Report No. 25966-TN No. Report Report No. Tunisia25966-TN Country Environmental Analysis (1992 Tunisia Country Environmental Analysis (19922003) Final Report Public Disclosure Authorized April 2004 Water, Environment, Rural and Social Development Middle East and North Africa Region Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized 2003) Document of the World Bank Public Disclosure Authorized MAEHR Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Hydraulic Resources MCTT Ministry of Communications Technology and Transport MDG Millennium Development Goal MDIC Ministry of Development and Intemational Cooperation "UP Ministry of Equipment, Housing and Land Use Planning MENA Middle East and North Africa Region mTAP Mediterranean Environmental Technical Assistance Program ME Ministry of Industry and Energy MILD Ministry of Interior and Local Development MIP Municipal investment plan MPH Ministry of Public Health MTCH Ministry of Tourism, Commerce and Handicraft NACP National Agency for Coastal Protection and Management (MEHLUP) NAS National Authority for Sanitation NEPA National Environment Protection Agency (MAEHR) NGO Non governmental organization NREA National Renewable Energy Agency NSDC National Sustainable Development Commission NSF National Solidarity Fund (also called Fund 26-26) NWSP National Water Savings Program OECD Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development PPP Polluter-pays principle SEA Strategic Environmental Assessment SMAP Short- and medium-term priority environmental action program SONEDE Tunisian Company for Potable Water. STEG Tunisian Company for Electricity and Gas swc Soil and water conservation SWMNP Solid Waste Management National Program TALT Tunisian Agency for Land Transportation (MCTT) TCEA Tunisia Country Environmental Analysis TOESD Tunisian Observatory for the Environment and Sustainable Development TZEPF Tourist Zone Environmental Protection Fund UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change WSIP Water Sector Investments Program WTO World Trade Organization Vice-president: Christiann J. Poortman Country Director: Theodore Ahlers Sector Director : Letitia A. Obeng Sector Manager: Vijay Jaguannathan Task Team Leader (TTL) and co-TTL: Sherif Arif and Aziz Bouzaher .. 11 Acknowledgments The preparation of this report could not have been made possible without the excellent cooperation shown by the various teams involved in the project, in both the Tunisian Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Hydraulic Resources (MAEHR) and the World Bank. The report was prepared by a World Bank team which included Sherif Arif, project manager; Aziz Bouzaher, co-task team leader; Bernard Mosnier de Rochechinart, senior consultant for environmental institutions and policies; Mohamed Salah Bachta, consultant for natural resources, agriculture, and rural development; and Tahar Dalloua, consultant for the urban and industrial environment. The World Bank team is grateful for the assistance of H.E. Mr. Habib Haddad, Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Hydraulic Resources; H.E.H. Nadhir Hamada, former Secretary of State for Environment and now Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Mohammed Nabli, former Minister of Environment and Land Use Planning ; Kamel Ben Rejeb, General Director of the Multilateral Financial Cooperation; Abdemahman Gannoun, General Director, National Environment Protection Agency; Nejib Trabelsi, former General Director for Environment and Quality of Life, MAEHR; Belgacem Hanchi, General Director, International Center for Environmental Technologies of Tunis (ICETT); Nouri Soussi, Director Tunisian Observatory for the Environment and Sustainable Development (TOEST); Najeh Dali, General Director for Environment and Quality of Life, MAEHR; and Amel Benzarti, former General Director, ICETT. Valuable contributions were received from Jaiifar Friaii, Regional Coordinator for the Mediterranean Environmental Technical Assistance Program (METAP) solid waste program, and Samir Meddeb, Head of Department at Comete Engineering. The team would also like to express its gratitude to all those persons and institutions in Tunisia who contributed information and comments. They include: In MAEHR, Noureddine Ben Aha, Director for Industrial Environment; Mohamed Fakhfakh, Subdirector for Rural Drinking Water; S. Alatiti, Director for Water Savings, General Directorate, Rural Engineering (GD/RE); Nkjib Saiidi, Director, ACTA; Mongi ben Mhamed, Project Manager for Japanese-Funded Projects General Directorate of Forests; Sahbi Hajjaj, former General Director, IRESA (desertification and biodiversity); and Salem Haj Ali, in charge of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) project “Fisheries in the Mediterranean Sea” In the National Environment Protection Agency (NEPA), Mohamed Sa’ied; Mustapha Hannachi, Pollution Control and Mounir Ferchichi, Solid Waste Department In the National Agency for Coastal Protection, Hassouna Abdelmalek, General Director In the National Renewable Energy Agency (NREA), Ezzeddine Khalfallah, General Director; Mounir Bahri, Director for Energy Efficiency and Nejib Osman In the National Office of Sanitation (NOS), Khelil Attia, Chairman and General Manager; Nejib Abid, Directorate of Studies and Planning; and Abdelhakim Koundi, Directorate of Laboratories and Industrial Refuse In the Tunisian Company of Electricity and Gas (STEG), Salah Ben Jomaii and Mohieddine Mejri, General Directorate of Studies and Planning In the Tunisian Company for Water Exploitation and Distribution (SONEDE), Abdelaziz Limam, Director for Development and Planning; Ferid Turki, Director for Water Savings; and Fathi Kamel, Production Director, Southeast Region In the Ministry of Equipment, Housing and Land Use Planning (MEHLUP), Mohamed Marzouki, General Director for Land Use Planning, and Ali Ghazi Khedri, Director for Development Studies, General Directorate of Land Use Planning. iii 0 The team would like to express its appreciation to Kirk Hamilton, lead environmental economist, Maria Sarraf, environmental economist, and Carol Chouchani-Cherfane, consultant in trade and environment, for their contributions to the analysis in various sections of the report, and to Marie-Fransoise How Yew Kin for administrative organization and layout of the document. Finally, the team thanks Linda Linkar, Kirk Hamilton, and Robert Clement-Jones for their peer review of the report. The report was prepared with support from the World Bank Environment Mainstreaming Fund. iv Executive Summary General Context of the Country Environmental Analysis 1. Since gaining independence 40 years ago, Tunisia has achieved considerable economic and social progress. Its early emphasis on job creation and development of human capital, followed up by sustained institutional and economic reforms, has put the country on the path of sustainable development. 2. This progress has been coupled with undeniable success in environmental policies, initiated by the development in 1990 of a national environmental action plan (NEAP). A legal and institutional framework was established for the NEAP, and important environmental and natural resource conservation programs were financed under it. The creation in 1993 of the National Sustainable Development Commission (NSDP) confirmed Tunisia’s commitment to sustainability principles and its recognition that, in the long run, sustainability will require, more than ever the integration of environmental issues into social and economic development policies. 3. Ten years later, in pursuance of commitments made at the second Earth Summit, held in Johannesburg in September 2002, the Government decided to conduct a study, with World Bank assistance, to assess the progress achieved thus far and identify the required conditions for a greater and deeper integration of environmental sustainability into social and economic policy. The report “Tunisia Country Environmental Analysis” (TCEA) is an outcome of the study. 4. The main objectives of the CEA are (a) to facilitate the integration of environmental issues into sectoral development strategies, which could affect the sustainability of development in particular with respect to economic growth, poverty reduction, and quality of life, and (b) to improve, adapt, and strengthen institutional capacity and decision-making processes in line within this integration requirement and the international economic context. A very impressive record that needs to be perfected 5. A detailed analysis of the achievements of the past 10 years shows that, thanks to a deliberate strategy of deregulation, modemization, and integration of its economy into the global economy, Tunisia has made significant progress toward reaching most of the eight internationally agreed Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). 6. For example, over the period studied, poverty fell from 10 percent in 1990 to 7 percent in 1995 and to 4.1 percent in 2000. Primary education is accessible to all, and the enrollment ratio exceeds 98 percent. Women are guaranteed gender equality, access to work, and equal levels of remuneration. Child mortality is declining and is estimated at 25.8 deaths per 1,OOO live births. Maternal health is improving; the maternal mortality ratio does not exceed 70 deaths per 100,000 births (1995). The fight against HIV/AIDS and other epidemic and endemic diseases is regarded as progressing satisfactorily, and the goal of a global partnership for development is at the core of Tunisian policy. 7. Economic and social progress has provided favorable conditions for environmental