Experts challenged to produce indicators for measuring, tracking progress on sustainable development in Africa
ECA Press Release No. 18/2011
Addis Ababa, 10 March 2011 (ECA) - The Director of the Food Security and Sustainable Development Division (FSSD) of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Mr. Josue Dione, today opened a two-day workshop on Sustainable Development Indicator Framework for Africa with a call on participants to come out with concrete recommendations on measuring and tracking progress on sustainable development in Africa in a more systematic and effective manner.
He told the Information and Communications Service (ICS) of ECA that the workshop forms part of the regional preparations for the forthcoming United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio+20 to be presented and hopefully, endorsed by the African Union Heads of State Summit of January 2012,
It is organised by ECA, in partnership with the African Union Commission (AUC), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with participants from the NEPAD Agency as well as from the Regional Economic Communities.
Mr. Dione recalled out that in line with its mandate ECA launched the production of the Sustainable Development Report on Africa (SDRA) in 2004/2005. It is a medium for monitoring and assessing sustainable development in Africa, and for promoting a balanced integration of the three pillars of sustainable development.
SDRA occupies a unique and important niche in promoting the development and implementation of sustainable development policies, plans and programmes in the region, especially as the World Summit on Sustainable Development had tasked the United Nations Regional Commissions, in collaboration with other UN agencies, regional and sub regional organizations, to foster sustainable development through promoting the balanced integration of the economic, social and environmental pillars of sustainable development.
So far, three issues of the SDRA have been produced under different themes: the first, “Managing Land-Based Resources for Sustainable Development”; the second, “Five-Year Review of the Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development Outcomes in Africa (WSSD+5)”; and the third, “Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) for Sustainable Growth and Poverty Reduction.”
The fourth issue of the SDRA (SDRA IV) that is under preparation is in two parts. The first part provides an assessment of the status of sustainable development in the region using indicators that cover the social, economic, environmental and institutional dimensions; while the second part provides a critical analysis of the contribution of selected sectors to sustainable growth and development in the region, Mr. Dione added.
The selection of the sectors is informed by decisions of the Committee on Food Security and Sustainable Development, which takes into account the multi-year programme of work of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (UN-CSD).
In addition to providing a comprehensive assessment of the status of sustainable development in the region, it will provide a critical analysis and show-case the contribution of forests, biodiversity, biotechnology, tourism and mountains to sustainable growth and development in the region. Its theme is “Managing Africa’s natural resource base for sustainable growth and development”.
Other preparatory activities include the workshop on institutional and strategic frameworks for sustainable development in Africa that ended in Addis Ababa yesterday and reports on “new emerging challenges to advancing Africa’s sustainable development agenda, and the Green Economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication.
The Addis Ababa workshop is being attended by experts with wide-ranging expertise and experience in sustainable development and by representatives of leading development institutions in Africa, including Dr. Abebe Haile Gabriel, Director, Rural Economy and Agriculture, of the African Union Commission; Mr Mounkaila Goumandakoye, Director, Regional Office for Africa, of the United Nations Environment Programme; Mr Ian Rector, Manager, Energy and Environment Group, of the United Nations Development Programme; and Mr Ken B. Johm, Manager, Natural Resources and Environment, of the African Development Bank.
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Addis Ababa Ethiopia
Tel: 251 11 5445098 Fax: +251-11-551 03 65 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.uneca.org
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