Regional environmental policies fast track plan by African ministers

African Ministers of the environment have agreed to accelerate action in making regional environment policies with effective mechanisms for implementation. During the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) in Durban, South Africa, the ministers discussed the need for African countries to take practical action in order for the continent to attain environmental sustainability and prosperity and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Africa’s Agenda 2063. These include implementation of policies, relevant regional and global frameworks.

The ministers called for the involvement of youth and women in environmental conservation. They also committed themselves to continue taking tangible actions to address environmental challenges and climate actions. “We have seen African Ministers of the Environment demonstrate a powerful commitment to environmental protection, sustainable development, and to transforming policy into action,” said Joyce Msuya, Deputy Executive Director of UNEP. They also committed to take measures to evaluate their progress in implementation of their decisions and address emerging issues and reaffirmed their commitment to use all policy tools at national and regional levels to achieve environmental and sustainable development programmes with a goal of achieving Agenda 2063 of the African Union and 2030 Agenda.