manual can be requested from info@hayataarti.org
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The Steering Committee, which is formed by the representatives of the institutions that have carried out effective work and paid close attention to Global Compact since 2005, held the meeting on March 4, 2009. The Steering Committee aims to represent the network internationally and to strengthen the Local Network across Turkey, with improved effectiveness of its signatories.
The Global Compact Local Network Steering Commitee consists of the representatives of Aksa Acrylic, ARGE Consulting, Koç Holding, Sabancı Holding, TİSK, TÜSİAD and ZED Communications.
With nearly 117 institutions, the Global Compact Local Network in Turkey is one of the ten largest local networks in the world.
The United Nations Global Compact aims to adopt a progressive corporate responsibility and a common development culture for the business world which is always in competition. To be a member of the compact, which has a vision based on “sustainable and global principles based economy”, is completely voluntary.
The UN Global Compact
The ten principles of the UN Global Compact are as follows:
Human Rights
Principle 1: Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights; and
Principle 2: make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses.
Labour Standards
Principle 3: Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining;
Principle 4: the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour;
Principle 5: the effective abolition of child labour; and
Principle 6: the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.
Environment
Principle 7: Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges;
Principle 8: undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility; and
Principle 9: encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.
Anti-Corruption
Principle 10: Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery.
To be a member of the United Nations Global Compact, it is enough to send a letter of commitment to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon signed by the highest level executive in your organization stating that you have adopted these principles.
Business as well as non-business organizations can find more information from www.unglobalcompact.org or www.undp.org.tr. Furthermore, with the new format, it is also possible to sign the Global Compact on-line and become a member.
The report “Taking Poverty into Consideration for Public Utilities Governance” states that the electricity, water and natural gas expenses constitute a big share of poor households' total expenditures. The poor, for whom no state assistance is provided, develop a number of strategies in order to continue their consumption.
The report published by Hacepette University’s Center for Market Economy and Entrepreneurship and UNDP was launched in Ankara on 11 March 2009 at a meeting open to the press. The study comes at a time when Turkey has witnessed a number of reforms in the utilities sector, and private sector has become an important provider of services through privatization of utilities. This is the first study conducted in Turkey where water tariffs of different provinces were compared systematically to understand consumption and expenditure patterns of poor and non-poor households.
The authors of the report, Necmiddin Bağdadioğlu from Hacettepe University, Alparslan Basaran from Hacettepe University, Sibel Kalaycıoğlu from Middle East Technical University and Abuzer Pınar from Ankara University, presented the main findings of the study (please click here to read their presentation - Turkish), which states that there is no social assistance provided to poor regarding the consumption of electricity, natural gas and water, and it calls for engagement of civil society in utility pricing. The study also recommends the establishment of a Water Sector Regulatory Authority to ensure transparency and competitiveness.
Why this Research?
The report underlines that one of the basic goals of the development policies is to reduce the poverty. In case of production of electricity, natural gas and water services by the public sector, it is possible to determine prices lower than costs, thus it is possible to protect the poor. In the report, it is stated that in many countries; especially in England and Continental Europe, interests of the poor are taken into consideration. In Turkey though there are arrangements in favor of consumers only in the electricity sector.
The main objective of the study is to define the effects of the probable price increases on the poor consumers and provide recommendations to reverse the negative repercussions in case of the privatization of the electricity, natural gas and water sectors.
The Methodology of the Study
The research aims to define particularly how the prices after the privatization will affect electricity, natural gas and water consumption of the poor people. Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK)’s “2003 Household Budget Survey” is used in the research since TÜİK’s study was carried out in different cities. Since “2003 Household Budget Survey” is the most comprehensive survey and all the poverty researches are based on micro data results like ‘Household Budget Survey’, this data source was used. TUIK’s other data sources that were used in the study are as follows:
Electiricity, Water and Gas Statistics (1999)
Household Budget Survey (2002)
Household Budget Survey (2004)
Household Budget Survey (2005)
Household Budget Survey (2006)
The results obtained from the field studies in Çankırı, Kars, Şanlıurfa and İstanbul are considered. With the aim of providing services for the poor despite price rises, the situation is examined within the scope of EU legislations about how to use the government assistance.
The research includes households' consumption data before the reform; then the amount of household consumption is calculated by considering the possible rate after the reform. This way, the possible effects of the reform are examined. The research, which aims to add the cost of the illegal electricity, gas and water consumption to the price, applies this methodology only for the electricity sector because it was possible to reach the illegal electricity consumption only in that sector.
Bills Constitute a Great Deal of the Poor’s Expenditure
The cities within the scope of the research, have distinctive qualities. İstanbul is the biggest and the most heterogeneous city in Turkey where poverty is highly visible and there are many challanges on the issue. The assistance carried out in İstanbul for the poor, is considered to be chaotic, arbitrary, not transparent. According to the research, natural gas is consumed the most in the European side of Istanbul. In poor households, expenditures on heating precede those in health, education and entertainment. It is stated that there are challanges in Kars concerning water which create health problems for women.
The research indicates that generally water, gas and electricity expenses are significantly below the poverty line. The regions like Istanbul, Aegean and Mediterrean, where the population is dense and the income share is high, decrease Turkey’s average. But the cities which have been effected in the most negative way from the new electricity price are Van, Mardin, Şanlıurfa, Ağrı, Erzurum and Adana. When the illegal water consumption is added to the water price, the water consumption becomes more expensive.
Poverty Line: Electricity, Water and Natural Gas
The research divides the target group into 10 different brackets and indicates that the budget for the bills of the households, except those in the richest three brackets, is above that of the Turkey’s average. These consumption shares are significantly below poverty line and only the households in Gaziantep face water shortage since their share of water consumption out of all the expenditure is 4.83%. Kayseri is very close to facing water shortage with a %3.9. The report emphasizes that the water poverty line is taken as % 3 in the developed countries and it is % 5 in the developing countries. In consideration of the development level of Turkey, the water poverty line in Turkey is regarded as %4.
Those, whose monthly electricity expenses exceed %10 percent of monthly household income or total consumption, are considered to be ‘Electricity Poor’. Those, whose monthly natural gas expenses exceed the %10 percent of natural gas usable income or total consumption, are considered to be ‘Natural Gas Poor’. The shares of income distribution of the regions and the ratio of electricity consumption in total household expenditures are as follows: average of Turkey is %3,96, it is %5,26 in the West Marmara, %4,99 in Central Anatolia and %4.40 in the Southern East Anatolia.
Concerning natural gas consumption, the average of the other cities except Istanbul is above Turkey’s average: %5,69 in Ankara, %4,98 in Bursa and %4,96 in Kocaeli. In the water consumption, just as in electricity consumption, West Marmara's average is %2,79, those of Middle Anatolia and Southern Anatolia are %3,48 and %2,73 respectively.
To sum up, the field studies reveal that the electricity, water, natural gas/bottled gas bills have an important share in the household expenses.
Strategies to Deal with Poverty
Families strive to pay these bills even late although they are very costly for the family budgets. Often poor households develop some strategies in order to deal with these expensive bills. The common one is to pay fines after the deadline or to consume electricity and water in an illegal manner. According to the research, due to the lack of social assistance and the economic problems, families are engaged in illegal consumption. Since illegal consumption has a very severe punisment, it is a less common strategy. Not sending children to the school, using less energy or borrowing money are some other strategies.
What should be done?
According to the report, if the prices are arranged in consideration of the poor, the illegal consumption can be prevented. Another important issue is to determine price brackets and consumption ranges depending on the consumption amount of different income levels.
The success of policies, that take into consideration the poor in the consumption of electricity, natural gas and water, to a great extent depends on informing consumers about price brackets and how much it costs in each price bracket, including clearly pro-poor arrangements in the contract of privatization and following up of the practices by the supreme board of the sector.
According to the authorities, the prices have to be decreased, the current infrastructure has to be enhanced and a cheaper and more quality service has to be provided. The households, who were interviewed, state that these services can be provided cheaper through savings created by government upon eliminating corruption. The report indicates that as it is impossible to survive without electricity and water, the government has to develop social policies for the poor.
During this whole day event; in addition to the legal review presentations on civilian oversight of internal security sector of various European Union member countries, the challenges and shortcomings of the Turkish internal security legislation were assessed and recommendations were made through a comparative methodology. Around 100 people representing the Ministry of Interior and main stakeholders were present at the meeting. Through the meeting; it was aimed at reaching a synthesis after reviewing the experiences of European Union member countries and Turkey within the context of the legal review of the civilian oversight component of the project.
During the panel sessions; existing legislation on civilian administration and oversight of internal security sector was reviewed and similarities and gap analysis of legislation of institutions representing this sector were discussed. It was also aimed at assessing various initiatives around civilian oversight of internal security sector service units responsible from the provision of internal security such as evaluation of the regulations of the Police, Gendarmarie, coast guards and other relavant units.
In a separate panel session; the comparative assessment of internal security legislation of Turkey and selected EU member states from the perspective of civilian oversight of internal security was brought on to the table through the involvement of international experts. Within this framework; there were presentations on three selected cases such as; France (which has a centralized administrative system with gendarmarie functioning as part of its internal security system); Spain ( which has gendarmarie to perform internal security functions within a decentralized administrative system) and the United Kingdom (which has a decentralized administrative sytem without gendarmarie serving within its security forces).
The legal review is expected to contribute to the planned common framework of the civilian oversight of internal security and to the study on “Legal Assessment Based on the European Union principles and the Standards”.
The three-day dialogue brings together more than 80 senior government and UN officials to identify priorities and proposals for countries in Asia to ensure access to justice, property rights, labor rights and business rights for the poor and marginalized.
“A recession in one country has spawned an extensive and devastating global economic downturn, with no exception for Thailand and other Southeast Asian neighbours,” said Mr. Charnchao Chaiyanukij, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice in Thailand.
“In an attempt to alleviate these challenges, the Thai government is forced to invest a large amount of its limited human and financial resources that would otherwise have been earmarked for such useful purposes as education or medical care,” added Mr. Chaiyanukij.
He pointed to activities planned by the Ministry of Justice in Thailand that will target 10 of the poorest provinces in order to “directly enhance access to justice and labor, property and business rights of poor and vulnerable people.”
The meeting is aimed at finding national and regional ways of applying recommendations put forward last year by the Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor, which concluded its work with a report titled, "Making the Law Work for Everyone."
Mr. Naresh Singh, former Executive Director of the Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor, said that in the midst of the financial crisis, it is “important to address the resilience of the livelihood system because people in the informal sector don’t have jobs, they do jobs.” He added, “The working poor in the informal sector have legal needs and demands that must be identified and addressed.”
Mr. John Samuel of Action Aid called for legal, social and political empowerment for the poor. “Don’t just bail out banks, bail out voices of people who have been put under the carpet – women, indigenous, the Dalits,” he said.
According to the Commission’s report, four billion people worldwide find themselves excluded from the protections provided by the rule of law. In urban slums and rural villages, poor people often have no legal identity, no birth certificate, no legal address, no rights to their home or business, and no protection of their labour. It calls for focus on property, labour, entrepreneurial rights and access to justice. As a package, these rights can help prevent legal exclusion and foster economic and reduction in poverty.
“The financial downturn will threaten the security of land tenure of millions of working poor as they face destitution, forced eviction and land grabbing,” warned Mr. Hamid Rashid, UNDP Senior Advisor on legal empowerment. “With rising unemployment, wages are likely to fall, working conditions to deteriorate and labour rights to be violated,” he warned.
“Protection of law is essential for people living in poverty to shield them against oppression, create economic opportunities, and enable them to secure decent standards of living with dignity,” said Nicholas Rosellini, UNDP Deputy Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific.
The objectives, proposed activities of the programme and the expectations of local stakeholders were discussed during the workshop with the participation of representatives from the related United Nations Agencies (UNDP, UNESCO, UNWTO and UNICEF), Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the funding Spanish Government.
Opening remarks by Deputy Resident Representative of United Nations Development Programme Ulrika Richardson-Golinski, were followed by speeches from Counselor of Spanish Embassy Maria Molina Alvadrez de Toledo, Deputy General Directorate of Directorate of Investment and Establishments Ali Ağbal, Kars Mayor Naif Alibeyoğlu and Governor of Kars Mehmet Ufuk Erden.
Richardson-Golinski welcomed the participants of the workshop and indicated that the ownership of the local administration and the citizens and the leadership of Ministry of Culture and Tourism are the key factors for the sustainability of the project. Having explained the United Nations Millenium Development Goals, she also mentioned the role of Spanish Government as a partner as well as a donor.
Alvadrez de Toledo specified the significance of tourism activities for Spanish economy, especially by emphasizing the importance of the mobilization of cultural assets as a catalyst for generating tourism potential in the Spanish Case. She also underlined the role of Turkey as a strategic partner to Spain in many industries including Tourism and the potentials of the Kars region especially from a culture oriented point of view. Deputy Director Ağbal also pointed out that in addition to the invaluable historical and cultural heritage of the Kars region, Kars has a significant potential for the winter tourism.
Following the speech of Mayor of Kars Naif Alibeyoglu on the multicultural structure and local cultural assets of Kars, Governor of Kars Mehmet Ufuk Erden stated that in addition to being a cultural bridge within the region, Kars also owns tangible cultural heritage assets such as Ani and 331 registered civic architecture examples. Erden also said that Kars is one of the six “Women friendly cities” in Turkey and the existing and proposed developments will take place not only with the participation of government organizations, but also with other stakeholders including NGOs and local actors. He also made a reference to the Brand City Action Plan prepared for Kars, which lays out the list of projects to strengthen the ‘Kars Brand’ for tourism.
Subsequent to the opening remarks, Programme Manager Neşe Çakır presented the details of the “Alliances for Cultural Tourism in Eastern Anatolia” United Nations Joint Programme.
Şeyhmus Dinçel of Mardin Local Agenda 21 introduced the experiences of Mardin, which is a good example of cultural tourism development driven by local people. Presenting two key factors for mobilization of cultural tourism as local ownership and commitment to regional potentials, Dinçel also presented the effects of rapid urban transformation especially for the last fifteen years in the city. He also emphasized that, with increased awareness of cultural potential among local stakeholders, the trend of unplanned urbanization is now reversed.
In the second part of the workshop, Deputy Governor Doğan Demirdaş and Zeynep Şahin from the Directorate of Investment and Establishments of Ministry of Culture and Tourism presented an assessment of Kars within the Brand City concept. An evaluation of the correspondence of Kars Brand City Action Plan and the Joint Programme outputs has also been included in this section.
Final presentations were made on the possible support channels and partnerships which will be provided by World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Having presented the input of each agency, the workshop progressed with two working groups on the evaluation of culture and tourism in Kars.
The inception workshop was attended by the representatives of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the government partner of the Joint Programme, State Planning Organization, local authorities from Kars as well as business and civil society representatives from Kars. The workshop was instrumental in re-confirming the cultural potential of Kars, the commitment of local stakeholders for strengthening their competitiveness in cultural tourism and to emphasize linkages with the government strategies and priorities.
[BAGLANTILAR]