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| By Achim Steiner, Under Secretary General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya |
Africa’s leaders looking to economic priorities for the continent should be putting the environment high on the list. Report after report is now demonstrating that sustainable management of Africa’s natural resources is one of the keys for overcoming poverty. Sensitively, creatively and sustainably harvested and fairly shared, these resources can assist in meeting – and going far beyond – the internationally agreed development goals.
The 20th century was an industrial age – the 21st century is becoming increasingly a biological one. Africa, with its natural wealth or “nature capital” residing in its ecosystems – from forests to coral reefs – can be a leading player on this multi-billion dollar stage. Africa’s wealth of natural resources has always been an asset and has sustained its people during good and hard times. But their true value, the sheer scale of the wealth from Africa’s freshwaters and landscapes to its minerals and marine resources, has been invisible in economic terms. Only now are we getting glimpses, only now are the real economic figures coming to the fore. Read more here...
The 20th century was an industrial age – the 21st century is becoming increasingly a biological one. Africa, with its natural wealth or “nature capital” residing in its ecosystems – from forests to coral reefs – can be a leading player on this multi-billion dollar stage. Africa’s wealth of natural resources has always been an asset and has sustained its people during good and hard times. But their true value, the sheer scale of the wealth from Africa’s freshwaters and landscapes to its minerals and marine resources, has been invisible in economic terms. Only now are we getting glimpses, only now are the real economic figures coming to the fore. Read more here...
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