The European Union (EU) will fund three major projects in Angola in the areas of biodiversity protection, the blue economy and circular economy with almost 100 million euros by 2025, ambassador Rosário Bento Pais said today.
Rosário Bento Pais took part in the international conference on the environment, with the theme ‘The Planet on Fire: Rights in Extinction’, organised by Mosaiko – Institute for Citizenship and the Faith and Cooperation Foundation (FEC).
Speaking to the press, the EU ambassador to Angola said that the European Union has several ongoing projects to raise awareness among civil society, in the technical and professional area, related to the recycling and harvesting of plastics.
The 25 million euro project to protect national parks in the Lobito Corridor area, called ‘Angola’s Natural Heritage: Governance and Ecotourism in Conservation Areas’, is due to start next year, and aims to promote emblematic ecotourism experiences, such as the observation of the iconic Giant Sable antelope, and to encourage the protection of birds, among other things.
A second project in the area of the blue economy aims to protect marine biodiversity and the economic and sustainable development of Angola’s entire coastal zone.
The third is related to the circular economy, called ‘Support for the Modernisation of the Solid Waste Management Value Chain and the Adoption of a Circular Economic Model’, with the aim of supporting the transition and increasing sustainability, attracting private investment and creating green jobs.
The three projects total almost 100 million euros and will begin next year, said Rosário Bento Pais, emphasising that a project in the professional technical area, which also includes the environment and biodiversity protection, will also begin in 2025 for capacity building and training.
Asked to comment on the situation of fires in Angola, the EU ambassador to Angola said that it was a global problem, which had to involve raising awareness among the population, providing alternatives and more sustainable agricultural practices.
‘It involves a series of measures and we are willing to support the Angolan government in this capacity building and training,’ she said.
Speaking at the opening of the conference, Rosário Bento Pais said that the EU was committed to the fight against the climate crisis and the defence of human rights.
According to the EU ambassador to Angola, it is imperative to see the climate crisis as an environmental challenge and as a question of social and economic justice, because those most affected, the vulnerable population, are those who have contributed the least to this situation.
‘This includes indigenous communities, women, children and people living in extreme poverty. It is our duty to ensure that their voices are heard and that their rights are protected,’ she emphasised.
The EU is committed to leading the transition to a sustainable future and Angola, with its rich biodiversity and vast natural resources, plays a crucial role in this fight, said Rosário Bento Pais, emphasising that the country’s future depends not only on the responsible management of its resources, but also on protecting the rights of its communities and citizens.
Since 2012, Angola and the European Union have had a political agreement called the Joint Pathway, which has environmental sustainability and climate change as one of its crucial areas of coverage, with the environmental component being intrinsic to all projects funded by the EU and particularly by the delegation in Angola.
Lusa
