CLIMDEV AFRICA – Environmental Protection and good land use management, key to Africa’s growth-MPANU-MPANU.

By Friday Phiri

By Friday Phiri
Ahead of the Fourth Conference on Climate Change and Development in Africa -CCDA IV- which opens in Marrakech tomorrow, the African Risk Capacity has observed the need for African governments to harmonise developmental goals with environmental protection for sustainable development.

Speaking ahead of the fourth conference on climate change and development in Africa (CCDA-IV) holding from 8-10 in Marrakesh, Morocco, ARC Board Member, Tosi Mpanu-Mpanu believes that sustainable management of the environment has become a necessity and not an option amid the challenges that climate change poses, especially in Africa.

Mpanu-Mpanu says while there are varying and competing interests within the African community regarding natural resource usage, over 80 percent of the population derives its livelihood from natural resources.

“It is important to have a holistic approach to environmental protection considering that various actors have specific interests from the environment”, says Mpanu-Mpanu, pointing out that it is practically impossible for a country to engage in conservation without taking due care to poverty eradication.

“For example, you cannot tell people to stop cutting trees for timber or charcoal burning when you are not giving them an alternative to livelihood. That is why I believe that at national level, the Ministry of Environment has become the most important in modern times because every development aspect depends on it”, adds Mpanu-Mpanu.

The ARC Board Member, who is also an African Climate Change Negotiator, has therefore called for active involvement and planning by African governments in the United Nations collaborative initiative on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) in developing countries, which he says, is a holistic approach to forest management for forest-dependent communities.

The ARC is a Specialized Agency of the African Union, which was established by a Conference of Plenipotentiaries to help AU Member States improve their capacities to better plan, prepare and respond to extreme weather events and natural disasters.

This year’s CCDDA is being held under the theme: “Africa Can Feed Africa Now: Translating Climate Knowledge into Action”.