Representatives of African governments have ended a two-day conference in Cape Town by adopting a new strategy on marine protection.

The agreement, known as the Cape Town Declaration, will commit signatories to renewed cooperation, within the framework of two existing conventions.

Correspondents say they have been poorly supported and are largely moribund.

The new declaration also proposes the establishment of a commission on sustainable development in the African coastal areas, similar to commissions which already exist for the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean.