On September 23rd in New York City, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), the ICCF Group, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Rainforest Trust, and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), with leadership from the President of Mozambique H.E. Filipe Nyusi, hosted a Heads of State reception on the African-led Miombo Initiative.
Background
The governments of the signatory countries of the Maputo Declaration on the Miombo Forest and partners have been collaborating over decades on the biodiversity conservation and sustainable development of the Miombo woodlands region in Southern Africa. The 11 Governments - Angola, Botswana, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe - have signed the Maputo Declaration and the Miombo Initiative Letter of Intent to highlight the value of the Miombo woodlands region for biodiversity conservation and climate mitigation, while also recognizing the need for sustainable and market-oriented models for strengthening local livelihoods whilst ensuring the conservation of Miombo.
Heads of State Reception
The high-level reception included Heads of State, Heads of Delegation to the UNGA, and government ministers from several countries within the Miombo region. H.E. Mokgweetsi Masisi, President of Botswana; H.E. Lazarus Chakwera, President of Malawi; H.E. Filipe Nyusi, President of Mozambique; and H.E. Elias Magosi, Executive Secretary of SADC, spoke about this African-led vision to implement and advance the Miombo Forest conservation and development initiatives. They pledged their continued leadership support for the initiative and provided updates on progress in the development of the program of work for the Miombo Forest Initiative and near-term objectives that show the scale of funding needed to achieve sustainable development goals that fall within the three pillars of Biodiversity and Natural Resources, Energy Transitions, and Payment for Ecosystem Services.
Significant pledges of financial support for the goals and aims of the Miombo Woodlands Initiative were made by the Rob Walton Foundation, Rainforest Trust, Trafigura, and the U.S. Department of State. Other guests at the reception included high-level government officials, corporate and NGO leaders, and multilateral and donor representatives.
Front row: Hon. Ivete Maibaze, Minister of Land and Environment of Mozambique; Susan Lylis, Executive Vice President of the ICCF Group; David Barron, Chairman of the ICCF Group; Hannah Hauman, Global Head of Carbon Trading for Trafigura; H.E. Filipe Nyusi, President of the Republic of Mozambique; Rob Walton, former Chairman of Walmart and Chairman of African Parks Foundation of America; H.E. Lazarus Chakwera, President of the Republic of Malawi; H.E. Mokgweetsi Masisi, President of the Republic of Botswana; and Jennifer Littlejohn, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs.
Back row: Joe Walston, Executive Vice President for WCS Global; John Gantt, CEO of the ICCF Group; John Calvelli, Executive Vice President of Public Affairs for WCS; James Lewis, Vice President of Conservation for Rainforest Trust; and H.E. Elias Magosi, Executive Secretary of SADC
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