Held in Kigali, Rwanda from 18 to 23 July 2022, the IUCN Africa Protected Areas Congress (APAC) was the “first ever continent-wide gathering of African leaders, citizens and interest groups to discuss the role of protected areas in conserving nature, safeguarding Africa’s iconic wildlife, delivering vital life-supporting ecosystem services, and promoting sustainable development while conserving Africa’s cultural heritage and traditions.”^[i]

The Congress was convened jointly by the Government of Rwanda, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the African Wildlife Foundation, and attracted more than 2,400 participants from across the African continent and beyond, representing governments, African regional bodies, Indigenous Peoples, local communities, NGOs, national and international experts and organizations, youth, academia, the judiciary, development agencies and the private sector.^[ii]

The overarching objective of the APAC was “to position Africa’s protected and conserved areas within the broader goals of economic development and community well-being and to increase the understanding of the vital role parks play in conserving biodiversity and delivering the ecosystem services that underpin human welfare and livelihoods.”^[iii]

The Congress was organized around the following three Streams: 1. Protected Areas (“Promoting effective and well-managed networks of protected and conserved areas in Africa”); 2. People (“People and protected and conserved areas: towards mutual well-being”); and 3. Biodiversity (“Africa’s biodiversity as the basis for life on the continent”). Additionally, six cross-cutting themes were identified to help focus the discussions: Governance; Climate Change; Conflict; Science, Technology, and Indigenous Knowledge; Sustainable Financing; and Physical Infrastructure. The main outcome document of the Congress was the “Kigali Call to Action for People and Nature,” agreed upon in the APAC closing plenary session on 23 July 2022.

^[1] Congress website, https://apacongress.africa/

^[2] Kigali Call to Action for People and Nature, https://apacongress.africa/download/english-version-of-apac-kigali-call-to-action/

^[3] Congress website.

Tags: Global governance