Three former African heads of state have been selected to lead the inaugural upcoming international conservation conference in Kigali, the Ministry of Environment said. Hailemariam Desalegn, the former Prime Minister for Ethiopia, Issoufou Mahamadou the former President Niger, and Festus Mogae – former President of Botswana were unveiled on January 20, as patrons for the upcoming conference. The IUCN Africa Protected Areas Congress (APAC) conference slated to take place in Kigali from March 7 to 12 comes at a critical time when Africa needs more than $700 billion for biodiversity. Taking place in Africa for the first time, the summit will be convened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Rwanda and the Africa Wildlife Foundation. It is expected to enhance the status of conservation in Africa by engaging governments, the private sector, civil society, indigenous peoples and local communities, and academia to shape Africa’s agenda for protected and conserved areas, the ministry said in a statement. Desalegn described it as an opportunity to chart a path that balances economic growth with the conservation of Africa’s natural capital. “This will need to be done through strategic choices and investments driven by the best available knowledge and long-term thinking,” he said Rwanda’s Minister of Environment, Jeanne dArc Mujawamariya said that this has come at the right time though there is still a way to go. “The APAC comes at a time when there is growing global attention on our strained relationship with nature but we are not investing enough in the natural systems we depend on,” she said. She said that Africa spends less than 10 percent of what is needed to protect and restore nature. Protected areas must have access to the financing required for effective management and thus fulfil their role in providing essential biodiversity protection and ecosystem services for people and development, she noted. Mahamadou, one of the conference leaders, said that the ability of leadership should shape decisions that will affect Africa’s future. “APAC seeks to deliberately foster dialogues that build and empower the current and the next generation of leaders to realize an African future where biodiversity is valued as an asset that contributes to development, he said He added that the inaugural congress is intended to change the face of conservation and spearhead climate change mitigation efforts on a large scale. Mogae, the congress leader, reaffirmed that APAC must be a turning point for the relationship between the global community and African institutions. “As Africans, we recognize the pivotal role the global community and international organizations have played over the last 60 years. It is necessary for African communities and institutions to be actively involved in the conservation agenda for ownership and integration within the aspirations and vision for the Africa we want,” he said.
