Luanda, 5 June 2016 - United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director Achim Steiner today met Angolan Vice President Manuel Domingos Vicente to discuss Angola's plans to address environmental challenges, and agreed to conclude an agreement to support the southern African nation. Mr. Steiner was in Luanda for celebrations of World Environment Day, which this year is being hosted by the southern African nation as a sign of its commitment to ending the illegal trade in wildlife.
Mr. Vicente and Mr. Steiner explored potential areas of cooperation between UNEP and the Angolan government, which is looking for ways to diversify its economy as falling oil prices hit gross domestic product. Environment Minister Maria De Fatima Jardim and Mr. Steiner signed an aide memoire agreeing to conclude a formal cooperation agreement by the end of June. The agreement will cover UNEP support to sustainable use of natural resources, strengthening environment institutions and the management of protected areas.
The agreement aims to support Angola's fledgling efforts to promote ecotourism and move to a wider green economy, part of which involves conservation of wildlife such elephants and the expansion and creation of national parks and related infrastructure to promote ecotourism. Angola lost many of its elephants during a long civil war, which ran on-and-off from 1975 to 2002.
It is unclear how many elephants remain, but those that do are facing pressure from poachers. The nation is also a transit country for ivory, with carved goods coming over the border from the Democratic Republic of Congo for re-sale, largely to Asian nations. The troubles facing Angola are part of a wider global problem. A new UNEP-INTERPOL report, released on 4 June, found that transnational criminal networks are profiting to the tune of up to $258 billion per year from environmental crimes, including the illegal trade in wildlife.
This is a 26 per cent increase on previous estimates. Angola is introducing tougher penalties for poaching, shutting down its domestic illegal markets, and looking to provide alternative livelihoods for those at the bottom of the illegal wildlife trade chain. They are also training former combatants to become wildlife rangers and have opened up new tourism lodges in the southeastern Cuando-Cubango province.
Mr. Steiner and the Vice President also discussed technology and renewable energy, in particular the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative. At the Paris climate meeting in December, the international community pledged over $10 billion to the UNEP-supported initiative, an African-led plan to add 10,000 MW of additional renewable energy on the continent by 2020.
