Luanda - The President of the Republic, João Lourenço, defended on Saturday, in the municipality of Porto Amboim, Cuanza Sul province, the involvement of all society in the protection of nature.
The Head of State, who was speaking to the press after a working visit of a few hours to this locality, stressed the need to protect, internally, the sea turtles, a species threatened by human action, considered to be on the verge of extinction in the country.
He also advocated the protection of other animal species and the plant world.
In this sense, he highlighted the work carried out by the non-governmental organization Kitabanga, focused on the study and conservation of sea turtles along the Angolan coast and expressed the commitment of the State, civil society and companies in the aforementioned project, as well as in the fight to save the planet.
“Some protect mangroves and other plant species, while the Kitabanga Project protects the animal world, more specifically our turtles,” he said.
He considered it important that this project is concerned with educating children so that, even from a young age, they can begin to fulfill the mission of protecting this species.
The President of the Republic highlighted that Angola meets the concern and commitment of the United Nations to protect nature, with actions to protect mangroves, turtles and other species on the verge of extinction due to human action.
“We are doing our part. By protecting the turtle in Angola, we are protecting the turtle anywhere in the world, because it is an animal that immigrates,” he said, calling for a joint effort to protect all animal and plant species.
João Lourenço called on to the need for there to be no borders, between public and private, regarding the protection of nature.
The President of the Republic held a working day to the municipality of Porto Amboim, as part of his commitment to social policies, during which he visited the sea turtle nesting area of the Kitabanga Project, at the mouth of the Longa River, having transferred hundreds of turtles to the sea and received information related to the project.
João Lourenço also visited the environmental education area and a workshop where women artisans work, as well as visiting the Hogiwa primary school, in the town with the same name.
At the educational institution, the President, in the company of the First Lady, interacted with different children from Cuanza Sul, most of them students, about aspects linked to the protection of sea turtles in the country and made the symbolic delivery of gifts, as part of Christmas Ecological.
João Lourenço questioned and, in a didactic way, clarified some of the children's doubts about this animal species and the importance of its conservation for humanity.
Kitabanga Project
Started in 2003, in the Palmeirinhas area of Luanda, the Kitabanga project aims to study and the conservation of sea turtles. Throughout this period, it allowed the protection of 45,000 nests, which resulted in the safe nesting of four (4) million and 500,000 turtles.
The project is implemented by the Department of Biology of the Faculty of Natural Sciences of the Agostinho Neto University.
It has the partnership of the Kissama Foundation and the University of Namibe, as well as the consent of the Ministry of the Environment.
It monitors 150 kilometers of the coast, and is deployed in the provinces of Bengo, Zaire, Benguela, Namibe and Cuanza Sul. VC/SC/DOJ
