IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/endesu/v23y2021i3d10.1007_s10668-020-00722-0.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Decentralized governments: local empowerment and sustainable development challenges in Africa

Author

Listed:
  • George Atisa

    (University of Texas Rio Grande Valley)

  • Aziza Zemrani

    (University of Texas Rio Grande Valley)

  • Mathew Weiss

    (University of Texas Rio Grande Valley)

Abstract

This study examines the extent to which decentralization is being utilized as a vehicle for sustainable economic development outcomes at all levels of governance in Africa. Research shows that decentralization is missing the triple-bottom line of sustainability: economic, social and environmental prosperity that meets current needs and does not take away from future generations in regions settled by indigenous communities. In this study, selected peer-reviewed literature and reports from conservation organizations on decentralization are analyzed. This research explores ways decentralization can be integrated with sustainability to minimize the short-term and long-run consequences of human actions on the environment at local levels. Factors enabling local sustainability—the legal structures, mediating factors and the decision-making sphere—are used to identify sustainability processes and activities in the governance and decentralization outcomes. This study is guided by the argument made by the United Nations in Agenda 21 and the 2030 Agenda that local governments are best placed to implement sustainability through the development of programs that educate and engage with local communities. Under these circumstances, the best avenue to advance sustainable development initiatives is through the framework of decentralization in order to produce durable economic outcomes, minimize civil disputes and improve the living standards of local communities. The results demonstrate that there are no concrete national initiatives that have been developed to date to promote sustainability within the decentralization framework.

Suggested Citation

  • George Atisa & Aziza Zemrani & Mathew Weiss, 2021. "Decentralized governments: local empowerment and sustainable development challenges in Africa," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 3349-3367, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:endesu:v:23:y:2021:i:3:d:10.1007_s10668-020-00722-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s10668-020-00722-0
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10668-020-00722-0
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10668-020-00722-0?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Estache, Antonio & Garsous, Grégoire & Seroa da Motta, Ronaldo, 2016. "Shared Mandates, Moral Hazard, and Political (Mis)alignment in a Decentralized Economy," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 98-110.
    2. Dietz, Simon & Neumayer, Eric, 2007. "Weak and strong sustainability in the SEEA: Concepts and measurement," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(4), pages 617-626, March.
    3. Emilie Caldeira & Martial Foucault & Gregoire Rota-Graziosi, 2015. "Decentralization in Africa and the nature of local governments’ competition: evidence from Benin," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 22(6), pages 1048-1076, December.
    4. Loayza, Norman & Rigolini, Jamele, 2016. "The Local Impact of Mining on Poverty and Inequality: Evidence from the Commodity Boom in Peru," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 219-234.
    5. Vollan, Björn, 2012. "Pitfalls of Externally Initiated Collective Action: A Case Study from South Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(4), pages 758-770.
    6. Jose A. Puppim De Oliveira & Yijia Jing & Paul Collins & Paul Smoke, 2015. "Rethinking Decentralization: Assessing Challenges to a Popular Public Sector Reform," Public Administration & Development, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 35(2), pages 97-112, May.
    7. Victor, Peter A., 1991. "Indicators of sustainable development: some lessons from capital theory," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 4(3), pages 191-213, December.
    8. Heidhues, Franz & Obare, Gideon A., 2011. "Lessons from Structural Adjustment Programmes and their Effects in Africa," Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture, Humboldt-Universitaat zu Berlin, vol. 50(1), pages 1-10, February.
    9. United Nations UN, 2015. "Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," Working Papers id:7559, eSocialSciences.
    10. George Atisa, 2020. "Policy adoption, legislative developments, and implementation: the resulting global differences among countries in the management of biological resources," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 141-159, March.
    11. Kumar, Kundan & Singh, Neera M. & Kerr, John M., 2015. "Decentralisation and democratic forest reforms in India: Moving to a rights-based approach," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 1-8.
    12. Bruce, John W. & Knox, Anna, 2009. "Structures and Stratagems: Making Decentralization of Authority over Land in Africa Cost-Effective," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(8), pages 1360-1369, August.
    13. Okojie, Christiana, 2009. "Decentralization and public service delivery in Nigeria:," NSSP working papers 4, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    14. World Bank, 2008. "An Evaluation of Bank Support for Decentralization in Client Countries," World Bank Publications - Reports 10595, The World Bank Group.
    15. Isabel B. Franco & Jose A. Puppim de Oliveira & Saleem H. Ali, 2018. "Peace with Hunger: Colombia’s Checkered Experience with Post-Conflict Sustainable Community Development in Emerald-Mining Regions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-17, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sidra Naeem & Rana Ejaz Ali Khan, 2021. "Fiscal Decentralization and Gender Equality in Developing Economies: Dynamics of Income Groups in Economies and Corruption," Asian Economic and Financial Review, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 11(9), pages 745-761, September.
    2. Peterson K. Ozili, 2022. "Sustainability and Sustainable Development Research around the World," Managing Global Transitions, University of Primorska, Faculty of Management Koper, vol. 20(3 (Fall)), pages 259-293.
    3. Elvis Dze Achuo & Simplice A. Asongu & Vanessa S. Tchamyou, 2022. "Women empowerment and environmental sustainability in Africa," Working Papers of the African Governance and Development Institute. 22/004, African Governance and Development Institute..

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nikos Chatzistamoulou & Phoebe Koundouri, 2020. "The Economics of Sustainable Development," DEOS Working Papers 2005, Athens University of Economics and Business.
    2. Olivier E. Malay, 2021. "How to Articulate Beyond GDP and Businesses’ Social and Environmental Indicators?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 155(1), pages 1-25, May.
    3. Rickels, Wilfried & Weigand, Christian & Grasse, Patricia & Schmidt, Jörn Oliver & Voss, Rüdiger, 2018. "Does the European Union achieve comprehensive blue growth? Progress of EU coastal states in the Baltic and North Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean against sustainable development Goal 14," Kiel Working Papers 2112, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    4. Parita Shah & George Atisa, 2021. "Environmental education and awareness: the present and future key to the sustainable management of Ramsar convention sites in Kenya," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 21(4), pages 611-630, December.
    5. Paul Ekins, 2014. "Strong sustainability and critical natural capital," Chapters, in: Giles Atkinson & Simon Dietz & Eric Neumayer & Matthew Agarwala (ed.), Handbook of Sustainable Development, chapter 4, pages 55-71, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    6. Olivier E. Malay, 2020. "How to articulate beyond GDP and businesses’ social and environmental indicators?," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2020014, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    7. António da Silva Gonçalves, Vítor & Mil-Homens dos Santos, Feliz José, 2019. "Energy management system ISO 50001:2011 and energy management for sustainable development," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    8. Mamoun Walid ARIDAH & Ghanim Ahmed KAMIL & Areej Ahmad HAMAD, 2020. "The effect of adding corporate environmental reports in the annual financial reports on corporate governance and sustainable development of companies in Jordan," Smart Cities International Conference (SCIC) Proceedings, Smart-EDU Hub, vol. 8, pages 411-440, November.
    9. Louis Dupuy, 2012. "International Trade and Sustainability : A survey," Working Papers hal-00701426, HAL.
    10. Louis Dupuy, 2012. "International Trade and Sustainability: A survey," Larefi Working Papers 201201, Larefi, Université Bordeaux 4.
    11. Brennan Lowery & John Dagevos & Ratana Chuenpagdee & Kelly Vodden, 2020. "Storytelling for sustainable development in rural communities: An alternative approach," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(6), pages 1813-1826, November.
    12. Visbeck, Martin & Kronfeld-Goharani, Ulrike & Neumann, Barbara & Rickels, Wilfried & Schmidt, Jörn & van Doorn, Erik, 2013. "Establishing a sustainable development goal for oceans and coasts to face the challenges of our future ocean," Kiel Working Papers 1847, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    13. Kelly Krawczyk & Raymond Muhula, 2018. "Engaging decentralization in an uncertain political context: Lessons from Liberia," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 36(3), pages 369-386, May.
    14. Paulina Schiappacasse & Bernhard Müller & Le Thuy Linh, 2019. "Towards Responsible Aggregate Mining in Vietnam," Resources, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-15, August.
    15. Pina Puntillo, 2023. "Circular economy business models: Towards achieving sustainable development goals in the waste management sector—Empirical evidence and theoretical implications," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(2), pages 941-954, March.
    16. Schlör, Holger & Venghaus, Sandra & Hake, Jürgen-Friedrich, 2018. "The FEW-Nexus city index – Measuring urban resilience," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 210(C), pages 382-392.
    17. Jean-Louis Combes & Alexandru Minea & Pegdéwendé Nestor Sawadogo, 2019. "Assessing the effects of combating illicit financial flows on domestic tax revenue mobilization in developing countries," CERDI Working papers halshs-02019073, HAL.
    18. Nelson, Ewan & Warren, Peter, 2020. "UK transport decoupling: On track for clean growth in transport?," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 39-51.
    19. Opschoor, J. (Hans) B., 1995. "Ecospace and the fall and rise of throughput intensity," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 137-140, November.
    20. Ibrahim Ari & Muammer Koc, 2018. "Sustainable Financing for Sustainable Development: Understanding the Interrelations between Public Investment and Sovereign Debt," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-25, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:endesu:v:23:y:2021:i:3:d:10.1007_s10668-020-00722-0. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.