Objectives: To promote economic, social and cultural development and the integration of African economies and to ensure the harmonisation and coordination of environmental protection policies among the States Parties.
Summary of provisions: Chapter VIII, which is devoted to food and agriculture, provides for cooperation among member States in the development of river and lake basins, development and protection of marine and fishery resources, plant and animal protection (art. 46). States Parties are required to ensure the development within their borders of certain basic industries which are identified as conducive to collective self-reliance and to modernisation, and these include forestry and energy industries (art. 49) and to ensure proper application of science and technology to a number of sectors which include energy, and the conservation of the environment (art. 51). Parties are to co-ordinate and harmonise their policies and programmes in the field of energy and natural resources, and to promote new and renewable forms of energy (arts. 54, 55 and 56). They undertake to promote a healthy environment, and, to this end, to adopt national, regional and continental policies, strategies and programmes and establish appropriate industries for environmental development and protection (art. 58). Parties are also to take appropriate measures to ban the importation and dumping of hazardous wastes in their territories, and to cooperate among themselves in the trans-boundary movement, management and processing of such wastes, where these emanate from a member State (art. 59).
Institutional mechanisms: The Treaty establishes an African Economic Community to function as an integral part of the OAU with a common secretariat, common general budget and common machinery of governance with the OAU (arts. 11, 82, 96, 98 and 99). Several specialised technical committees are established including a Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, Natural Resources and Environment (art. 25). Provision is made regarding the settlement of any dispute on the interpretation of the provisions of the Treaty (art. 87).
(Source: IUCN ELC, 08.2005, based on UNEP Register of International Treaties and Other Agreements in the Field of the Environment, 1996) *Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic joint at 1991-06-03