The idea of starting ASEE was hatched at the 7th biennial ISEE meeting in Sousse, Tunisia in March 2002. ASEE was then formally inaugurated in Montreal, Canada in July 2004 and on 12th July of the same year, the ASEE held the first African Regional Society meeting alongside the meetings of other regional ISEE chapters. Matters discussed included:
- Elections of an ASEE Interim Board, pending formal elections of the Board members in 2005, where it was decided that the steering committee should carry on;
- Procedures for legal incorporation of the ASEE in an African country;
- Planning for the first Regional conference in 2005;
- Expansion of the Steering Committee;
- Proposal for a special issue of Ecological Economics by Africans about Africa;
- Procedures for commenting on the draft constitution;
- Nominations to the ASEE Advisory Committee (AAC);
- ASEE response to a proposed ISEE statement about growth, put forward by the US-SEE during the ASEE general meeting.
- Possibility of organising a training event alongside the European Society conference in Lisbon Portugal 2005;
- ASEE contribution to and participation at the 9th Biennial ISEE conference, to be held in India in 2006,
- ASEE strategy for supporting publications by members, and
- Strategies for improving existing networks among ASEE members.
In this meeting, it was agreed that:
- The existing ASEE Secretariat as agreed by the Aberdeen initiative be expanded and become the Interim Governing Body (with Dr. Kevin Urama as the Acting President, and Ms. Katherine Farrell as the Acting Secretary) until formal elections for the ASEE Board are held in 2005.
- The Steering Committee should liaise with experienced colleagues to finalize plans for inauguration and to begin plans for the 2005 conference, communicating by e-meetings and with discussions across all members.
- Membership to the steering committee should be tied to the continued activities of each member. Four additional members formally joined the ASEE Steering Committee at the close of this first Regional Society Meeting, while two further members joined after the meeting as a directly result of Montreal ASEE activities. The Steering Committee members were: Prof. Claude Njomgang (Cameroon), Dr. Mohamed Mrini (Morocco), Ms. Sola Phosiso (Zimbabwe), Professor A. Kamiantako Miyamweni, (DR Congo), Prof. Ramiaramanana Jeannot (Madagascar), and Dr Ben Okumu (Kenya).
- In addition, there was a standing steering committee consisting of: Ms Mokgadi Monamati (Botswana), Dr Osita Ogbu (Kenya), Ms Katharine Farrell (UK), Dr Anthony Ikeme (USA/Nigeria), Dr Eric Eboh (Nigeria), Prof O.J. Ebohon (UK/Nigeria), Dr Kevin Chika Urama ( UK/Nigeria), Prof Rashid Hassan (South Africa), Dr Eric Dada Mungatana (South Africa), Mr Naoufel Mzoughi (France/Tunisia), and Ms Chahira Nouira (Tunisia).
ASEE was registered as a society in Kenya on 24 February 2006 with a physical address at the Chancery Building, Nairobi. A letterhead of the society was also adopted on 21st Nov 2006.
The ASEE Steering Committee, at its second formal meeting held on 7th August 2008 at the Headquarters of the UNEP, Gigiri Complex, Nairobi, Kenya resolved to propose to the Inaugural Ordinary General Meeting (OGM) of the Society that the inaugural election to the Board of the ASEE be conducted at the OGM on 10 August 2008. The following were elected:
- Kevin Urama (President)
- Phosiso Sola (First Vice President)
- Claude Njomgang (Second Vice President)
- Ordinary Members (Rashid Hassan, Mokgadi Monamati, Mohamed Mrini, Jane Kabubo-Mariara, Eric Eboh)
On the same day, 10 August 2008, the constitution of ASEE was adopted. It comprised of objectives of the association, powers of the association, administration offices, board and trustee of the association, the executive and duties of the executive, board and powers of the board, membership and termination of membership, resources, general meetings and business of general meetings, dissolution and amendments of the constitution. In November of the same year, the Board voted for a Secretary General and a Treasurer from among themselves. Mohamed Mrini and Jane Kabubo-Mariara were appointed for the two positions respectively. From 2008 to 2018, ASEE recorded very little activity due to challenges of transition which seem to have affected many ISEE chapters. During this period of ASEE inactivity, however, the need for growing ecological economics remained relevant given the environmental and ecological challenges facing in the continent.
Revival of ASEE
In 2015, Jane Kabubo-Mariara was requested by the ASEE Board with blessings from ISEE to take on as interim president of ASEE and pick up revival of ASEE. This journey has been painfully slow due to initial registration of ASEE as a profit making organization. This has now been rectified and a new Board elected as follows:
| No. | Full Name | Region | Position in ASEE |
| 1. | Jane Kabubo-Mariara | East Africa (Kenya) | President |
| 2 | Kassim Athumani Kulindwa | East Africa (Tanzania) | 1st Vice president |
| 3. | Mokgadi Monamati | South African (Botswana) | 2nd Vice president |
| 4. | Richard Mulwa | East Africa (Kenya) | Secretary General |
| 5. | John Irungu Mburu | East Africa (Kenya) | Treasurer |
| 6. | Claude NJOMGANG | Central Africa (Cameroon) | Member |
| 7. | Eric Dada MUNGATANA | South Africa (South Africa) | Member |
| 8. | Kevin Chika Urama, FAAS, | West Africa (Nigeria) | Member |
| 9. | Rashid M. Hassan | South Africa (South Africa) | Member |
Since the election of the officials, the following tasks have been or are nearing completion;
- Re-activation of society’s bank accounts
4. Development of society’s website
5. Identification and reach out of potential members
6. Acquiring of society’s PIN number from Kenya Revenue Authority
Next Steps:
Recruitment of members.
Meanwhile, the society can be reached on secretariat@asee-africa.org or asee.africa@gmail.com