The main objective of the State of Environment in Africa report is to identify and highlight the major environmental issues of concern on the continent and to make recommendations for action. The information presented confirms that the state of the environment in Africa has been (and continues to be) influenced principally by rapid population growth, increasing and chronic poverty and inappropriate development practices, especially agriculture production methods. These factors have led to what has become popularly known as the population-agriculture-environment nexus. Other factors include unfavourable terms of international trade, the debt burden, the impact of drought and other natural disasters, and ineffective development policies. The cumulative impact of the above-mentioned factors on the environment is extensive degradation of land and other natural resources. The issues of concern are many and include: widespread land degradation and desertification; loss of arable and grazing land; declining soil productivity; loss of biodiversity; pollution and depletion of freshwater resources; and deteriorating air quality (especially in urban areas). These have wider implications on food security, sustainable natural resources management, human health and efforts towards poverty eradication. Details of the identified factors and major environmental issues of concern are discussed below.