Addis Ababa 14/2017 Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has adopted a Regional Biodiversity Protocol and related strategies.

At the conclusion of the ministerial meeting today, Executive Secretary of IGAD Ambassador Mahboub Maalim said the protocol would help to mobilize resources and create much more cooperation on the issue of ecosystem development in the region. The ministers of environment approved the protocol on biodiversity management, which the Executive Secretary of IGAD said “is a milestone achievement”. According to Ambassador Maalim, regional economic integration in the Horn of Africa could be realized through prudent management of natural resources and trans-boundary ecosystems.

Recently, Ethiopia and Kenya have launched a cross-border program which is the first of its kind. “We are building on that high-level political support to help all linked in cross-border trans-boundary cooperation among member states” he added.

Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister, Dr. Gemedo Dalle said on his part the IGAD region is characterized by severe droughts and recurrent famine, which reflects the high level of land degradation and water shortage.

This poses a great threat to sustainability of ecosystems and sustained livelihoods of the people in the region, he noted.

The Minister pointed out that the availability and endorsement of such a regional protocol is not enough to protect the biodiversity resources in the region.

“It is rather the level of our commitment to properly implement the protocol that would contribute to the sustainable management of the biodiversity resources in the region”, he concluded.