Foreword by AMCEN President
Unemployment has condemned African youth to social and economic exclusion that leaves them greatly disadvantaged as they pursue their goals in life. It is therefore incumbent on us, as leaders of Africa to bequeath to our youth a future in which they are able to create or find jobs that will to allow them to fulfil their potential, to have a stimulating life and earn them a decent living. Such jobs can be found by unlocking the green economy’s sustainable potency.
Africa’s natural resources provide employment of eight out of ten people on the continent. Nearly six million Africans employed in a fisheries and aquaculture sector that is worth US$24 billion. In the same vein, almost ten million people work in the wildlife sector. In addition to those directly employed in the sector, wildlife also indirectly supports more than 22 million jobs. Further to this, more than half of working age Africans are employed in the agricultural sector. Anchored in the green economy, these jobs are providing livelihoods for millions of African youth.
The green economy calls for a paradigm shift in the way that we produce and consume. If young people are the centre of such a shift, they will secure a sustainable future replete with sustainable livelihoods. The Global Environment Outlook (GEO) for Youth, Africa: A Wealth of Green Opportunities digs deep into that future and shows young people how they can secure their livelihoods through green jobs.
The Africa Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) has a long-standing commitment to Africa’s youth. In 2005, we commissioned and supported the first UNEP
youth publication that was known as, “Africa Environment Outlook for Youth: Our Region, Our Life.” It is thus fitting that fifteen years later, a new generation of African youth have come together again to make their voices heard. We will listen to these voices and work to put in place policies that will enhance green jobs that can make a lasting difference in the lives of our young people.
As such, the success of the green economy in Africa will partly be measured by the number of jobs that it creates for our youth. This publication has laid out a fitting blueprint for achieving that goal.
As Africa’s environmental leaders, we are extending a hand of partnership to Africa’s youth to join us in implementing the green jobs blueprint that they have mapped out in this publication. Let us all roll up our sleeves and create green jobs that will quench the employment thirst of Africa’s increasingly youthful workforce.
HE Lee White,
Minister of Forests, Seas, and Environment in Charge of Climate Plan of Gabon and
President of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN)
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A Wealth of Green Opportunities
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