Decentralization and Local Authorities Capacity- Building for Facing to the Environment and Energy Management Challenges in African Cities

Abstract

The environment and energy management in many African cities remains problematical and is one of the main handicaps for the African Millennium Development Goals success. The major obstacle to this challenge is the poverty which characterizes some African societies in general and low-income households in particular. The African decision-makers should be able to overcome all these problems by improving the citizens well being with particular emphasis on poor people because they are the first who are suffering from the negative effects of environmental degradation. As a driving force for development, the energy should be modernized and rationally distributed for enabling to everyone, from all socio-economic sectors, to have access to it without difficulty. The objective of this study was to provide briefly an overview of environment and energy management challenges in African cities, to suggest to decision-makers in the area a participative adaptation to the different international conventions according to the needs and rights of citizens paramount and the various country constraints. For a better implementation of environment and energy management in African cities, the respective governments should focus on the decentralization policy and strengthening capacity-building for local authorities.