BUJUMBURA July 13th (ABP) – The green economy is an economic activity that results in improved human well-being and social equity while significantly reducing environmental risks and resource scarcity, the chairman of the Association “Together for the Environmental Protection,” Mr. Innocent Banigwaninzigo, told the check by ABP in an interview he gave to him on July 11, 2019.
During the interview, Mr. Banigwaninzigo said that, first and foremost, the green economy is linked to respect for nature and seeks to keep natural capital in balance. He warns that resources being more than those that ecosystems (earth and sun) can provide, should not be consumed; rather, we need to keep ecosystem services equitably available for all and for future generations.
According to Mr. Banigwaninzigo, in the green economy, eco-activities must therefore focus directly on the restoration or environmental protection, but also on the preservation of natural and human resources, especially when they are not, little, hardly, slowly or costly renewable. These eco-activities seek to reduce the ecological footprint of the products or services they offer, the environmentalist says.
Mr. Banigwaninzigo continues to say that the green economy can, for example, cover the sectors of waste and water management, air quality, energy efficiency, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and renewable energies.
At the level of Burundi, Mr. Banigwaninzigo lists eight key activity sectors that deserve significant transformations in their organization to promote the green economy. Those sectors are agriculture, forestry, fishing, energy, manufacturing industry (highly consuming resources), recycling, construction and transportation. Once those eight sectors are touched up, Mr. Banigwaninzigo indicates that the consequences on employment will be significant especially since the green economy will bring out new professions (green crafts and green jobs).
