Speaking at a two-day College of Research Associates’ Conference (CRAC) 2016, organised by the United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU-INRA), Prof Nhamo said the SDG’s needed to be broken down to the company and household level to enhance buy-in and acceptance by citizens.

The CRA is a continent-wide network of senior African research scientists who assist the UNU-INRA to address the critical challenges facing natural resources management in Africa. Research scientists from more than 10 African countries are participating in the conference on the theme: “New frontiers in natural resources management in Africa.”

Professor Nhamo, who spoke on the topic 'Domestication and localization of natural resources-related sustainable development goals in Africa', emphasized the need for African governments to develop policy and regulatory framework at the national level to translate, integrate and embed SDGs into the national development agenda.

Besides, there must be in place Institutional Framework to ensure SDGs are implemented in ministries and local governments level and to ensure public participation in its entire process. To ensure that goals are being met, Prof Nhamo called for accountability Mechanism Framework to strengthen data management and the mechanism of monitoring, evaluation and reporting.

Prof. Nhamo said the 15-year development agenda could be translated into major local languages of the respective countries, as part of the effort to localise the SDGs. He said African governments must also learn from the implementation challenges of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and adopt measures to avoid such mistakes being repeated.

“The SDGs are not a replacement of the MDGs; rather, they present an expanded 15-year development agenda — 2016-2030. “We need to avoid a repeat of the late engagements with the SDGs as was the case with the MDGs,” Prof. Nhamo said, adding that, the governments must ensure that no one was left behind. The Director of the UNU-INRA, Dr Elias T. Ayuk, said the conference was to create a platform for the sharing of innovative policies and best practices in the sustainable management of natural resources in Africa.

“The exchange of information, ideas and experiences will further enhance our understanding of the issues and challenges that Africa faces with respect to the management of her resources and the actions to be taken in order to achieve the success that we want,” he said.

The two-day conference will cover three key areas-Natural Resources Accounting, Trade and Green economy, Governance, Policies and Institutions for Natural Resources Management and Science, Technology and Innovation.