Noranda has also committed to planting 200,000 trees over the next three years as part of the government’s national tree planting programme.
July 5, 2024
Brazzaville, Republic of Congo (AFP) — Six African leaders on Friday called on the United Nations to prioritise a decade of reforestation to tackle climate change, according to a declaration issued at the end of a summit in Republic of Congo.
The declaration said the leaders called for “the adoption of a resolution formally endorsing” the plan “at the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly” ahead of their annual meeting in New York in September.
A multi-day conference bringing together experts, indigenous representatives and technical and financial partners took place in the Congolese capital, Brazzaville, this week.
The summit was part of the “African and Global Decade of Afforestation and Reforestation” launched by Congolese President Denis Sassou-Nguesso at COP27 in Egypt in 2023, and was attended by six leaders.
Other participants included Ghana’s Nana Akufo-Addo, Guinea-Bissau’s Oumaro Sissoko Embalo, Central African Republic’s Faustin Archange Touadera, Gabon’s Brice Origi Nguema and Ethiopia’s Sale-Work Zewde.
The “Brazzaville Declaration,” issued at the summit’s closing, called on the UN to recognize that efforts to plant more trees to combat climate change and its effects are “crucial for the planet.”
The leaders also called on the United Nations to convene an international conference on reforestation “on a rotating basis every two years on each continent,” according to a statement read by Congo’s Forest Economy Minister Rosalie Matondo.
“This conference appears to be the beginning of research and life-saving efforts. The situation as we already know it (climate change) remains alarming,” Sassou-N’Guesso said.
“The need for action is clear… it’s all about the will to act and making the necessary efforts,” he added.
“The great challenge today is not just to stop forest loss, but to restore what has been lost and create new forests,” said Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the African Union Commission.
{“jamaica-observer”:”Jamaica Observer”}
