Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) – Wildlife and environmental issues will be on the official agenda when Chinese and African heads of state come together from 4-5 December 2015 for the Sixth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, coordinators of the dialogue said on Tuesday.
As African heads of state prepare to join Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Africa for the conference, a group of respected Chinese and African business and policy leaders has appealed for wildlife and environmental issues to be included on the diplomatic agenda of the upcoming summit, said a statement sent to PANA in Dar es Salaam by the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF).
“Both African governments and the Chinese government want better lives for their people and believe strong trade, not aid, is the way to achieve this,” said Philip Idro, former Ugandan Ambassador to China. “At the same time, we must remember that economic growth relies on healthy, resilient ecosystems and wildlife.”
For many African countries, according to Idro, wildlife and wild lands conservation can help to alleviate poverty and provide economic benefits.
