Congo - Congo Basin: Congo and UNEP join forces to protect peatlands
Arlette Soudan-Nonault, Minister of the Environment, Sustainable Development and the Congo Basin (MEDDBC) and Executive Coordinator of the Congo Basin Climate Commission (CCBC), granted an audience in Brazzaville on March 17 to Juan Carlos Vasquez Murillo, Head of the Biodiversity, Populations and Landscapes Unit at the Nairobi-based United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), to discuss initiatives to promote peatlands and biodiversity in the Congo Basin in Africa and the Amazon in Latin America, and the Conference of the Parties (COP 30) in Belém, Brazil.
The meeting between the two personalities strengthened relations between the Congolese government and UNEP. In particular, it enabled them to fine-tune their shared interests in the preservation of peatlands and biodiversity in the Congo Basin.
This area is home to one of the world's most extensive tropical peatland complexes, constituting an essential carbon reservoir and a natural bulwark against climate change. Aware of its importance, Minister Arlette Soudan-Nonault and UNEP delegate Juan Carlos Vasquez Murillo reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening efforts to conserve and sustainably manage these ecosystems.
On leaving the audience, the head of UNEP's Biodiversity, People and Landscapes unit reaffirmed the institution's commitment to supporting the Congo and all Congo Basin countries in protecting and enhancing peatlands through scientific cooperation programs and funding for local initiatives.
"The 2025 international agenda is full of issues such as the environment and climate. COP 30 will be held in Belém, and we hope to announce important initiatives concerning the protection of peatlands and the biodiversity that is present, not only in Africa, but also in Latin America", said Juan Carlos Vasquez Murillo.The peatlands and biodiversity of the Congo Basin are a priceless heritage, home to thousands of endemic and threatened species. Exchanges between the two personalities highlighted the importance of integrated conservation programs that take into account the needs and traditional knowledge of local communities.
Environmental governance
The environment and natural resources must be considered by States, international organizations, non-governmental organizations and companies as global common goods that belong to the specific categories of non-manufactured goods.gories of non-manufactured goods which, when shared, can either be divided up or destroyed.
Thus, the two personalities agreed to pursue and intensify their collaboration in protecting the critical ecosystems of the Congo Basin. This cooperation will take the form of concrete actions, such as institutional capacity building, access to international funding for conservation and improved environmental governance. The meeting testifies to the shared determination of the Congolese government and UNEP to make the Congo Basin a model of sustainable development, reconciling the preservation of nature with the well-being of the local population. The dialogue between the two parties marks a new stage in joint efforts to make environmental protection a lever for international cooperation.
The audience granted to Juan Carlos Vasquez Murillo was one of a series of international environmental diplomacy initiatives led by Minister Arlette Soudan-Nonault to mobilize international partners around the preservation of the Congo Basin as the planet's second green lung.
UNEP is a subsidiary organization of the United Nations, created in 1972 to coordinate the institution's environmental activities and assist countries in implementing environmental policies. Since the notion of sustainable development has been defined, UNEP has sought to integrate environmental issues into more global policies.
Source: www.adiac-congo.com/
