This paper highlights some of the themes that any successful strategy to reverse the decline of Africa must embrace. Africa is a continent experiencing a breakdown in the relationship between people and their natural support systems. Famine and the threat of famine are among the manifestations of this breakdown. This decline can be reversed. To do so will require an abrupt departure from the "business as usual" approach that African governments and the international community have mounted so far in response to the food crisis. Beneath the urgent work of providing food aid and resettling families displaced by famine, a long-term strategy of environmental restoration is essential to reversing recent trends. Slowing population growth, conserving soils, restoring forests and woodlands, and enhancing subsistence agriculture are sure to be cornerstones of successful efforts to reestablish working economies in Africa. These priorities can provide a foundation for African aspirations and an agenda for international assistance. (RM)