A Contribution of Africa to the
World Summit on Sustainable Development
The African Process
for the Development and Protection
of the Marine and Coastal Environment
in Sub-Saharan Africa
Senegal
The Gambia
Nigeria
Côte
d'Ivoire Ghana
Kenya
Seychelles
Tanzania
Mozambique
Mauritius
South Africa
Africa's marine and coastal environment is of great importance
for the peoples of Africa in terms of food, economic security and
socio-political stability. The African Process is a mechanism to
address the major constraints to sustainable development
along Africa's 12,000-km coastline.

OBJECTIVES
The African Process is a pioneering initiative, implemented as a GEF Medium Sized Project
(MSP), focused on (1) identifying the leading causes of degradation of Africa's marine and
coastal resources, and (2) determining the most effective environmental, institutional, and
financial projects to address them.
The African Process provides an opportunity for a wide range of regional and international
partners to work with local stakeholders on projects with a high degree of national ownership.
It actively engages the private sector, setting the scene for the development of public-private
partnerships based on jointly developed proposals.
The African Process will contribute to the Environment Initiative of the New Partnership for
Africa's Development (NEPAD), which will define the way forward to sustainable development
in Africa.
The African Process has five principal objectives:
To identify areas, sites or living resources that are either suffering measurable
degradation (i.e. hot-spots) or threatened with future degradation (sensitive
areas) and to determine, through root-cause analysis, the leading causes of
these impacts, taking into consideration scientific, technical and socio-
economic factors.
To design a programme of interventions, including demonstration projects
and pre-investment studies, addressing problems of regional priority. Some
projects are regional in scope, and focus on groups of countries united by
geographic location or identified common problems. Site-specific projects
of priority for the participating countries are also included.
To strengthen existing regional institutions, in particular the Nairobi and
Abidjan Conventions, and to establish synergies with relevant programmes
and projects.
To provide a framework for facilitating the mobilization of resources for the
sustainable development of the marine and coastal environment, given that
available funds for such projects are very limited.
To produce a self-sustaining model that can be replicated in other regions or
thematic areas in order to develop interventions that contribute to the goals
of sustainable development.
THE GEF MSP FOR SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
Technical implementation of the African Process was launched through a GEF Medium Sized
Project (MSP) that is currently progressing from an analytical phase to the development of
concrete and targeted project proposals.
Implementing Agency: United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Executing Agency: Advisory Committee on Protection of the Sea (ACOPS)
Partner Organizations: Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO and
the Co-ordination Office of the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine
Environment from Land-Based Pollution (GPA)
2

METHODOLOGY
The GEF-MSP project consists of two phases that progressively identify the most feasible and
tractable options for addressing key environmental issues, on the basis of a comprehensive
analysis that uses existing information and data.
PHASE I. Eleven national multidisciplinary teams carried out assessments of the causes of
degradation of the coastal and marine environment in their countries from October 2000 to
September 2001. Focusing on hot spots and sensitive areas, they analysed identified impacts on
the basis of their severity, taking into account environmental and socio-economic considerations.
A causal chain analysis then revealed the underlying pressures and drivers of these problems.
Project proposals were made on the basis of this work, and were therefore able to identify those
interventions that are most effective and sustainable. This work is contained in eleven national
reports, available on ACOPS' website.
PHASE II. Project proposals are being developed on the basis of the results of Phase I.
Five themes were defined by the national teams as the priority areas for project development:
Ž coastal erosion
Ž management of key ecosystems and habitats
Ž pollution
Ž sustainable use of living resources
Ž tourism.
Five working groups, each led by a regional coordinator assisted by two experts with
multidisciplinary backgrounds, will spearhead the development of project proposals. These teams
will liaise with country coordinators in each of the eleven countries. All these experts are African.
This methodology can be applied to other thematic areas or geographical regions. It is a self-
replicating process that confers greater sustainability to projects, develops strong in-country
ownership, and mainstreams project results into relevant institutional, regulatory and budgetary
frameworks.
Coa
Co s
a t
s a
t l
a
Mana
Ma ge
na m
ge ent
e
Sus
Su t
s a
t i
a na
i b
na l
b el
of
o Key
f

Key
Poll
Po u
ll t
u io
t n
io
Use
Us eof
o L
f i
L v
i i
v n
i g
n
Tou
To r
u irsim
s
Eros
Er io
os n
io
Ha
H b
a i
b ta
i ts
ta
Res
Re o
s u
o r
u c
r e
c s
e
11 National
Potential Partners &
Co-ordinators provide inputs,
Stakeholders
mobilize in-country partners,
(International and Regional)
ensure endorsement
participate in development
& mainstreaming of
of proposals
project proposals
TARGETED AND COSTED PROJECT PROPOSALS
CAPITAL INVESTMENT IN AFRICA
3

TIMELINE
1998
The African Process is the result of a merger of two initiatives: the Pan-African
Conference on Sustainable Integrated Coastal Management (PACSICOM) held
in Maputo, Mozambique in July 1998, and the Cape Town Conference on
Development and Protection of the Marine and Coastal Environment in sub-
Saharan Africa, held in December 1998.
October 2001
The first generation of project development was launched in eleven sub-
Saharan countries: Côte d'Ivoire, the Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius,
M o z a m b i q u e ,
Nigeria, Seychelles,
Senegal, South Africa
and Tanzania, a
representative group
that includes coun-
tries of West and East
Africa, island states,
NEPAD
Francophone and
Portuguese-speaking
African
Union
nations, and Parties to
LI
both the Abidjan and
N
G-8
K
Nairobi Conventions.
A
G
Nairobi
It covers a diverse
E
Convention
S
range of coastal land-
Abidjan
Convention
scapes, ecosystems
and socio-economic
WSSD
conditions.
June 2002
The Programme of
Interventions, includ-
ing a portfolio of
projects, developed through the GEF MSP for sub-Saharan Africa will be en-
dorsed at a final `Super' Preparatory Committee (Super Prep Com) for the Part-
nership Conference, to be held in Abuja, Nigeria, 17-19 June, hosted by His
Excellency President Olusegun Obasanjo.
September 2002 The Partnership Conference of the African Process will be held at the level of
Heads of State during the WSSD (Johannesburg, 26 August 6 September
2002) at which the Programme of Interventions will be presented.
2003
A second generation of the African Process will be launched to enable other
African countries to participate and address additional priority issues.
CONTACTS
For more information, contact:
ACOPS HEADQUARTERS
11 Dartmouth Street,
London SW1H 9BN, UK
http://www.acops.org
Tel: +(44) 207 799 3033; Fax:+(44) 207 799 2933
Email: acopsorg@netcomuk.co.uk
4