Addis Ababa, 03 June 2015 (ECA) - The Economic Commission for Africa’s Committee on Sustainable Development will hold its ninth session to discuss the roles and potentials of innovations, technologies and the management of natural resources from 16 to 18 June 2015 in Addis Ababa.
ECA’s Special Initiatives Division (SID) hosts the meeting giving a platform to the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD); a group comprised of government ministers, senior government officials, international organizations, agencies, and major civil society groups.
The ninth session will discuss how new technologies and innovations can be the drivers of continental economic growth. Member states will also hear ideas on harnessing these innovations to their advantage.
Delegates will talk of the role of mineral resources in fostering sustainable socio-economic development and exchange ideas on strategic options for achieving such development in the context of the African Mining Vision. The Vision embraces transparent, equitable and optimal exploitation of mineral resources to underpin broad based sustainable growth and socio-economic development.
The Africa Forum’s work also includes making recommendations to the High Level Political Forum (HPLF) 2015, which is the main United Nations platform on sustainable development providing political leadership, guidance, reviews and recommendations. The Forum will agree on key collective messages and priorities on sustainable consumption and production and on the science-policy interface to forward to HLPF 2015.
As climate change hampers development activities, participants are expected to deliberate on challenges posed by climate change and recommend appropriate mitigation measures to adapt and ways these can be incorporated into national development plans.
The Forum will provide ECA guidance and direction on enhanced implementation of its 2014/15 work programme; and on priorities for the 2016/2017 biennium for the ECA sub programme on innovations, technologies and management of Africa’s natural resources.
ECA is organizing the session jointly with the African Union Commission (AUC) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) in collaboration with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
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