Let me begin by congratulating the government of Rwanda, IUCN, the Africa Wildlife Foundation and other partners for organizing the African Protected Areas Congress in a crucial year for nature.
Biodiversity is under threat from five key drivers: land-use change, overexploitation, invasive species, climate change and pollution. These drivers are part and parcel of the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste.
Africa’s protected areas will be critical to easing these pressures and the implementation of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework – because they are essential to enhancing the resilience, integrity and connectivity of natural ecosystems. Protected areas offer so much, if done right. So allow me to highlight eight areas where, if done right, protected areas add massively to human well-being, to environmental justice; to environmental rights; to jobs and development; and to mitigating and adapting to climate change.
Firstly, protected areas help us ensure that the earth systems remain in balance. By securing soil moisture; preventing erosion and run-off; by creating the very oxygen that we breathe and the water we drink; by filtering water and ensuring clean recharge of aquifers; and by ensuring that species inter-dependence is protected and secured. And of course by absorbing carbon from the atmosphere. I could go on and on. But essentially, intact ecosystems such as protected areas are critical elements to ensure the very stability of planet earth.
Secondly, when sustainably managed, they act as a lever for social and economic development. To give just one example, Argan oil is produced in Morocco and north Africa in protected areas and is in demand for its use in the food, cosmetics and medical industries. The global argan oil market size was valued at more than 220 million dollars in 2019, providing huge opportunities for income generation. What is of course critical, is that when protected areas generate an economic return, is that the some income generated is returned to the communities and the peoples who live in or around the protected area. Countless studies bear out that when communities are involved in the management and design of protected areas, everyone wins.
Thirdly, protected areas can be a real lever for the empowerment of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) and conserve spiritual practices, cultural homes and heritage. Building on my first point, it is clear that protected areas must be run in an inclusive and equitable manner – to secure the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities to their lands and waters. The Namibian community conservation programme, in which communities can register their communal land as conservancies, sustainably use and manage their wildlife, and retain the resulting income is an excellent example. Conservation efforts need to learn from such successes. Conservation by exclusion and without community benefits is simply not the way to go. And, anyhow, does not work.
And fourthly, protected areas are obviously a significant contributor to ensure critical habitat and biodiversity conservation. When done right, protected areas can provide habitats, food and water for species, and enable natural movement patterns. For example, the protected area in the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area is home to the world’s largest contiguous transboundary elephant population. In expanding protected areas, whether marine or terrestrial, what matters is not only quantity, but very much the quality of what we are protecting.
And fifth, protected areas act as an insurance policy. Protected areas provide a source of indigenous medicines to Africa’s rural population. But protected areas are also the global storage cupboard for future yet to be developed medicines against future yet to emerge diseases. Here, obviously, access and benefit sharing is key - an issue that still needs to be hammered out in the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. And as we have learnt the hard way just recently, healthy ecosystems are also a natural buffers against the spread of zoonotic diseases.
And sixth, protected areas shore up human health. Protected areas offer space to revitalize minds and bodies. We all know that walking in nature, or “forest bathing” as it is called in Japan, is good for the soul and the spirit; good for our mental health. We also know that it is often in nature where we connect most deeply to our ancestral roots, to a sense of safety and belonging. And of course we know that children who are exposed to nature appear to have enhanced cognitive developments, while movement in nature is good for stress relief, for cardiovascular health as well as to combat diabetes. And of course, increasingly there are examples of hiking, running and biking events that take places in protected areas, providing important revenue, such as the Lewa Marathon taking place here in Kenya.
And seventh, protected areas are a critical tool to help us tackle climate change. Protected areas conserve carbon stocks in soils, forests, grasslands, rivers and the ocean. They enable connectivity between habitats, allowing species to move in response to climate pressures.
And finally, protected areas are a tool for regional collaboration. We have all heard about how parks, when done right, can form a pathway towards peace. Be it among communities or between nations. And transboundary conservation areas can improve regional collaboration to achieve shared biodiversity, livelihoods and economic objectives. For example, cooperation in the Greater Virunga Transboundary Landscape has helped to restore gorilla populations while generating tourism and other economic benefits for communities in Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Friends, you will have heard me say, “when done right” a number of times. That is because it really matters. Getting the benefit stream to communities secured; ensuring that community decision making is part and parcel of protected area management plans; ensuring that access and tourism is open, accessible and affordable to the population of the country where the protected areas is located. Africa has got many of these elements right so far. Africa boasts 369 wetlands of international importance. 1,255 important bird and biodiversity areas. Eight of the world’s 36 biodiversity hotspots. And African countries have declared 14 per cent of the continent’s land mass and 2.6 per cent of the seas as protected areas.
But pressures are growing. If Africa is to continue to be an example to the rest of the world, nations will need to act. Africa’s protected areas will require resourcing through a sustainable biodiversity economy, and national and international budgetary allocations. Africa’s protected areas will require recognition of community interests and rights – including shared decision making, cost and benefit distribution and a reduction in and compensation for human-wildlife conflict. Africa’s protected areas will require strong legislation, but more importantly, enforcement and international collaboration, to prevent the illegal wildlife trade, unsustainable use of resources and habitat degradation.
So, while Africa has been showing the world how protected areas can be successfully managed for people and nature, there is more to be done. And UNEP is here to support you in your efforts to increase your protected areas and build a sustainable biodiversity economy.
Thank you.
