GOVERNMENT has expressed concern over the rate at which the country’s ecosystems and biodiversity were being lost and degraded.
Addressing delegates at a Southern Africa regional workshop on the (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) UNESCO Man and Biosphere (MAB) reserves programme in Kariba last week, Environment minister Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndlovu said environmental threats were real.
“The triple planetary crisis of the three main interlinked environmental challenges that humanity currently faces that is biodiversity loss, pollution and climate change have its own causes and effects and each issue needs to be resolved if we are to have a viable future on this planet. These challenges can only be addressed by an equally interconnected effort,” Ndlovu said.
“The MAB programme, therefore, plays a critical role in addressing the challenges that are faced by the region as they foster regional integration of communities and governments as they share valuable experiences, benchmarking of achievements to ensure that there is sustainable utilisation of natural resources. The programme has managed to promote and demonstrate a balanced relationship between humans and the environment.”
The conference was held under the theme Model Regions for Sustainable Development: Fostering UNESCO Biosphere Reserves in southern Africa.
The MAB programme was established in 1971 to promote interdisciplinary approaches to management, research and education on ecosystem conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.
The programme was conceived to balance biodiversity conservation, economic and social development and preservation of local cultural values. It aims to establish a scientific basis for the improvement of relationships between people and their environments.
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