Triangular Cooperation China – Namibia & Zambia – Germany
As the 2019 global report by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services warns, the current negative trends in biodiversity and ecosystem services may undermine progress towards 80% of the Sustainable Development Goals related to marine and terrestrial biodiversity, but also to poverty, hunger, health, water, cities, and climate. Due to land degradation, Africa is already losing an area equivalent to 1/3 of the area of Zambia every year. Loss of biodiversity is therefore not only an environmental issue, but also a development, economic, security, social, and moral issue.
Protected and conserved areas make an essential contribution to safeguarding nature and the services it provides. Currently, approximately 10% of the Earth’s surface is formally protected. As the global economy and population continues to grow, the demand for resources as well as land and hence pressures on protected areas increase drastically. Therefore, strong protected areas, which are resilient to these pressures, are of fundamental importance.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Green List of Protected and Conserved Areas represents a global standard of best practice for fair and effective protected area management. It acts as incentive and offers a stepwise program that can help make protected areas fit for the future by identifying and addressing weaknesses and thus secure past successes and future investments. Currently, in 2022, 61 areas in 57 countries are listed worldwide, 5 of them in African countries (Kenya and Egypt).
Namibia and Zambia are at the forefront of nature conservation in Africa. Both countries have long dedicated emphasis on nature conservation, and are progressive in their strong promotion of community-based resource management. Namibia and Zambia already conserve as much as 39% and 41% of their land surface respectively.
Having embarked on an IUCN Green List certification process itself, and the establishment of a natural protected area system with national parks at its core, China can exchange expertise, good practices and lessons learnt to and from African cooperation partners. Chinese expertise lies principally with the National Forestry and Grassland Administration (NFGA) and the Chinese Academy of Forestry (CAF). Moreover, China can leverage impact through its role as co-host country to the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP-15) in 2022 communicating the experiences and results of the triangular cooperation to a wider audience.
Germany is among the world’s largest donors for biodiversity conservation, and Germany’s Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in particular has long been committed to the conservation of African biodiversity through effectively and equitably managed protected areas. Germany pursues a development-oriented approach to nature conservation, focused on people issues. Promoting the conservation of biodiversity and related ecosystem services in accordance with the rights and development needs of indigenous and other local communities is a core concern of German international cooperation.
The joint initiative aims at improving the quality of protected area management and governance in the African partner countries through the implementation of the ‘IUCN Green List of Protected and Conserved Areas’.
In Africa, the cooperation project is open to committed partner countries with high interest in equitable protected area governance and effective management, and in using the Green Listing pathway to achieve and recognize this outcome. So far, Namibia and Zambia are joining forces with China and Germany in this project. Implementation is coordinated by IUCN.
The triangular cooperation setting will ensure contributions from China and Germany to better governance and management of protected areas in Africa but also facilitate a peer exchange among African partners.
Political partners of the project are the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism of the Republic of Namibia, the Ministry of Tourism and Arts of the Republic of Zambia, the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China with the National Forestry and Grassland Administration and the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The initiative is implemented by the Directorate of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) of Namibia, the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) of Zambia, the Chinese Academy of Forestry (CAF) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) Germany, in close coordination with KfW Development Bank.
Implementing partner for the initiative is the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The project runs from November 2020 until March 2023. It includes the following steps:
Building capacities and first assessments for the IUCN Green List Standard
Improving planning, governance and management of protected areas by addressing gaps identified
In parallel and subsequently, opportunities for improvement identified through the Green List process will be addressed through targeted activities (e.g. skills and capacity development). These activities will help improve the quality and effectiveness of protected areas management and governance, with the co-benefit of bringing those areas closer to successful certification. Reciprocally sharing experience and expertise among partners both through and on the Green List process itself is a key element of the cooperation aiming for expanding Green List implementation (assessments) to additional protected areas.
Technical guidance by IUCN allows this process to advance efficiently.
The project started in November 2020 with first exchanges. Respective Zambian and Namibia Expert Assessment Groups for the Green List (EAGLs) have been established and trained. The Zambian EAGL has completed the adaptation of the Green List indicators (January 2021), and Namibia is anticipated to complete this process in December 2022.
In Zambia, five sites are undergoing Green List assessments, and one site remains pending as it finalizes its management plan. Momentously, North Luangwa National Park has successfully completed the assessment, been reviewed and approved by the EAGL and Assurance Services International (ASI), and is anticipated to receive Green List certification in early 2023. Through the Green List process and funding from BMZ, a DNPW dedicated website is being developed to provide public access to relevant management and governance information about Zambia’s national parks. At a site level, using this assessment process, North Luangwa was able to strengthen its biodiversity monitoring component of management.
In Namibia, five national parks have started the Green List assessment process. Two community conservation sites (OECMs) will soon be selected for assessment as OECMs and against the Green List Standard.
