Briefing Paper

Multilateral Environmental Agreements and Land and Resource Rights in Africa

“Over the past 70 years, the world’s governments have adopted hundreds of multilateral environmental treaties for the protection of flora and fauna and reducing toxic industrial emissions, among
other issues. These treaties are legally binding agreements, which form the basis for international law that plays a critical role in setting international norms, and strengthening co-operation among countries with different national interests.An increasing number of African states are parties to many international environmental agreements that have arisen, especially
over the last two decades. These global treaties are tools for managing ‘common’ resources shared by several states and constitute the common concern of humankind.”