The city of Brazzaville, capital of Congo, is currently the scene of the summit of the three basins of biodiversity ecosystems and tropical forests. From Thursday October 26 to Saturday October 28, 2023, experts and scientists come together to discuss the challenges and opportunities related to preserving these precious ecosystems.
This summit brings together the Amazon, Congo and Borneo Mekong South-East Asia basins, which are among the most important on the planet in terms of biodiversity and their role in climate regulation. The work aims to explore ways to accelerate climate financing capacities in these three basins, in order to support the preservation of forest ecosystems.
In her opening speech, the Minister of Sustainable Development of Congo-Brazzaville, Arlette Soudan-Nonault, underlined the importance of this initiative for the future of humanity. She recalled that the United Nations decade 2021-2030 provides for a plan for the conservation and restoration of forest ecosystems on 350 million hectares over the next ten years. Indeed, stopping deforestation is essential to achieving the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement.
The first day of the summit was dedicated to better understanding the particularities and challenges specific to each basin. The participants shared their knowledge, their scientific knowledge and their experiences with the aim of identifying common themes and areas of work. It is also a question of thinking about the organization and structuring of the States concerned by the three basins, in order to better collectively defend their interests and their common struggles.
A crucial aspect of this summit is the question of financing. The ecosystems of the three basins provide essential ecosystem services to nearly 1.5 billion people. However, these ecosystems are threatened by deforestation, which endangers our planet and our lives. It is therefore essential to accelerate financing capacities to remunerate ecosystem services and support the preservation of these fragile ecosystems.
The summit of the three biodiversity basins and tropical forests is a crucial opportunity to mobilize political, scientific and financial actors around the preservation of these vital ecosystems. The discussions and outcomes of this summit will help strengthen conservation and restoration actions, towards a more sustainable future for our planet.
In conclusion, the summit of the three basins of biodiversity ecosystems and tropical forests in Brazzaville is a unique opportunity to highlight the vital importance of preserving these ecosystems. Awareness of the climate emergency is crucial, and accelerating financing capacity to support conservation actions is essential. This summit represents an important step in the fight for the protection of our planet and the preservation of its biodiversity.