Shaaban Bilal (Cairo)
Andrea Athanas, Vice President for Investment and Projects at the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), said that the COP28 conference provides a great opportunity to preserve African wildlife, expressing her ambitions that she considers strategic during the conference.
In an interview with the Union, on the sidelines of her participation in the climate summit, Athanas stressed that the African Wildlife Foundation envisions a future in which rapid economic development in Africa and population growth can coexist harmoniously with the preservation of wildlife, considering that the division between environmental preservation and Development is a wrong choice in the context of the urgent need for infrastructure and land for agriculture and housing.
The Vice President for Investment and Projects at the African Wildlife Foundation continued that, in its ten-year strategic vision, it aims to change the course of the debate and call for an integrated approach that places wildlife and wild lands at the forefront of sustainable development, with the crucial role of people, employees, trustees, donors and partners in achieving this vision.
According to Athanas, they work by strengthening cooperation between governments, communities, youth, the private sector and institutions, to secure a future in which Africa’s unique natural resources flourish alongside its people and their aspirations, with a commitment to confronting the challenges ahead, with the conviction that the struggle for a sustainable continent is a struggle in which they can Win it through collective efforts.
The official at the institution working in the field of climate change explained that there are several main messages that they are presenting during the “COP28” conference, the first of which is that biodiversity is in the service of the climate, as Africa’s vital strategy to confront climate challenges lies in recognizing biodiversity as a solution to serve nature and people, and the second is the economic model. Nature-focused: By placing nature and its values at the heart of our economic model, Africa can lead the way in showing how growth and resource consumption can be decoupled for a more sustainable future.
She stressed that their messages during the conference also included funding needs to reach audiences on the ground, as new and additional funding is needed that can be accessed for local communities that are at the forefront of climate impacts.
During the conference, AWF works to highlight how nature conservation can help launch sustainable solutions that suit modern Africa, relying on key examples, such as the Congo Basin, to illustrate the continent’s role in leading mitigation and adaptation efforts through innovations.
Regarding the Foundation’s efforts to confront the repercussions of the climate on the African continent, she indicated that there are extensive efforts by the African Wildlife Foundation, which began by participating in a hearing of the US Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on international conservation, and emphasizing the critical role of protected areas in Africa in providing ecosystem services. basic resources, supporting biodiversity, and contributing to the continent’s development aspirations.
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