The delegates, including some 70 environment and finance ministers, were to consider UNEP's agenda for 2005, looking at the latest information on climate changes, the impact of last year's tsumani disaster and the link between ecology and sustainable development.

The five-day conference is expected to adopt new guidelines for promoting quality of life by protecting the environment and issue a report for nations to prepare for and recover from disasters like the December 26 Indian Ocean tsumani that killed nearly 290,000 people.

The report will make clear that "if you have stable nature, healthy coral reefs, healthy mangroves, healthy seabeds and well-vegetated coastlines," they can safeguard against similar catastrophes, officials said last week.

Global warming, particularly after the February 16 entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol without the support of the United States, the world's largest producer of greenhouse gases, is expected to be a main topic, organizers said.

Another primary focus will be the disappointing perfomance of countries in the sub-Saharan Africa in meeting the so-called Millennium Development Goals, a UN-backed series of yardsticks for improving the quality of live in the developing world by 2015.

According to UNEP's 2004 annual report, northern Africa, Asia -- including China, India and Thailand -- have either met or are generally on track to to halve extreme poverty and hunger by 2015 and improve access to primary education.

But sub-Saharan Africa "stands out for showing no progress across the entire breadth," the UNEP report said. "All indicators here are pointing at the wrong direction."

All rights reserved. © 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.