Stream 3 Parallel Plenary – Biodiversity: Unlocking the opportunities linked to biodiversity conservation in Africa

Panel 1: Is our vision of biodiversity conservation the same?

Prof. Souleiman Konate (Director Research in Cote D´Ivoire) will be the Moderator & will introduce the importance of understanding the State of Biodiversity in Africa. Dr. Helen Gichohi (Kenya & former CEO of AWF, tbc) will deliver a TEDX talk on the biodiversity economy for Africa – State of biodiversity conservation, & wil highlight key issues/challenges, opportunities for the future & reflect what 30×30 means for Africa. Alice Ruhweza (WWF Africa, tbc) & Dr. Arona Soumare (African Development Bank), in keynote addreses, will develop these ideas further as to what we need to do differently in Africa to unlock the potential of Africa´s Biodiversity, align Africa with Green Growth & prevent future pandemics?

There will be five panellists from the different regional bodies in Africa including SADC (Domingos Gove), & representatives from ECOWAS, UMA (Arab
Maghreb Union), EAC, ECCAS (Economic Community of Central African States – all tbc). They will speak to the importance of assessing the regional
biodiversity conservation strategies & exploring synergies across Africa regional blocks/REC. The panellist will interrogate the different biodiversity strategies to understand the complementarity & the difference

After the panellists have made their brief presentations, the audience will be able to participate in group discussions to discuss various questions