17 September 2003

An African initiative to protect the continent's rich biodiversity and protected areas was launched at the fifth World Parks Congress in Durban on Tuesday as part of African efforts to link developmental issues with conservation.

African conservationists launched the African Protected Areas Trust Fund to generate income to protect Africa's biodiversity and natural resources.

The idea for the Trust Fund was born when African conservationists gathered in Nairobi, Kenya, last year to discuss challenges facing the management of biodiversity on the continent. Following these discussions, they launched the African Protected Areas Initiative at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg last year.

African governments incorporated the Initiative into the environmental action plan of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad) - the socio-economic blueprint of the African Union - during the African Union Summit in Maputo, Mozambique in July this year.

Launching the Trust Fund at the fifth World Parks Congress in Durban on Tuesday, Murphy Morobe, chairperson of South African National Parks, said the African Protected Areas Initiative would help African countries meet their obligations under international conventions and to improve their management of protected areas.

The Initiative seeks to develop innovative approach to the management of protected areas in order to address the financial and technical challenges facing protected areas in Africa.

Morobe said the Initiative also sought to place protected areas high on the continent's political agenda, to secure commitment from African governments, continental bodies, communities and the private sector.

Morobe called on congress delegates to contribute to the capitalisation of the Initiative and its funding vehicle, the African Protected Areas Trust Fund, to take forward Africa's aspirations of conserving its biodiversity and natural resources.

"A historical window has opened. Africans are seizing the initiative - help us to roll back the denudation of our natural environment", Morobe said.

Source: BuaNews

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