African environmental body honours President Hichilema as its Patron
Peace Parks Foundation a Southern Africa Environmental Protection body has honoured President Hakainde Hichilema as its Patron.
Peace Parks Foundation Chief Executive Officer Werner Myburg disclosed in a statement released to ZANIS in Livingstone yesterday that the foundation is honoured to welcome President Hichilema as its new patron.
Mr Myburg pointed out that the Foundation has decided to bestow the honour on President Hichilema because of his commitment to preserve biodiversity for the benefit of the Zambian people.
The statement further said the foundation decided to include President Hichilema to the list of six other Southern Africa Heads of state and Governments because of his commitment to protect the ecosystem where nature and human beings can co-exist.
The other Heads of state include Lazarus Chakwera (Malawi); President Hage Geingob (Namibia); His Majesty King Letsie III (Lesotho); President João Lourenço (Angola); His Majesty King Mswati III (Eswatini); and President Filipe Nyusi (Mozambique).
Mr Myburg stressed that the establishment of the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment by President Hichilema is commitment enough to sustain the green economy and safeguard the country’s biodiversity.
The statement further confirmed that President Hichilema has graciously accepted the honour from Peace Parks Foundation and has voiced steadfast support to the Foundation’s extensive conservation and community work in the country.
“We are deeply honoured to welcome President Hichilema as an Honorary Patron of Peace Parks Foundation and are inspired by his vision of conserving biodiversity for the benefit of the people of Zambia. This is a vision which aligns closely with the objectives of Peace Parks. We value our partnerships with governments across the Southern African Development Community, as these are crucial to our quest of restoring functional ecosystems across the region and securing a future where people and nature can co-exist.”
Peace Parks, with the support of donors, has played an instrumental role in the establishment of two trans frontier conservation areas of which Zambia is a member state, namely the Kavango Zambezi (KAZA) Trans frontier Conservation Area – the world’s largest cross-border protected area – and the Malawi Zambia (MAZA) Trans frontier Conservation Area.
Within these areas, Peace Parks currently focusses on the restoration, protection and sustainable development of KAZA’s Sioma Ngwezi National Park and Simalaha Community Conservancy, the first community conservancy in Zambia, as well as the Chama block and Nyika National Park in MAZA. – ZANIS
