The African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) was established in 1985 and adopted its rules of procedure at its second session, in 1987.1 It has operated under the same rules of procedure since then. At its seventh session, in 1997, AMCEN formalized its existence as a constitutional intergovernmental body. In accordance with article 35 of the AMCEN constitution, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) was made the depository of the constitution. Since AMCEN adopted its constitution and rules of procedure, there have been many changes in environmental governance and in the related institutions at the national, regional and global levels. The environment and climate action now play a far more central role in the political and socioeconomic development of the world than they did in the 1990s.