The Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Environmental Protection Agency of Liberia (EPA), Dr. Emmanuel Urey King Yarkpawolo, attended the 10th Special Session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) in Abidjan, Cote D'Ivoire.
The conference, which was held from September 5-6, 2024, focused on "Raising Africa's ambition to address land degradation, desertification, and drought."
Ms. Fitsum Aseefa Adela, Minister of Planning and Development of Ethiopia and President of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment, extended the session's invitation to the EPA.
It was held in partnership with the African Development Bank, the United Nations Environment Programme, and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, among other partners. It was preceded by a regional preparatory meeting for the 16th Session of the Conference to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, which took place from 30th August to 2nd September, and a major groups and stakeholders meeting was held from 1 to 2 September 2024.
The Session deliberated on the following: Africa's Drought Mitigation efforts, progress on land degradation neutrality targets, opportunities to enhance ecosystem restoration, and partnerships and synergies to enhance resource mobilization to address land degradation, desertification, and drought. Additionally, the Session provided policy guidance for the effective participation of African Countries in the 16th Session of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (COP) to be held in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia (2-13 December 2024).
During the AMCEN's Special Session, the ministers were briefed on preparations for the twenty-ninth session of the Conference of the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change; the sixteenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity; and the fifth session of the intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including the marine environment.
The AMCEN Meeting concluded with the adoption of one declaration and three decisions: Abidjan Declaration on raising Africa's ambition to reduce desertification, land degradation, and drought- The declaration mainly called for the establishment of a legally binding protocol on drought management and enhancing resilience within the framework of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification(UNCCD) in those countries experiencing Serious Drought and Desertification, particularly in Africa.
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The decision on Climate Change, among others, called for the adoption of an ambitious and outcome-based New Collective Quantified Goal on climate finance (NCQG) at COP29 that will support developing countries' transitions to low carbon and climate resilient development through implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs.
Opportunities to raise ambition to combat desertification and land degradation and enhance drought resilience in Africa - This decision, among others, called for member States to put in place measures on securing land tenure rights for indigenous peoples and local communities, including small-scale land users, farmers, women, youth, to support the achievement of land degradation neutrality targets;
Omnibus decision on advancing Africa's common positions at conferences of parties and meetings--This decision, among other things, commended the African Group of Negotiators on Plastic Pollution for articulating African priorities during the third and fourth sessions of the Intergovernmental Negotiation Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution.
The African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) was established in Cairo, Egypt, in December 1985. The Mandate of AMCEN is to provide advocacy for environmental protection in Africa, to ensure that basic human needs are met adequately and in a sustainable manner, to ensure that social and economic development is realized at all levels, and to ensure that agricultural activities and practices meet the food security needs of the region.
