Towards Enhancing Wetlands in Africa’s Environmental Priorities.
AMCEN’s Role and Zimbabwe’s Leadership
Mainstreaming wetlands into AMCEN’s agenda is essential to strengthening Africa’s response to biodiversity loss, water insecurity, and climate vulnerability. Resolutions from the Convention on Wetlands—such as XII.13 on wetlands and poverty eradication, and XIII.14 on promoting conservation within regional frameworks like NEPAD and AMCEN—highlight the need to integrate wetlands into regional policy and planning.
AMCEN and African Union frameworks have long recognized wetlands for their roles in water regulation, disaster mitigation, livelihoods, and climate resilience. The upcoming Ministerial event, hosted by Zimbabwe, provides a crucial platform to build political momentum and guide technical priorities ahead of COP15 in Victoria Falls (July 2025). It also supports Zimbabwe’s upcoming presidency of the Convention’s Standing Committee (2025–2028), with goals to foster new partnerships, strengthen regional coordination, and scale up Ramsar Convention implementation.
Better wetlands management will directly enhance water security, sustainable agriculture, ecotourism, and broader economic development—driving regional progress and contributing to global biodiversity targets.
This Ministerial session also marks AMCEN’s 40th anniversary, celebrating four decades of environmental leadership and serving as a launchpad for deeper engagement with the Convention on Wetlands across Africa.
PURPOSE
This event builds on AMCEN’s 40-year legacy and aims to:
By reflecting on past progress and setting a forward-looking agenda, this event aims to position wetlands as a strategic priority within AMCEN’s environmental and development vision. It will also rally continent-wide support for effective Ramsar Convention implementation and Zimbabwe’s leadership.
Objectives:
- Integrate wetlands into AMCEN’s frameworks by aligning them with regional climate, biodiversity, and sustainable development priorities.
- Use AMCEN’s 40th anniversary as a milestone to position wetlands management as a long-term strategic priority.
- Mobilize political, technical, and financial support from AMCEN Member States to enhance implementation of the Convention on Wetlands.
- Back Zimbabwe’s presidency (2025–2028) of the Convention’s Standing Committee by building strong regional commitment to wetlands conservation.
- Strengthen partnerships among AMCEN Member States, regional bodies, and global stakeholders to support resource mobilization, capacity building, and knowledge sharing.
- Develop a three-year strategic roadmap outlining wetlands-related priorities aligned with national policies and AMCEN’s broader agenda.
