On January 23, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) officially handed over to the government computer equipment and materials for the modernization of the geolocalized information unit of the National Center for the Inventory and Management of Forest and Wildlife Resources; as well as the Geomatics Unit of the General Directorate of Land Use Planning and Major Works .
Composed of computer hardware, latest generation software, furniture and field equipment, the donation worth nearly 80 thousand dollars, or approximately 51 million FCFA, was received by the Minister of Environment, Sustainable Development and the Congo Basin, Arlette Soundan-Nonault, in the presence of her colleague from Forest Economy, Rosalie Matondo. Handing over a sample to the government, the resident representative of the UNDP in Congo, Adama-Dian Barry, indicated that this equipment aims at the modernization of two key national institutions in the preservation of biodiversity and the fight against climate change having a decisive function for the monitoring and protection of our ecosystems.
“We hope that the equipment made available will enable these structures to operate efficiently in carrying out their very high and noble mission, and will be useful in improving decision-making capacities and rapid reaction to phenomena of overlapping land use, deforestation and degradation of forest ecosystems ,” she said, reiterating that the Congolese ecosystem is the first ecological lung of the planet.
For four years, UNDP has been mandated to support national authorities responsible for environmental protection and sustainable development in 120 countries to establish suitable conditions for achieving the objectives of limiting global warming. The aim is to avoid exceeding the 1.5°C mark, at the risk of suffering irreversible consequences on the Earth’s diverse biodiversity, including the threat of the disappearance of the human species. According to Adama-Dian Barry, this intervention is part of the support provided by UNDP and all its international and government partners for the protection of the environment and the preservation of natural resources, in particular the precious forests of the Congo Basin.
“The equipment that we are handing over today is therefore, in our eyes, much more than technical work tools. It reflects our collective determination to better learn, understand, monitor and manage the forest territory, which represents nearly 70% of the national surface area of Congo. Indeed, it is above all a question of better understanding in order to properly protect these forests which must be preserved for the vital needs of the human species and ensure the succession of our rising and future generations ,” she concluded.
Considerable support
Receiving a sample of the donation before handing it over to the beneficiaries, Minister Arlette Soudan-Nonault invited stakeholders to take ownership of the legal framework in force, in particular the new law on sustainable environmental management and the first orientation law on sustainable development. “Faced with climate degradation, we need all of you ,” she said.
The Minister of Forest Economy, for her part, indicated that the equipment and materials received will enable the technical services of the two beneficiary ministries to ensure the sovereign mission of monitoring and land use planning. They will also enable the country to equip itself, declared Rosalie Matondo, with land allocation and land use planning schemes as well as knowledge of the forest resource in the country. “In the light of climate change, with its procession of extreme weather events that sow desolation in the four corners of the world, the monitoring and preservation of forests are of particular importance, so that these ecosystems, an inestimable treasure, the common heritage of humanity, represent the lungs of our planet and today play a vital role in climate resignation ,” she explained.
