First Africa meeting on conservation biology opens

Accra, Jan. 28, GNA - Professor Fredrick K. Rodrigues, Dean, Faculty of Science of the University of Ghana, on Wednesday called for a new partnership to utilize and manage the natural resource base of the continent. He said the partnership should offer opportunities of experience sharing, building of consensus and capacity whilst working with the communities.

Speaking at the opening of first Regional Meeting of the Africa Section of the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB), Prof. Rodrigues said promoting the wise use of biodiversity had become more challenging since the signing of the Biodiversity Convention in Brazil in 1992 due to human pressure and needed to be addressed. SCB is an international professional organization dedicated to promoting the scientific study of the phenomena that affect the maintenance, loss and restoration of biology diversity.

The three-day meeting, under the theme; "From Conservation Science to Policy in Africa", has brought together over 50 participants from all over Africa, United States of America, Germany and United Kingdom. The meeting is expected to, among other things, build capacity in communicating research findings to policy makers, establish both scientific and policy networks towards future collaboration, bridge the gap between scientists and policymakers, develop and build relationships and partnerships to conserve the environment and share information on narrowing the digital divide between Africa and the rest of world. Prof. Rodrigues noted that biodiversity related to anthropogenic activities that impacted heavily on biodiversity. He urged participants to come out with sustainable development strategies, environmental action plans and climate change adaptation strategies to address the biodiversity problems in Africa for posterity.

Dr. Samuel Duah-Yentumi, Assistant Country Resident of UNFPA, said forest management and effective reforestation were important in influencing conservation policy. "Forests contribute to carbon dioxide mitigation through carbon storage and carbon sequestration." He said deforestation was a major source carbon dioxide emission; therefore conserving forest under threat was an essential strategy for reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.

Dr Duah-Yentumi noted that Ghana had not embarked on Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project, a project-based market mechanism that allowed emissions reductions in developing countries to be credited against targets in developed countries. Africa accounts for only about two percent of the CDM market, which is one of the Kyoto Protocol's measures. Dr Dua-Yentumi called for more collaborative efforts to mobilize additional sources of funding for the implementation of adaptation and mitigation programmes. He pledged UNDP's assistance by identifying and prioritizing with stakeholders short-term adaptation responses to reduce adverse impacts on existing livelihoods.

Prof. Patrick Ofori-Danso, Director of Ecological Biology of the University of Ghana, listed the challenges in conserving Africa's biological resources as population growth, urbanization, poverty, globalization, climate change and political instability. These challenges, he said, had been complicated by the lack of appropriate capacity, communication gaps between conservation professionals and other disciplines, thus, hampering African scientists' contribution to development and formulation of appropriate conservation policies.

Dr Delali Dovie, President of the Africa Section of SCB, said several policy initiatives had been developed one of which was on biofuel made available to governments that valued the role of science in policy. "Unless we make conscious efforts in aspects of conservation science, policy, conservation management and capacity building, the future of our economic development will be bleak," he said.