The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Policy Reform:

Despite the existence of regulatory frameworks for the protection of the environment in Africa, the continent is still experiencing deepening environmental degradation and increasing loss of natural resources. Several inter-related factors are responsible for this state of affairs including poverty, which has been identified by NEPAD as the main cause and consequences of environmental degradation in the region. It follows that if poverty is the main cause of environmental degradation in Africa, then policies, programmes and legal provisions designed to protect the environment will be unsuccessful without a significant improvement in the living standards, well-being and livelihoods of the poor. An opportunity for improving the well-being and livelihoods of the poor in Africa has been offered by the United Nations adoption of MDGs. This Book aims to aims to provide a theoretical analysis of the role of the MDGs in guiding or stimulating national and international policy reform towards the realisation of the right to environment in Africa.