Contents
Foreword
(on
the right)
Biodiversity,
Biotechnology and Indigenous Knowledge
(p 2-6)
Conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity
Safe development and application of biotechnology
Securing and using Africa's indigenous knowledge
Energy,
Water and Desertification
(p 7-14)
Building a sustainable energy base
Securing and sustaining water
Combating drought and desertification
Information
and Communication Technologies and Space Science and
Technologies
(p 15-18)
Information and communication technologies
Establishing the African Institute of Space Science
Improving
Policy Conditions and Building Innovation Mechanisms
(p 19-25)
African Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators
Initiative
Improving regional cooperation in science and technology
Building a public understanding of science and technology
Building science and technology policy capacity
Annexes
(p
26-28)
Annex
I: Microbial Resource Centres in Africa
Annex II: UNESCO Chairs in Science and Technology in
Africa
Annex III: World Heritage Sites in Africa
Annex IV: Biosphere Reserves in Africa

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Foreword
The theme of the upcoming Summit of the African Union
in 2007 is science, technology and research for Africa's
socio-economic development. This choice undoubtedly
reflects the growing realization that science, technology
and innovation are central to economic prosperity and
to reaching the international development goals in such
areas as food security, disease control, access to clean
water and environmental sustainability.
Elaborated
in 2005 by the African Union and its New Partnership
for Africa's Development (NEPAD),
Africa's Science and Technology Consolidated Plan of
Action is the fruit of a continent-wide consultation;
it creates a roadmap for international and regional
cooperation in science and technology over the next
five years.
UNESCO
has accompanied this exciting new initiative, first
by assisting in the initial elaboration of Africa's
strategy for science and technology, then by co-organizing
the First
African Ministerial Conference on Science and Technology
in Nairobi in 2003 and throwing its support behind the
Second
Ministerial Conference on the same theme in 2005.
To ensure a coherent approach among United Nations agencies,
UNESCO also held a meeting in June 2006 to prepare with
its sister agencies for the African Union Summit in
2007.
If
the structure of the present brochure mirrors that of
Africa's Science and Technology Consolidated Plan of
Action, it is no coincidence. At the dawn of what promises
to be a new era for science in Africa, the brochure
you are about to read provides a 'menu' of UNESCO programmes
which echo the objectives of the Plan of Action. Although
a non-exhaustive list, the activities on the following
pages give a foretaste of the ways in which UNESCO can
lend its support to NEPAD.
Walter
Erdelen
Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences
November
2006
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