Major Environmental Concerns  

[ Land | Forest | Biodiversity | Water | Marine & Coastal Environments | Urban & Industrial Environments ]

Underlying Causes

[ Social | Economic | Institutional | Environmental ]

Of the 30 poorest countries of the world, 21 are in Africa (World Bank, 1995). The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa points to the scarcity of a financial capital base for the initiation, stimulation, promotion, and sustenance of development activities as being the root of underdevelopment and environmental degradation in Africa (UNECA, 1992). Lack of or slow growth, particularly in central and northern Africa , has contributed significantly to the overall low aggregate regional output. The annual average growth rate from 1990 to 1993 was a mere 1.5 per cent, barely half of the regional population growth rate (UNECA, 1993b

Poor people are most at risk from environmental damage, whatever the cause. In economies based on natural resources, which most African countries are, resource degradation reduces the productivity of the poor, increases their susceptibility to extreme weather, economic and civil events, and environmental health threats. Poverty also makes recovery from such events even more difficult. Extreme events, especially those related to weather, appear to be increasing in frequency in Africa (World Bank, 1995).

Africa 's external debt continues to be a major impediment to the achievement of accelerated economic growth and development.

In the face of declining export earnings and debt burdens, many Governments have tried to boost their cash crop production and timber sales. This has led to further environmental damage as well as forced poor farmers to move further onto marginal lands (UNECA, 1993a). Many of the institutions and infrastructure supporting agriculture often operate inadequately, with little impact on food supply and a lack of support for agricultural technologies (UNECA, 1993a).

Thirty-five African countries have been implementing structural adjustment programmes for more than a decade, and have put in place economic reform measures in an attempt to correct some fundamental economic imbalances and to support private-sector development. Although African Governments are committed to removing obstacles to growth, current projections indicate that socio-economic recovery is still not in sight for most countries (UNDP, 1996). It has also been argued that structural adjustment programmes have been leading to wider gaps between rich and poor (Ohlsson, 1995).

United Nations Environment Programme