African Ministerial Conference on Environment underway in Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa. August 14, 2023 (FBC) – The 19th Ordinary Session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) kicked off this morning at Skylight Hotel, in Addis Ababa.

The conference is scheduled to be held from today 14 to 18 August 2023 in Addis Ababa, it is learned.

The 19th ordinary session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) is convening under the theme, ‘Seizing Opportunities and Enhancing Collaboration to Address Environmental Challenges in Africa’, it stated.

Present at the opening of the session among others are Ethiopia’s Minister of State for Planning and Development, Sandokan Debebe, environmental officials and representatives from various African countries and international organizations, and environmental experts and stakeholders.

It is noted that the session consists of a meeting of the expert group from today 14 August to 16 August, and a ministerial segment, on 17 and 18 August 2023.

It aims to strengthen collaboration among institutions and enhance implementation of global and regional environmental frameworks to address environmental challenges facing the continent.

It is said that AMCEN will be an opportunity for ministers to provide policy guidance for upcoming key environmental events, including the 28th session of the Conference of  Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP28) and the Africa Climate Summit; the sixth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEA-6); Africa’s participation in the development of an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution (INC process); Africa’s preparations for the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP16); preparations for the 5th session of the International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM5), and how Africa will respond to the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

The African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) was established in December 1985, following a conference of African ministers of environment held in Cairo, Egypt. Its mandate 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.