Presidente moçambicano, Filipe Nyusi,, e do Zimbabwe, Emmerson Mnangagwa, e ministro zambiano do turismo, Rodney Sikumba, Acordo de Conservação Transfronteiriça (ZIMOZA-TFCA)
Harare, 19 Jul (AIM) – Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Zambia signed, on Thursday, in Harare, a Transfrontier Conservation Agreement (ZIMOZA-TFCA), which aims at promoting biodiversity conservation, ecosystem restoration and sustainable management of the natural resources that the three countries share.
The agreement was signed by Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi, his Zimbabwean counterpart, Emmerson Mnangagwa, and the Zambian minister of tourism, Rodney Sikumba.
The cross-border area in question covers 38,435 square kilometers, along the Zambezi River. In Mozambique, it covers the districts of Mágoè, Cahora Bassa and Zumbo, in the central province of Tete. In Zimbabwe, two districts are covered, Mbire and Makonde, and in Zambia, only the Luangwa district is covered.
Speaking at the ceremony, Nyusi said that the tripartite ZIMOZA-TFCA initiative also aims to effectively conserve the environment and promote the natural resources “that our ancestors bequeathed to us.”
“This agreement is a milestone in the history of our three countries and is in line with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Development Goals and the principles set out by the United Nations on the sustainable promotion of the environment”, Nyusi said.
The conservation of biodiversity and its mineral resources, he said, requires efforts from all sectors, and there is a need for civil society and governments to work together to restore nature.
For his part, Mnangagwa said that the agreement represents a new era in the cooperative relations between the three countries, as it fulfils one of the objectives of the African Union’s agenda on promoting the environment.
“This agreement will promote the conservation of our resources, opening up space for the creation of mechanisms to preserve the region’s wildlife resources”, he said.
The Zambian minister, speaking on behalf of President Hakainde Hichilema, said that Africa had realized the need to conserve its precious areas.
“This agreement is historic because it represents our unity in preserving the environment. It’s a good strategy because it helps our people work to conserve the environment and wildlife”, he said.
The tripartite initiative, which will be coordinated by Zimbabwe over the next two years, directly affects around 600,000 people living in the cross-border area. For their survival, most of these people depend heavily on the resources of this region, mainly water, fish, wildlife and forests.
(AIM)
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