Between 20 and 24 March 2000, Ghana hosted a series of meetings of experts and Ministers from the West and Central African region on the Convention for Cooperation in the Protection, Management and Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the West and Central African Region (Abidjan Convention) and related issues. The four-part programme consisted of the following meetings: (a) Joint International Maritime Organization (IMO) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Meeting of National Experts on the Abidjan Convention's Protocol concerning Cooperation in Combating Pollution in Cases of Emergency (the Emergency Protocol); (b) Meeting of the Steering Committee of the Abidjan Convention; (c) Technical segment of the fifth meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Abidjan Convention; and (d) Ministerial segment of the fifth meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Abidjan Convention. The present document constitutes the report of those meetings.