17 January 2011: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has released the seventh issue in its Policy Series on Ecosystem Management, titled “Putting Ecosystem Management in the Vision of Africa’s Development: Towards a Sustainable Green Economy.” The brief addresses the foundational significance of ecosystems for human well-being in the African region.

The series seeks to facilitate dialogue on policy issues related to ecosystem management. The latest brief discusses some of the key policy challenges and opportunities in ecosystem management; and makes recommendations for enhancing capacity of policy makers in the African region. According to UNEP, the paper is intended to stimulate discussion and debate on how, in the effort to prevent and reverse degradation of ecosystems and the services they provide, Africa can promote and use healthy ecosystems to support a sustainable and more climate-resilient development path. Released in the run up to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20), it is also hoped that the brief will contribute to the discourse on managing Africa’s ecosystems.

The Policy Series is accompanied by an online blog, where readers can post comments, ask questions and suggest topics for future issues in the series. [Publication: Putting Ecosystem Management in the Vision of Africa’s Development: Towards a Sustainable Green Economy]