Action plan for the implementation of the environment initiative

At the beginning of the new millennium Africa is characterized by two interrelated features: rising poverty levels and deepening environmental degradation. Africa is the poorest region of the world. It has the largest share of people living on less than US $1 per day. Almost 40% of the people in Africa live below the poverty line. At least one-third of Africa’s population is undernourished and that number is also growing. Africa is the only region of the world where poverty is projected to rise during this century if adequate measures are not urgently taken. Of the 45 countries on the UNDP list of Low Human Development Indicators, 35 are in Africa. Indeed two-thirds of the 48 countries included in the list of Least Developed Countries are in Africa. The United Nations Secretary General’s Millennium Report provides that “Nowhere is a global commitment to poverty reduction needed more than in Africa south of the Sahara, because no region of the world endures greater human suffering”. In his report to the second session of the Preparatory Committee for the World Summit on Sustainable Development, the Secretary General notes that half of Africa’s population lives in poverty and that the number of poor people is increasing substantially in the region if adequate measures are not taken urgently.