Posted on July, 05 2002

Kampala, Uganda - The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) offers one of the last few possibilities for turning around the upcoming World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) to yield real results for people, WWF says. WWF believes the New African Partnership provides "a good vision and framework" for delivering sustainable development by integrating environmental and economic issues in addressing poverty and other social issues. The Partnership also provides a basis for developing concrete, time-bound, and measurable action programmes that can finally kick-start the implementation of Agenda 21 and the various conventions initiated at the 1992 Earth Summit. "We see a lot of potential in NEPAD turning the WSSD into a success. It stands a fairly good chance for international recognition and support if it evolves a solid implementation programme," said WWF International Director General, Dr Claude Martin. Dr Martin, speaking at the 9th session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN), asked African governments to show leadership and commitment, unlike some of their counterparts in the North. "So far the reluctance to commit to action by certain OECD countries has thrown into jeopardy the very essence of multi-lateralism upon which we rely," Dr Martin commented. "It is essential that the WSSD does not simply end up with declarations and voluntary pledges, but instead concrete commitments with targets and time-frames." Dr Martin urged African countries to strengthen the NEPAD Environment Initiative by mainstreaming environment issues within all of NEPAD's programmes, from the planning to implementation stages, rather than treating them as isolated sectoral issues. "The fact that there is no mention of environment in NEPAD's final sections on implementation is a cause for concern. WWF encourages African governments to integrate environmental concerns in all of its programmes and to adopt concrete targets in order to ensure that Africa's growth and development are based on good environmental stewardship," Dr Martin said. WWF has tabled comprehensive proposals on how to strengthen the NEPAD Environment Initiative before the high-level Ministerial segment of the AMCEN meeting. WWF is further petitioning African governments to make a strong case for the WSSD conference. For further information: Catherine Mgendi Communications Manager, WWF Eastern Africa E-mail: cmgendi@wwfearpo.org