The leaders hosted at Urugwiro Village today include Mahamadou Issoufou, the former President of Niger; Hailemariam Desalegn, former Ethiopian Prime Minister; the CEO of African Wildlife Foundation, Kaddu Sebunya; the Deputy Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Stewart Maginnis; the Director General of World Wildlife Fund, Marco Lambertini and the Director General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Shamila Nair Bedouelle.
Rwanda’s Presidency has announced the development via Twitter handle but did not mention topics of discussions.
The leaders were accompanied by Rwandan officials including the Minister of Environment, Dr. Jeanne d’Arc Mujawamariya and the CEO of Rwanda Development Board (RDB), Clare Akamanzi.
The congress which the leaders attended runs between 18th and 23rd July 2022. It is organized by African Wildlife Foundation, an international conservation organization focused exclusively on Africa’s wildlife and wild lands.
The first Africa Protected Area Congress underway in Kigali is intended to further enhance the status of conservation in Africa by engaging governments, the private sector, civil society, indigenous peoples and local communities, academia to shape Africa’s Protected and Conserved Areas Agenda to better deliver benefits for people and nature.
It brought together over 2000 participants from 52 African countries and beyond.
Rwanda became the first African country to host the meeting which previously took place in Europe, USA and Asia.
The opening ceremony was graced by dignitaries including the former Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Desalegn and the former President of Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou.
The opening ceremony also coincided with the official inauguration of Nyandungu Eco-Park by Prime Minister, Dr. Edouard Ngirente.
Today, protected areas cover 37.7% of Rwanda’s land.
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