Environmental crime typically refers to any breach of a national or international environmental law or convention that exists to ensure the conservation and sustainability of the world's environment. Five areas are considered to be of major importance: illegal trade in wildlife||illegal logging and its associated timber trade||illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing||illegal trade in controlled chemicals (including ozone-depleting substances)||and illegal disposal of hazardous waste.

A number of transboundary water agreements exist in Africa. However, many of these agreements are limited to larger basins such as the Nile, Niger, Senegal or Volta. There are very few international river basin agreements or cooperative arrangements in the small transboundary basins where development activities such as dam building and/or irrigation development are currently taking place. Such changes affect water redistribution and could pose, on one hand, a potential threat for conflict, on the other hand, could provide opportunities for cooperation.

The uniquely adapted mangrove forests on the marine-terrestrial interface preserve coastline integrity by buffering wave energy from marine processes. The ecosystem services they provide and their support for coastal livelihoods worldwide are worth at least US $1.6 billion a year. Despite their global importance, mangroves are being lost rapidly and action is urgently needed to protect them.