Introduction
The Southern African Development Community (SADC)'s recognition of the importance of environmental information as a tool for sustainable management of natural resources is evident in its various protocols, as well as in SADC communications at international events such as the Earth Summit of 1992. The challenge today is to build a culture of environmental information sharing in the region.

Most environmental problems already have solutions. Humanity has accumulated a vast fund of environmental knowledge, information and experience over the last decades. Our task, then, is to locate the relevant information and make it available, says Wo Yen Lee, former Director of UNEP's Global Environmental Information Exchange Network (INFOTERA).

Efforts have also been made at national levels to promote access to in- formation through laws, policies and the establishment of strategies to as- sist policy-makers and legislators in making informed decisions. At the same time the public is being sensitised to utilize natural resources in a sustainable manner.

The amount of environmental information about the SADC region is large but awareness levels remain low largely due to limited information dissemination. Much of what is available is too technical to be understood by anyone but academics and the environmental elite.

For SADC to overcome the barriers to effective information access and use, it will require innovative programmes in research, education and dissemination. The necessary political framework at national and regional levels will be essential to support access to information.

The draft "charter for the participation of people's organizations in environmental governance in southern Africa" advocates good governance as a pre-requisite for sustainable development. Policy-makers, politicians and concerned citizens need information in order to be involved.