The Minister of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment, Dr Dion George, will participate in the 10th Special Session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN), taking place from 3-6 September 2024 in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, under the theme, “Raising Africa’s Ambition to Reduce Land Degradation, Desertification, and Drought.”
This important gathering of African environmental leaders will focus on key issues affecting the continent, with a strong emphasis on addressing land degradation, desertification and drought within the context of sustainable development, climate action, and environmental governance. During the session, Minister George will engage in high-level discussions on critical topics, including enhancing opportunities for ecosystems restoration, as well as enhancing partnerships and synergies to enhance resource mobilization to address land degradation, desertification and drought.
The Ministerial session will also deliberate on the continent’s approach to climate change, biodiversity conservation as well as desertification and land degradation, with a focus on enhancing Africa's positions for the upcoming international talks, namely the United Nations Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD COP16), United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP29) and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP16) all taking place later this year.
Minister George will prioritise advocating for increased climate finance and resource mobilisation to address land degradation, desertification and drought, as well as technology transfer, and capacity building to help African nations achieve their climate goals while promoting sustainable development and reducing poverty. Additionally, he will accentuate the need to align biodiversity conservation with socio-economic development, emphasising the integration of these efforts into national and regional plans to ensure continent's natural resources benefit its people.
AMCEN serves as a crucial platform for African nations to collaborate on shared environmental challenges and to present a unified voice on the global stage. South Africa’s participation reaffirms its leadership role in promoting environmental sustainability across the continent.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Peter Mbelengwa
Cell: 082 611 8197
E-mail: pmbelengwa@dffe.gov.za
