Harare - The First Lady of Angola, Ana Dias Lourenço, on Saturday in Harare, called on the member states of the southern region to strive for environmental sustainability, in order to prevent climate effects and preserve humanity.
Ana Dias Lourenço who was speaking on Waste Management Program at an event promoted by the First Lady of Zimbabwe, Auxilia Mnangagwa, with the participation of her counterparts from the Southern African Development Community (SADC), said that environmental crises affect the present and the future of humanity, including the region.
She mentioned that environmental sustainability should concern everyone, deserving individual and collective attention, because the causes and effects of climate change, the loss of biodiversity and pollution are transnational in nature.
In this regard, Ana Dias Lourenço defends a commitment to a “high level of progress”, at national, regional and international level, “to safeguard national interests and the right to development of our people”.
Ana Dias Lourenço congratulated her Zimbabwean counterpart on the initiative, highlighting the fact that the event served to raise awareness of "all those present and society in general" about environmental issues, climate change and the sustainability of the environment and its development.
"We know that, as members of society, in the role of First Ladies, we can effectively mobilize politicians with our advocacy role and raise awareness in communities. We all have an important role to play when it comes to raising awareness and environmental education about these materials in our partner countries", she added.
Ana Dias Lourenço said that Angola is also a country vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, like the entire African continent and, in particular, the SADC region.
"Climate change provides the loss of biodiversity and increases pollution, but there are also other issues in each of our countries, which intensify these phenomena and, as such, we recommend at national and regional level, to apply measures to mitigate these situations", mentioned.
To overcome environmental crises, the Angolan First Lady added that in addition to sectoral policies, it aligns itself with measures in Africa and the region, in which environmental issues are included in its National Development Plan.
The First Lady also said that it is important to consider that issues about environmental preservation and climate change are dealt with in other forums, including government officials and legislators.
The meeting included a visit to the facilities of Geo Pomona, a solid waste management plant, where new products that can be obtained from waste, when well-treated and not thrown in the trash, were presented.
Geo Pomona is dedicated to developing sustainable solutions to minimize negative impact on the environment.
The Waste Management Program, organized by Zimbabwe, is part of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), as part of the celebration of World Environment Day, and took place on the sidelines of the 44th Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and SADC Government, in Harare.
The activity included the collaboration of the SADC secretariat, Zimbabwe Ministry of Environment, the Office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator and the United Nations Country Team of Zimbabwe. IZ/ART /MRA/DOJ
