| All set for conservation council annual meeting |
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| Written by Staff Reporters | |||
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The Namibian chapter of the Leadership in Conservation in Africa (LCA) under the chairmanship of the Deputy Minister of Environment and Tourism, Leon Jooste, this week launched the annual council meeting, which will be held next month.
In his keynote address, Jooste said he believed that the Leadership for Conservation in Africa programme has the potential to influence conservation and business in Africa through a network of like-minded people. “It is an enormous privilege for Namibia to host this event and even more importantly to be part of this organisation to achieve tangible results for both business and conservation in our country,” he said A spokesperson for the organisers said the council meeting will be preceded by the President’s Breakfast that is expected to take place on 4 September at the Windhoek Country Club. This will be an opportunity for local business and conservation leaders to meet their African and international counterparts, the spokesperson said. In order to boost the organisation of the breakfast meeting, six local companies, namely the De Beers Group, Shell Namibia, the Frans Indongo Group, Methealth Namibia, Sanlam Investment Management Services and the Pupkewitz Group donated to the cause. A total of N$100,000 was pledged by the sponsoring organisations at the media launch this week. Deputy Minister Jooste commended the companies for their contributions and said the event would be a major link between conservation and business. Standard Bank, which is part of Africa’s biggest banking group, as an anchor sponsor to the Leadership in Conservation in Africa programme, has also confirmed its sponsorship of N$250 000 towards the council meeting at Etosha. The Leadership for Conservation in Africa is a joint venture between global business and African conservation leaders. It was initiated by South African National Parks (SANParks) and established with support from two additional founding patrons, Gold Fields Ltd, as well as the IUCN (The World Conservation Union), in collaboration with the heads of conservation from 16 African countries. As an endorsement of the NEPAD flagship programme, the programme also aims at unifying African countries as part of the African Renaissance. It seeks to get business and political support to assist in the positioning of its movement. “The support of credible and committed business leaders could significantly influence the conservation and development debate in Africa. In addition the business leaders could assist to position the conservation authorities in managing one of the few remaining sustainable products that Africa offers,” said the organisers. |
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