HARARE, May 23 (Xinhua) -- The Southern African Development Community (SADC) on Friday reaffirmed its commitment to environmental conservation to ensure sustainable development in the region.
According to a communique issued at the end of the one-day SADC Transfrontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs) International Conference and Summit held in the Zimbabwean capital of Harare, the summit emphasized the need for continued and strengthened collaboration among stakeholders.
SADC member states were urged to continue with collaborative efforts to maximize the trade and tourism benefits of TFCAs, and to embrace innovative and sustainable financing mechanisms to ensure that TFCAs continue to deliver socio-economic and conservation benefits to the SADC region, the communique said.
According to the communique, the summit urged member states to promote the establishment of coastal and marine TFCAs for enhanced benefits to local communities and regional economies, and it also called for the development of a regional carbon market framework.
There are 13 TFCAs within the SADC region spanning both terrestrial and marine environments, covering 7 percent of the region's surface area.
The SADC is a 16-member southern African regional bloc, comprising Angola, Botswana, the Comoros, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
