The Africa Sustainable Transport Forum (ASTF) held its 1st Ministerial and Experts Conference on 28 to 30 October 2014 at the UN Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. The event was hosted by the Kenyan Government with support from UNEP, The World Bank, the SSATP programme based in the World Bank, and UN-Habitat.
The agenda focused on the challenges, in terms of day to day realities of sustainable transport in Africa, and discussed solutions in the context of green growth and emissions reductions. Concrete actions were grouped in four priority areas: road safety; vehicles and emissions; accessibility and sustainable infrastructure; and, enabling conditions. The agenda also allowed for discussion on the future of the ASTF.
The Ministerial Session of the Forum was officially opened by the UN Secretary General Mr. Ban Ki-moon and His Excellency Uhuru Kenyatta, the President of Kenya. It brought together representatives of 43 African countries, with 21 Ministers of environment and transport in attendance.
The concrete outcome of the ASTF inaugural conference is a 13 point ASTF Action Framework, which outlines a harmonised roadmap for achieving sustainable transport in Africa. The Action Framework is a compilation of priority areas for action as identified by participating African experts and approved by the attending Ministers. The Action Framework also outlines a set of ‘Supporting as the enabling conditions required to ensure the effectiveness of activities in line with the Action Framework.
The goal of the ASTF is to integrate sustainable transport into the region’s development and planning processes, and increase the amount of funding going to sustainable transport programs in Africa. The goal of the ASTF Secretariat is to support the ASTF, and the implementation of the ASTF Action Framework.
