Africa’s diversity for shared prosperity and security discussed in Skukuza
The 22nd session of African Forestry and Wildlife Commission (AFWC) was hosted last week by South Africa in the Kruger National Park.
Our country last hosted the event in 2015, the first time it was held on African soil. South Africa was also assigned the roles of both chairperson of the African Union for 2020 and of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment.
The AFWC session was opened by South Africa’s deputy minister of environment, forestry and fisheries, Makhotso Sotyu.
Ministers responsible for wildlife and forestry from the DRC, Tanzania, Gambia, South Sudan, Lesotho and Guinea also attended.
The theme of this year’s session was “Forests and Wildlife: Africa’s Diversity for Shared Prosperity and Security”.
The theme highlights the abundance and diversity of Africa’s resources, holistically capturing their value and key role in maintaining millions of people’s livelihoods through contribution to water, energy and food security and nutrition, building a foundation for resilient nations’ economies and prosperity.
“Africa has more than 20 per cent of its territory covered by forests of different types. These renewable resources are crucial in tackling many of the issues identified by The Future We Want, such as poverty, food, security, climate change, biodiversity and sustainability,” Sotyu said.
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The African Forestry and Wildlife Commission gathers heads of forestry and wildlife from 53 member countries in Africa.
It is a statutory body of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) that advises on the formulation of forest- and wildlife-management policy and reviews and coordinates its implementation at the regional level; exchanges information and, generally through special subsidiary bodies, advises on suitable practices and action in regard to technical problems as well as making appropriate recommendations in relation to the foregoing.
Sotyu urged the African delegates to participate fully while appreciating the unique biodiversity of the continent.
“Today’s attendance demonstrates that together we can play a part in protecting our resources for socioeconomic and environmental sustainability.”
The forum meets every two years, and is hosted in collaboration with the FAO by a member state.
The commission is open to other countries and organisations as observers.
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The sixth African Forestry and Wildlife Week was also held simultaneously with the commission, to showcase progress and advancement in African forestry and wildlife sectors.
It provided an opportunity for South Africa to showcase its rich biodiversity and benefits derived through sustainable use of natural resources.
It will further enable networking, collaboration and exchange of experience and knowledge among policymakers, technicians, practitioners, academia, civil society and development partners from different countries at local, regional and international levels.
The week included exhibitions, multi-sectoral dialogues and side events. Sotyu thanked all the delegates and hoped for fruitful discussions throughout the week.
