African Countries-European Union Circular Economy Cooperation: The Need for Public Policy Support and Familiarization of Circular Economy in African Countries

As a system that tries to bridge economic development and sustainability, the circular economy has gained enormous attention from developing countries as in the African continent. In the progression, African nations are fostering cooperation to enhance the implementation of a circular economy, particularly with countries that have implemented a circular economy, such as countries in European Union. Cooperation with European Union nations will not only enhance the capacity in innovation and technology for implementing a circular economy but also can be utilized to forge good public policies and alter African countries' societies to adopt circular economy values in their economic activities.

Since the joint declaration between African Union and European Union was signed in 2017, the government of both regional countries has coincided with the cooperation on accelerating the circular economy in African nations. This commitment has been implemented through various initiatives namely funding, technology advancement, public policy dialogues, and market access to the African circular economy. In 2014, European Union and African countries' cooperation has also been implemented through the SWITCH Africa Green mechanism which is funded by European Union that also involves United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to support green economic development and sustainability in the African region.

Regionally, some African nations have arranged several multilateral cooperation fora to proliferate circular economy implementation in the region. In 2016, African Circular Economy Network (ACEN) is formed by practitioners and experts in order to enhance the technology and innovation capabilities through collaboration between developed and developing nations. In 2017, African Circular Economy Alliances (ACEA) is formed by an agreement between three nations namely; Rwanda, Nigeria, and South Africa. ACEA is aimed as a coordination forum between the nations to implement the projects and programs related to the circular economy. Besides the involvement of government officials, circular economy acceleration is also supported by professionals. Lately, in 2019 African countries through African Ministerial Conference on the Economy (AMCEN) have declared Durban Declaration to ramp up the policy-making efforts to enhance circular economy implementation in the region.

Nationally, African countries have developed several initiatives which could be categorized as circular economy practices, such as waste management, the efficiency of energy and water use, and the re-utilization of second-hand materials in producing products. Several countries in Africa have focused on developing a circular economy, for instance, South Africa which focuses on enhancing circular economy implementation in manufacturing, renewable energy, and waste management (Tahulela & Ballard, 2020) while Ghana and Nigeria have started to focus on e-waste management (Maphosa & Maphosa, 2020). Despite some initiatives, in the public policy aspect, there is impreciseness in categorizing practices as the circular economy. Furthermore, the public policy related to the circular economy has not been comprehensively arranged.

Even though the discussion of African countries and European Union cooperation still revolves around the aspects of technology and financial aid, in several cooperation agreements and discussions, both parties agreed that aspects of public policy-making and society recognizant in African societies are of the utmost importance to develop and enhance the circular economy implementation in the region, especially in doing cooperation with European Union both regionally and nationally.

In public policies, African nations are still unable to compose holistic policies to enhance the circular economy practices and mechanisms. According to Desmond and Asamba, the discussion of policy proposals to accelerate the implementation of a circular economy has been discussed widely in some African countries in recent years yet is still debated to be legalized (Desmond & Asamba, 2019). In South Africa for example, the circular economy in the manufacturing industry has not yet been holistically ruled by the government. The absence of holistic policy, clear standardization, and also rules for manufacturing companies become obstacles for the companies to implementing the circular economy (Ohiomah & Sukdeo, 2022).

Through the international cooperation mechanism with European Union, African nations have the potential to develop a more holistic public policy in order to develop circular economy implementation as some of the European nations have accomplished in their domestic economic system. As Wadee and Tilkanen argue that despite the circular economy is a new terminology within African nations, practices that are considered circular economy have been implemented in African countries. However, circular economy policies in African nations have not been implemented in an inclusive manner by not involving various parties who should have taken part in the policy-making of the circular economy. Hence, the cooperation with European Union may give reference to African nations in shaping public policy to implement a circular economy. Furthermore, the success of the European Union in developing a circular economy system is determined by the mechanism that propels society and companies to adopt circular economy principles in their business enterprises and community activities.

In addition to policy-making cooperation, collaboration with European Union should also be carried out at the stage of implementing the policies in the development of circular economy. According to the Trinomics report,  debilitating implementation of policies and laws still widely occurs despite the existence of policies and laws that propel companies to adhere to circular economy practices.  Even in some African countries, sustainability policies and laws may be eluded through corruption (Forson et al., 2017). Accordingly, this issue should also become a concern between parties in doing cooperation especially to ensure the implementation of circular economy policies that have been shaped. Arguably, African nations should not only focus on the policy-making process but also on the supervision and the implementation of policies, particularly for business companies in Africa. 

In addition to the need for holistic public policy support, the development of a circular economy system in Africa must also pay attention to aspects of changing the behavior of people and businesses in Africa. The practice of circular economy does not merely involve business actors but also consumers who use these products. Unfortunately, the majority of African societies have not recognized circular economy practices well until now. As Zubrugg et al., (2014) argue that well recognition and understanding of circular economy practices are matter since the research reveals that the success of waste management in developing countries not only depend on good policy and state institution but also relies on the acceptance and understanding of society towards circular economy ideas. 

To resolve the problems, by enhancing cooperation with European Union as Denmark and Indonesia have done, African nations may initiate conferences or workshops to discuss the circular economy that includes important stakeholders, particularly society and businesses. Through discussions and conferences that entail European Union, the African nations may ameliorate their understanding and acceptance of the societies of circular economy. Information exchanges and workshops on practicing circular economy may raise societies’ understanding of circular economy. 

Among many complex issues which become challenges in implementing circular economy in African nations, public policy formulation and implementation related to the circular economy have become the major challenges for African countries in enhancing circular economy practices. Furthermore, societies and businesses' familiarization with circular economy principles and practices is crucial in institutionalizing circular economy values in African nations. Hence, despite the regional cooperation that has been underway through African and European Union cooperation, there is still a need to enhance cooperation with European Union countries that have developed circular economy, particularly in the process of public policy-making, and to familiarize the societies with circular economy practices. The existence of holistic public policies and circular economy practices institutionalization in society arguably will accelerate circular economy practices in African countries that can be achieved through cooperation with European countries which are at the forefront of implementing a circular economy worldwide. 

References

Desmond, P., & Asamba, M. (2019). Accelerating the transition to a circular economy in Africa (pp. 152–172). https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429434006-9

Forson, J. A., Buracom, P., Chen, G., & Baah-Ennumh, T. Y. (2017). Genuine Wealth Per Capita as a Measure of Sustainability and the Negative Impact of Corruption on Sustainable Growth in Sub-Sahara Africa. South African Journal of Economics, 85(2), 178–195.

Maphosa, V., & Maphosa, M. (2020). E-waste management in Sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic literature review. Cogent Business & Management, 7(1), 1814503. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2020.1814503

Ohiomah, I., & Sukdeo, N. (2022). Challenges of the South African economy to transition to a circular economy: A case of remanufacturing. Journal of Remanufacturing. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13243-021-00108-z

Tahulela, A., & Ballard, H. (2020). Developing the Circular Economy in South Africa: Challenges and Opportunities (pp. 125–133). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-7071-7_11

Zurbrügg, C., Caniato, M., & Vaccari, M. (2014). How Assessment Methods Can Support Solid Waste Management in Developing Countries—A Critical Review. Sustainability, 6, 545–570. https://doi.org/10.3390/su6020545