December 2011: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the European Commission have released the latest issue of the newsletter on the Multilateral Environment Agreements in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries (ACP MEAs) Project. The newsletter features a guest article by Bakary Kante, Division of Environmental Law and Conventions, UNEP, outlining the progress of the ACP MEAs Project, over the past two and one-half years.

The newsletter also contains information on recently completed activities in the African, Caribbean and Pacific project hubs. Activities implemented at the African Hub, housed at the African Union Commission (AUC), included the successful delivery of law enforcement training in Nairobi, Kenya, from 22-25 November 2011, for African personnel involved in MEAs enforcement. The AUC also developed a sensitization brochure on the Bamako Convention for policy makers, in an effort to encourage all African member States to ratify the Convention.

At the Pacific Hub, housed at the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), activities included the convening of the first Pacific Environment Forum, on 12 September 2011, in Apia, Samoa. The meeting focused on key messages in important regional issues to further assist countries in their preparations for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20). In addition, national capacity building in negotiation skills training was undertaken in the Cook Islands, Niue, Tonga and Tuvalu.

The Caribbean Hub, housed at the Secretariat of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), plans to conduct training seminars for the judiciary and Customs officers, as well as a workshop on negotiation skills for the regions negotiators. [Publication: ACP MEAs Newsletter, Vol. 3, Issue 4]