Sustainability of New Zealand's Official Development Assistance (ODA) programme

Abstract

Aid is one of the is one of the primary determinants for the use of natural resources in the South Pacific islands region. In many cases, aid has negative environmental and social impacts in this ecologically fragile region.

This study is concerned with assessing the effectiveness of the New Zealand Overseas Development Assistance (NZ ODA) programme in terms of promoting sustainable development in the region. To do so NZ ODA policies and practice are viewed in the context of development theory. The concept of sustainable development is explained to provide criteria by which to judge the effectiveness of NZ ODA. Development is judged to be sustainable if it does not result in environmental degradation and if it serves to promote greater social equity.

Analyses of the motivations underlying the distribution of NZ ODA and of the institutional structure through which New Zealand aid is administered, as well as a case study of NZ ODA forestry projects show that, in many cases, NZ ODA does not contribute to sustainable development. Instead, NZ ODA is primarily geared towards the achievement of short term economic and political goals.

NZ ODA is first and foremost a foreign policy tool used to increase New Zealand's influence and prestige internationally and to promote New Zealand's economic interest. Foreign policy and economic goals conflict with the achievement of ecologically sound and socially equitable development. Despite "basic needs" and "sustainable development" rhetoric NZ ODA practice is primarily informed by modernization theory with its emphasis on the achievement of economic growth as the main developmental goal.

The study concludes with a discussion of changes necessary to make the NZ ODA programme more conducive to the requirements for sustainable development in recipient countries. Changes include modifications to the existing aid 'tool kit', such as improvements to the existing social and environmental impact procedures. More fundamentally, changes to staff attitudes and composition as well as a possible reorganization of the institutional structure through which aid is administered are required.