Economic development in Africa report 2012 : structural transformation and sustainable development in Africa / United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 139-147).

Introduction -- Environmental sustainability, economic growth and structural transformation: conceptual issues -- Resource use and productivity in Africa: some stylized facts -- Policies for sustainable structural transformation -- Structural transformation and sustainable development in Africa: main findings and recommendations.

"African governments face a major dilemma. On the one hand, structural transformation is necessary for achieving substantial and broad-based improvements in human well-being. On the other hand, structural transformation, together with rising affluence and a growing population, will necessarily intensify environmental pressures because of the increasing demand for natural resources, including both material and energy inputs used in production, the expanding magnitude of waste and pollution, and the growing reliance on non-renewable resources. The Report suggests that this dilemma can be resolved by employing a development strategy called sustainable structural transformation ... includes a set of stylized facts on resource use and productivity in Africa ... discusses why a strategy of sustainable structural transformation is important and how strategic priorities for decoupling can be identified ... offers a set of policy recommendations to African policymakers and their development partners for implementing sustainable structural transformation. It argues that green industrial development must lie at the heart of sustainable structural transformation in Africa. This needs to be complemented by policies designed to increase access to energy, in particular sustainable energy, and by policies fostering a green agricultural revolution in Africa based on the sustainable intensification of agricultural production."--Publisher's website.

Also available online.