Africa Regional Major groups and stakeholders messages to the Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum at its eleventh special session

United Nations Environment Programme (2009)

PREAMBLE We, representatives of African Civil Society and Major Groups appreciate UNEP’s role in optimizing our participation and consultation on key environmental issues to be addressed by the Member States during the GCSSX1/GMEF: • Recognizing the fact that human-induced environmental change has accelerated over the last three decades and intense loss of biodiversity and ecosystems experienced; • Noting with concern the rampant violation of UN conventions such as the Basel Convention on the control of trans-boundary movement of hazardous wastes and their disposal, Rotterdam Convention on the prior informed consent procedure for certain hazardous chemicals and pesticides in international trade and Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), and; • Recognizing ‘Decision 13’ taken at the 3rd special session of the African Ministerial Conference on Environment (AMCEN) in Nairobi on climate change, that Africa, in the context of environmental justice: o be equitably compensated for environmental, social and economic losses; o be provided with substantially scaled-up finance, technology and capacity-building for adaptation and risk management in accordance with the obligations of the Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol to the Convention; • Noting ‘Decision 8’ of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change at its fifteenth session held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December 2009, agreed to provide new and additional resources, including forestry and investments through international institutions, approaching US$ 30 billion for the period 2010-2012 with balanced allocations between adaptation and mitigation; We recommend that:

Statement/Declaration