10 June 2008: A new Atlas, comprised of photographs,
satellite imagery and narrative, illustrates changes to Africa’s environment
over the past 36 years. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) launched Africa: Atlas of Our Changing Environment
in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 10 June 2008, at the twelfth Session of the
African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN), which convened from
7-12 June 2008.

The Atlas documents the effects of
climate change, among other environmental drivers, on natural assets. Changes
shown in the images include shrinking glaciers on Mount Kilimanjaro and in
Uganda’s Rwenzori Mountains, underlying, according to Achim Steiner, UN
Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director, “the urgent need for the
international community to deliver a new climate agreement by the climate change
convention meeting in Copenhagen in 2009 – one that not only delivers deep
emission reductions but also accelerates the flow of funds for adaptation and
the climate proofing of economies.” [UNEP
Press Release] [Africa:
Atlas of Our Changing Environment]