In a Ministerial declaration issued on Thursday at the closing of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment, African governments agreed to enhance innovative solutions and build human capital capacity to achieve sustainable development in Africa around the environment.

“The environment is the foundation and the basis of the social and economic development of our countries,” said Kenya Cabinet Secretary for Environment Keriako Tobiko.

He added that it is necessary to enhance the wealth from Africa’s rich biodiversity in forests, rangelands, wildlife and marine resources.

Under the theme “Turning environmental policies into action through environmental solutions” the Ministers came together from September 17 to 18 to mobilise political support and committed to integrating solutions into their countries’ national development agendas.

At the conference, Ministers stressed the need to empower innovators, the private sector, small, medium-sized and microenterprises and civil society to adopt new approaches to address environmental challenges.

They agreed to support Pan-African platforms on the environment to promote and share experiences and solutions across the continent.

These Ministerial commitments are especially necessary to achieve the objectives of the African Union Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, said Morocco Environment Minister Dr Nezha El Ouafi.

The Ministers also called on the United Nations (UN) Environment Assembly and UN Environment Programme to lend greater assistance to achieving Africa’s objectives.

“The environment is central to human health; every year almost 12.6-million people die from hidden risks in the environment,” said World Health Organisation director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom, calling on African governments to put human and environmental health at the centre of policymaking in all sectors.

PLANS FORWARD

Around biological diversity, African governments recognised the urgent need to combat land degradation and restore ecosystems.

A Pan-African action agenda is being prepared to respond to land and ecosystem degradation challenges. The Ministers agreed to develop common positions on various priority issues and speak with one voice during the upcoming 2018 UN Biodiversity Conference, which will be held in Egypt in November.

The priorities will inform the post-2020 biodiversity framework and the Convention on Biological Diversity.

On climate change, the Ministers stressed that the outcomes of the twenty-fourth Conference of the Parties should reflect the spirit of the 2015 Paris Agreement.

The outcomes should balance between the agreement’s elements related to action, support and transparency. Adaptation and finance should be core elements for effective operationalisation of the agreement.

The Ministers emphasised the importance of enhancing accessibility, predictability and sustainability of means of implementation, in particular finance. They agreed to work constructively to deliver the mandate of the Paris Agreement Work Programme.

Around health and environment, the Ministers agreed to actively participate in the third Inter-Ministerial Conference on Health and Environment in Africa, in Libreville, in October.

The theme will be “Health and environment strategic alliance: a catalysis for action on the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa.”