Unified efforts labelled crucial to BIOFIN
Usi (right) during the event in Blantyre
Close collaboration with other African countries is being touted as critical to formulation processes of conservation ecosystems policies.
The observation follows the conclusion this week of the UNDP 10th Africa Regional Dialogue on Biodiversity Finance (BIOFIN) meeting involving Malawi and 17 other African countries in Blantyre.
Natural resources minister Michael Usi explains that the policies would help counter various challenges that rock efforts to revive natural flora and fauna in disaster hit areas.
He said; “Conservation costs money to recruit human resources that protect our biodiversity hotspots, remove invasive alien species, reduce poaching, prevent deforestation and sustain the ecosystem services and sometimes it even costs life.”
Meanwhile, finance minister Simplex Chithyola Banda emphasizes on the need for countries to include Biodiversity Financing in national budgets that can support policies and strategies towards conservation goals.
“We have actually allocated resources in the national budget to make sure that Malawi participates along with nations across the globe in conserving biodiversity,” Chithyola Banda said
BIOFIN was launched in 2012 and supports over 40 countries to design and implement national diversity finance plans. Malawi joined the BIOFIN global partnership in 2018 and developed the Biodiversity Finance Plan (BFP) in 2022.
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