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The
African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) was established
in December 1985, following a conference of African ministers of
environment held in Cairo , Egypt . Its mandate is to provide advocacy for
environmental protection in Africa; to ensure that basic human needs are
met adequately and in a sustainable manner; to ensure that social and
economic development is realized at all levels; and to ensure that
agricultural activities and practices meet the food security needs of the
region.
AMCEN has
continued to give guidance in respect of key political events related to
the environment, including multilateral environmental agreements. AMCEN
has also led the process for the development of the action plan for the
Environment Initiative for the New Partnership for Africa 's Development (NEPAD).
AMCEN is currently guiding the process for the implementation of the
action plan for the environment initiative of NEPAD, including its work
programme for the biennium 2005-2006. The Ministerial Conference prompted
and encouraged the preparation of the comprehensive regional report on the
state of Africa 's environment, Africa Environment Outlook (AEO)
, by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
The AEO
process has been adopted by AMCEN as its instrument for monitoring and
reporting on the environment. Additionally, AMCEN successfully facilitated
the revision of the 1968 African Convention on the Conservation of Nature
and Natural Resources (Algiers Convention). Measures are being taken to
strengthen the linkages between AMCEN and the region's two marine and
coastal conventions, namely, the Convention for the Protection, Management
and Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the Eastern
African Region (Nairobi Convention) and the Convention for Cooperation in
the Protection and Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment of
the West and Central African Region (Abidjan Convention).
AMCEN has
continued to pay particular attention to the implementation of
environmental conventions established in furtherance to the United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development (Earth Summit) in 1992, such as
the Convention on Biological Diversity and its Cartagena Protocol on
Biosafety, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in
Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification,
Particularly in Africa, and the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol.
The main
challenges facing AMCEN are two fold: namely, gross financial difficulties
and the rather complex organizational structure adopted by the Ministerial
Conference.
For more
information on AMCEN, previous sessions held and other information,
readers are directed to:
AMCEN's page on UNEP's website
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