capacity4dev

“The future of food security on the current trajectory is a road to nowhere, and to repeat the statistics that we need to grow 50-70% more food without answering the questions, on what land, with which water and with what kind of seed diversity, is a discussion that merits much greater attention,” said Achim Steiner, the United Nations Environment Programme Executive Director recently in Brussels.  

This year, Africa celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the Organisation of African Unity, currently known as the African Union (AU).  The European Union has been working in hand with the AU since its creation and has a Delegation in Addis Ababa dedicated to the partnership. At a recent meeting in Brussels, Head of Operations Section, Joan Nadal-Sastre shared his views on the challenges and opportunities facing this unique Delegation.

FLEGT (Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade) Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) are bilateral trade agreements between the European Union (EU) and partner countries aimed at guaranteeing that wood exported to the EU is from legal sources, and at supporting countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America in order to combat illegal logging and improve the governance of their forests.

In 2007 commercially viable quantities of oil and gas were discovered in Ghana. The estimated revenue of the oil reserves is about $1 billion per year (approximately EUR 768 million), which is similar to the amount of development assistance received by Ghana annually. As is often said, natural resources can be both a curse and a blessing. When managed well, they can boost development and foster economic growth. Oversight bodies such as parliaments, media and civil society organisations (CSOs) have a pivotal role to play in ensuring proper management of natural resources.