“This document has been divided into three main parts. It begins by summarizing the environmental challenges facing the region including their causes and provides the background for holding the Ministerial-level conference on Environment and Development. In the second part, it brings out the main features and outcome of the ministerial-level conference highlighting its major achievements. It then ventures into the follow-up phase which resulted in crystallizing the action agenda in the form of a regional strategy on ESSD, regional input paper to UNCED and other important mechanisms which are contributing to the implementations of the findings and recommendations of the Ministerial-level conference on Environment and Development.”