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2020-11-12
Kenya and Tanzania are on the path to achieving their environmental protection aspirations by mainstreaming climate change and other initiatives in accordance with the United Nations commitment to sustainable development.
This was revealed during an inter-ministerial meeting on conservation and sustainable land management in Southern Kenya and Northern Tanzania held on Nov 10.
According to Keriako Tobiko, Kenya's Cabinet secretary for environment and forestry, the conservation, protection and improvement of the environment for current and future generations needs international cooperation and individual undertaking.
Tobiko added that East African states should follow international obligations on protecting the environment to which they are a party and called on regional governments to domesticate the obligations.
"Environmental issues are cross-cutting and even as states exercise their sovereign right, they should manage their resources in accordance with their development and environmental policy contexts. We should also ensure that any activity in one country does not harm the environment of the other states," Tobiko said.
The governments of Kenya and Tanzania are seeking to secure 134,000 square kilometers of wildlife corridors by enhancing the connectivity of protected areas in a joint southern Kenya and northern Tanzania initiative.
On the same day, the World Wide Fund for Nature, or WWF, a global wildlife conservation organization, called on African governments to invest in nature to help spur green economic recovery in the post-COVID-19 era.
In a policy brief that was released in Nairobi, Kenya on Nov 10, the WWF said Africa can build a more resilient and sustainable future centered on healthy people and a healthy planet.
"Investments in nature restoration initiatives provide opportunities for green jobs, reduction of climate change impacts, and avoid costs of adapting to climate change. Given that between 30 and 50 percent of total wealth in most African countries comes from its natural capital, Africa can do more than just recover," WWF said in the policy brief. "The pandemic provides an opportunity for Africa to embrace innovative new approaches to designing rural and urban open spaces that integrate green spaces that are critical for both mental and physical health. Economic and social disruptions associated with COVID-19, such as lockdowns and market closures, have highlighted the need to invest in city-region food systems that ensure food security for the growing urban populations."
The conservation body also noted that shifting diets toward local traditional foods and investing in ecosystem services will reduce habitat conversion and decrease dependency on polluting fertilizers and pesticides.
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