Chinese, African forum urged to table wildlife, environmental issues

A group of respected Chinese and African business and policy leaders on Tuesday called on organizers of the upcoming Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in December to include wildlife and environmental issues on the diplomatic agenda.

The civil society leaders and celebrities from Africa and China said in a joint statement that topics of wildlife and wild lands protection within the 6th Forum on FOCAC was very crucial as they provide economic benefits.

"Both African governments and the Chinese government want better lives for their people and believe strong trade, not aid, is the way to achieve this," Philip Idro, former Ugandan Ambassador to China, said in a statement received by Xinhua in Nairobi.

"At the same time, we must remember that economic growth relies on healthy, resilient ecosystems and wildlife. For many African countries, wildlife and wildlands conservation can help to alleviate poverty and provide economic benefits," Idro added.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and dozens of his counterparts from African countries will attend the 6th Ministerial Conference of FOCAC to be held in South Africa in early December.

The landmark summit will discuss ways to strengthen Sino-Africa cooperation in diverse fields like energy, infrastructure development, trade and habitat protection.

The wildlife conservation organization noted that Sino-Africa cooperation to strengthen protection of iconic mammals in the continent has blossomed.

Idro said the Chinese have made great strides in panda conservation and in protecting their forests.

"I am sure we can come together to find acceptable ways of solving this dilemma in Africa," he added.

The civil society leaders and celebrities including Chinese film star Wang Baoqiang and Tanzanian singer-songwriter Alikiba are participating in a China-Africa Dialogue Series facilitated by the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) and the Aspen Institute.

The effort aims to move leaders in government, civil society and private industry toward actively promoting investments and operations in Africa that are sustainable and include protection of Africa's wildlife and wild lands.

African Wildlife Foundation CEO Dr. Patrick Bergin said the Dialogue participants have worked hard to ensure Africa's wildlife and wild lands are not left behind as the continent acts on its development agenda.

The Dialogue Series first brought together African thought leaders in Nairobi and Kigali in 2014 to address Africa's natural resource crisis in the wake of rapid economic development.

A parallel group of Chinese private and public sector leaders was convened in Beijing and Tianjin in 2014, followed by an official dialogue in Beijing in 2015, to help establish a set of recommendations for African-Chinese cooperation around challenges of wildlife and wild lands protection.

A formal recommendation - supported by former Presidents Festus Mogae of Botswana and Benjamin Mkapa of Tanzania - promoting the protection of Africa's wildlife and wild lands as a priority in the continent's development agenda was integrated into the African Union's final Vision 2063 document.

A formal proposal to include topics of wildlife and wild lands protection within the 6th FOCAC was submitted to the African Ambassadors Group in Beijing, along with supporting technical information to serve as a resource for submitting these issues into the formal FOCAC process.

The format of the Dialogue Series followed the Aspen method of moderating dialogue in a small group setting where participants from various backgrounds and perspectives learn from each other through an interactive discussion of specific readings. Endit