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The renewable natural resources sector in Africa is of particular importance because of the relatively high proportion of livelihoods that it supports in comparison to other developing regions. Threats to these livelihoods arise from the relative fragility of the sector in the context of continuing, rapid, population growth. Key concerns include the need for agricultural intensification in the context of systems that are often located in marginal areas; the demands made by rapid urbanization which contribute to the difficulties in developing sustainable systems; and access rights to key resources such as water. The policy and institutional environment can exacerbate difficulties since trends towards greater democracy often prove destabilizing or deflect the political agenda towards short-term expediency rather than longer term strategies that are essential to the RNR sector. Structural adjustment has not yielded the expected benefits and it has become increasingly apparent that the private sector alone will not be able to meet growth and distributional objectives. It appears that a broader-based strategy is needed including not only government institutions at national and local levels, but also NGOs and community organizations, and even regional and international bodies (e.g. for research). Sub-Saharan Africa has probably suffered more than most regions from an overdose of dogma; what is really required is a flexible, pragmatic approach that recognizes the legitimacy and complementary roles between both public and private sector.