African environment platform opens

The first Africa Environment Partnership Platform opened on Thursday in Kenya’s capital Nairobi. The environment summit is the brainchild of African Union’s development agency, NEPAD, which is aiming to drive Africa’s environmental sustainability agenda and strengthen the continental architectures for sustainable environment management.

Environment experts, representatives of African civil society, partners and media attended this opening session of the conference which had notable speakers like Tanzanian environmental scientist Dr. Joyce Msuya, the Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme at the level of Assistant Secretary-General.

Following the coming into effect of the Paris Agreement in November 2016, NEPAD is spearheading the initiative as Africa’s unique opportunity to strategically address the continent’s environment and sustainable development goals in line with the African Agenda 2063.

AEPP’s opening session came back to back with the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN), which attracted environmental experts from 43 countries. The meeting focused on key issues ahead of Africa’s participation at COP24.