Mon, 29 May 2017 12:15:42 +0000
By SANDRA MACHIMA
UNLESS climate change is mitigated the end result will be catastrophic, says Zambia High Commissioner to Australia George Zulu.
Mr Zulu said the effect of climate change risks wiping out Africa’s natural wonders of the world such as Victoria Falls in Livingstone.
The high commissioner said the Victoria Falls and the Zambezi River were invaluable assets for Zambia, adding that the Government of Zambia would be delighted to find ways of preserving and addressing the challenges of climate change which were threatening the natural beauties of the country.
Mr Zulu was speaking after touring Australia’s Great Barrier Reef in Cairns, Queensland, one of the seven natural wonders of the world, to appreciate the natural beauty and meet possible investors.
He promised to commence discussions with the Mayor of Livingstone to engage with their counterparts in Cairns for the twinning of the two cities in the interest of tourism.
Mr Zulu held talks with the Mayor of Cairns Bob Manning and agreed to twin the city of Cairns, which had the Great Barrier Reef, and Livingstone in the interest of conserving the God-given marvels.
The high commissioner said President Edgar Lungu was passionate about protecting the environment and finding solutions to climate change which all citizens of Zambia must also emulate.
Mr Zulu said that would benefit Zambia and Australia in terms of sustained tourism promotion and development, as well as addressing the hurdles of climate change which were real.
And Mr Manning said the Great Barrier Reef was under threat of climate change and the Australian government was working towards mitigating the effects on the reef.
Mr Manning said the two cities would share best practices in the management of tourism as well as yielding other benefits.
“The Great Barrier Reef is known to woo millions of visitors each year and contributing on a bigger scale to the economy of Australia, which Zambia would also learn from,’’ the mayor said.
The visit also saw heads of mission taken to James Cook University where there has been successful research on a vaccine against malaria to be administered in tropical climates, especially in Africa.
