GITEGA April 24th (ABP) – The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Burundi has reaffirmed its commitment to work with other technical and financial partners to continue to support Burundi in its efforts to improve environmental governance, according to the statement which marked the end of the activities of a workshop of commitment of the partners and fund raising for the conservation of the protected areas in Burundi, held on April 20, 2018 at the “Tropitel” Hotel of Gitega (center of Burundi).
Organized by the Ministry in charge of the Environment, the workshop was opened by the second Deputy President of the Republic, Mr. Joseph Butore who, in his speech, called on Burundi’s technical and financial partners to support Burundi in its conservation efforts and habitat.
“Of Burundi’s 14 protected areas, only Kibira and Ruvubu National Parks, as well as Bururi Forest Reserve, are supported in a remarkable way by three partners, namely UNDP, Global Environment Facility and the World Bank, “said Butore.
“For lack of financial means, the activities of all the other protected areas of Burundi can be summarized only in the surveillance, without any adequate initiative of scientific and dynamic monitoring of the biodiversity,” said the second Deputy President of the Republic.
In addition, the statement mentioned the recommendations to the Burundian government, including the organization of a meeting involving several technical and financial partners such as the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the European Union, the United Nations and others to mobilize funding for environmental protection activities as well as strengthening cooperation with neighboring countries to promote the conservation of protected areas on shared borders. Among the recommendations addressed to the Burundian Office of the Environment were the strengthening of the systematic integration of potential sites such as “Inanzerwe” (the mountainous massif in the south of the country) and the ancient sites of the Kirundo bird lakes.
The workshop included the participation of executives at the President Office and the second vice Presidency of the Republic, the UNDP country Director, provincial governors, senior officials from the Ministry responsible for environmental management and representatives of civil society organizations.
