New report by ECA says Africa's challenges are opportunities for green growth

Abstract

A new report by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) says new and emerging development challenges facing Africa -- such as loss of biodiversity, droughts, reduced agricultural yields, depleted cereal stocks and the multiple demands on existing stocks for biofuels -- could provide opportunities for Africa to respond to these challenges in the context of a green economy. The "Africa Report on New and Emerging Challenges" prepared in collaboration with the African Union, African development Bank, UNDP and UNEP, and circulated at the ongoing UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in Rio, Brazil, says Africa is home to about one quarter of the internationally recognized biodiversity hotspots whose resources are sustaining the livelihood of millions of people in Africa.