Environmental sustainability

Plans in place but implementation limited, resulting in continued deforestation, loss of biodiversity and land degradation.

Key commitments

Africa: African countries have committed to integrate sustainability into development planning since the 1992 Rio Conference and continue to recognise the opportunities from transitioning to a green economy. They have ratified the three Rio Conventions: the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), and the UN Framework Conference on Climate Change (UNFCCC), components of which have also been adopted in AU conventions In a 2011 consensus statement on Rio+20, African countries committed to enhance efforts to improve national environment governance and strengthen partnerships with non-traditional actors and the private sector.

Development partners: Partners have ratified these multilateral agreements and have committed to support African efforts to achieve sustainable development based on concrete actions for the implementation of Agenda 21. They agreed to significantly reduce the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010 (MDG7), and have committed to promote sustainable forest management and tackle illegal activities such as logging and illicit trade in wildlife. The forthcoming Rio+20 Summit will generate commitments on: (a) a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication; and (b) the institutional framework for sustainable development.

What has been done to deliver on these commitments?

Africa: African governments have developed and commenced national strategies incorporating economic, social, environmental and institutional dimensions of sustainable development. While some initiatives have moved to action, implementation is generally weak and effectiveness has been limited. Inadequate institutional capacity, poor data and weak priority setting are key constraints, compounded by limited political voice and budgetary resources of Environment Ministries.
CBD: 51 African countries have completed national biodiversity strategies and action plans (NBSAP). Of these five have revised their plans and five are under revision. Two-thirds of African countries are developing or implementing national forest programmes. Regional partnerships and programmes to promote sustainable forestry management have been established. Almost 17% of Africa’s forests have management plans and more than 1% of all of forest estates (74,000 km2) has been given FSC certification.
UNCCD: Nearly all African countries have developed National Action Programmes to combat desertification and implementation has commenced in some countries. Five Sub-regional Action Programmes and coordinating organisations have been finalised and a Regional Action Programme (RAP) has been developed with support from the African Development Bank. The Great Green Wall for the Sahara and the Sahel Initiative - a priority action of the African Union–European Union Partnership on Climate Change to catalyse sustainable development and poverty reduction in desert margins north and south of the Sahara - is now being implemented by one African country.

Development partners: The Global Environment Facility (GEF) has supported over 872 projects in Africa worth US$2.3 billion since 1991. In its fifth replenishment (2010), the GEF adopted a funding mechanism for sustainable forest management. In 2011, 70 projects were implemented in 44 African countries with US$999 million country investments (of which US$261 million GEF grants). The TerrAfrica Initiative, an international partnership launched in 2005, has leveraged US$1 billion to scale up sustainable land and water management in over 25 African countries working with NEPAD in the framework of CAADP. 15 African countries are receiving technical assistance to implement Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+), a UNFCCC mechanism designed as an incentive for sustainable management of forests, while contributing to climate mitigation by creating a financial value for the carbon stored in standing trees. The Congo Basin Forest Fund has approved funding for over 40 projects in five Central African countries, with several aimed at building readiness for REDD+ in the Congo Basin.

Jointly: At the Conference of the Parties of the CBD, world governments established the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization and adopted more clearly defined biodiversity targets.

What results have been achieved?

Weak or ineffective environment policies and poor implementation have rendered environmental performance a serious concern in Africa. All but one African country fell in the bottom half of the 2010 Environmental Performance Index (EPI), which ranks 163 countries over 25 performance indicators assessing performance against established environmental policy goals. In terms of trends, nine African countries are among moderate to strong performers while 11 are among the declining to worst performers.
CBD: MDG7 was not met in Africa at the end of 2010, though it has helped stimulate action to safeguard biodiversity. 23 African countries have, however, reached a target of having at least 10% of their territorial and marine areas protected, compared to 19 countries in 1990.

Bio-diversity information remains patchy. Africa has the highest risk of extinction of medicinal plants (over 50%) with concomitant risks for health and livelihoods. Species diversity is also declining: the Afrotropical Living Planet Index, which monitors changes in the population of vertebrate species across most of the continent, declined by 18% between 1970 and 2007.

Although Africa continues to experience deforestation, forest losses have slowed between 1990 and 2010, particularly in North Africa. Africa’s total area of planted forests grew from 11.6 to 15.3 million hectares between 1990 and 2010, with the largest area in North Africa. About 14% of the total forest area in Africa is designated for biodiversity conservation and is growing at 0.7% per annum. However, there has been an overall decline in primary forest area - area showing no visible indications of human activity - with a drop by 6% over the last five years. As a result, Africa has the lowest share of primary forest of all continents.

UNCCD: Two-thirds of Africa is classified as deserts or dry lands, concentrated in the Sahelian region, the Horn of Africa and the Kalahari Desert in Southern Africa. Soil erosion from overgrazing, unsustainable agricultural practices and illegal timber logging, aggravated by climate change, play a major role in overall land degradation, which affects almost two-thirds of the African population. 

While some initiatives have moved to action, implementation is generally weak and effectiveness has been limited. Inadequate institutional capacity, poor data and weak priority setting are key constraints, often compounded by limited political voice and budgetary resources of Environment Ministries. Funding, including innovative financial solutions, merits more attention. As the result of weak or ineffective implementation, all but one African country fell in the bottom half of the 2010 Environmental Performance Index (EPI), which ranks 163 countries over 25 performance indicators that assess performance against established environmental policy goals.

What are the future priority actions?

Africa
• National governments, with the support of the RECs, to better integrate environmental policies and programmes into national development plans;
• Accelerate their implementation, taking into account the food security and energy crisis that severely hit African economies;
• Facilitate policy coordination between local, national and regional decision-making levels to foster environmental policies.

Development partners
• Strengthen the priority given to environmental concerns in development assistance policies and programmes in Africa;
• Increase support for the implementation of green growth policies in Africa;
• Put an international investment strategy in place to facilitate the transition towards a green economy following the Rio+20 Summit, as requested by African countries;
• Fully implement commitments made under international conventions and treaties.