Under a joint initiative on Capacity-building for parliaments on sustainable development launched in April 2005, the IPU and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) conducted a regional seminar for African parliaments in Yaoundé from 26 to 28 June 2006 at the invitation of the National Assembly of Cameroon.
The Yaoundé seminar offered some 100 members and staff of 20 African parliaments the opportunity to have in-depth discussions on the role of parliaments in environmental management, including in the areas of drought and desertification. Participants also reviewed international policy, goals and legislation related to water conservation and management and the Millennium Development Goals. The participants addressed the need for an integrated approach to water resource management through parliamentary action and, to this end, identified the following priorities:
- Forge a regional parliamentary community in support of sustainable environmental management;
- Increase transborder relationships to take into account environmental issues at a subregional level instead of at a national level and harmonize related laws;
- Work towards the achievement of peace on the African continent given that armed conflicts contribute directly to environmental degradation and that during conflicts laws are not applied;
- Mobilize the international community and institutional donors so that African governments may be able to better access funds related to environmental projects.
The IPU/UNITAR initiative seeks to build capacity among parliamentarians worldwide to deal with sustainable development and environmental issues in order to ensure that international and national policies in this field are informed by the people's interests and concerns.
