Lusaka, Zambia, 17 January, 2025…Minister of Green Economy and Environment Hon. Mike E. Mposha, MP has urged all stakeholders to upscale their efforts, particularly in the light of the drought which the Republican President, His Excellency Dr Hakainde Hichilema had declared a natural disaster.
During the second meeting of the European Union-Zambia Forest Partnership Political Working Group held at the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment, Hon Mike Mposha, who was also chairing the meeting stated that the challenges served as a reminder and emphasized that the European Union and Zambia continued to be “all-weather friends” on their journey.
He said that the work of the political working group is guided by the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2022 at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh by His Excellency, President Hakainde Hichilema, and the President of the European Commission, Her Excellency Ursula von der Leyen symbolising a landmark agreement aimed at combating deforestation, mitigating climate change, and safeguarding biodiversity.
The Minister further stated the Ministry committed to ensure that deforestation rates are reduced to eighty-six thousand hectares per year (86,000 hectares/year) by 2030, enhance the sustainable management of forest land amounting to twenty-one million, three hundred and thirty-six thousand hectares (21,336,000 hectares) by 2030, plant forest trees on three hundred and thirty-six thousand hectares (336,000 hectares) by 2030; and create one million and fifty thousand (1,050,000) forest-related decent jobs by 2030 as guided by objectives in the roadmap that was developed, signed and formally adopted during the first political working group.
“The roadmap responds to the aspirations of the Eighth National Development Plan (8NDP) regarding environmental sustainability with outcomes of enhanced mitigation and adaptation to climate change; and sustainable environment and natural resources,” he said.
“Your unique perspectives will be invaluable in refining this document and ensuring that it meets the ambitions of our partnership. Forestry is a long-term endeavor, and this monitoring tool will provide insights into crucial metrics such as changes in forest cover and the impact on livelihoods through job creation,” he said.
The Minister indicated that the Ministry’s Strategic Plan outlined a focus on enhanced capacity to track essential statistics such as deforestation rates, forest fires, forest products, and services as these details will be useful in enhancing planning that is responsive to crises such as the current national disaster and emergency situation.
Meanwhile, Europe Union Ambassador karolina Stasiak said that World-wide, the EU has engaged in Forest Partnerships in Uganda, Republic of Congo, Mongolia, Guyana, Honduras, and Zambia, as key partner countries to promote sustainable forest management, biodiversity conservation, and climate change mitigation and adaptation.
“These Partnerships leverage financial resources to promote sustainable forest management practices, including reforestation, afforestation, and forest restoration, and to create new jobs in the forest sector,” she said.
Her Excellence, who co-chaired the meeting further offered congratulatory remarks to the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment for the recent adoption of the Green Economy and Climate Change Act. She also mentioned that in the first trimester of 2025, EU will sign contribution agreement amounting to EURO 4million towards Global Green Growth Institution (GGGI) on the road to the implementation of the Climate Change Act.
The Ambassador also revealed that European Union plans to allocate EURO 10 million to the Forest Partnership and look forward to jointly identify as well as formulate the objectives of this new action.
She added that the European Union – Zambia Forest Partnership is ambitious and comprehensive as they strive to tackle challenges such as high levels of deforestation and forest degradation, promote ecosystem resilience and environmental sustainability, address forest governance needs, and upgrade technical skills and raise awareness.
Zambia is among the 6 countries that have signed the Forest Partnership with the European Union to mitigate deforestation, forest degradation, forest fires, as well as forest encroachment.
Issued by:
(signed original copy)
Harriet M. Chimuka
Principal Public Relations Officer
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