News

Mountain Partnership African Champions Committee launched

28.02.2013

African members of the Mountain Partnership have agreed to create a new Mountain Partnership African Champions Committee to move the region's sustainable mountain development agenda forward.

At a regional meeting of the Mountain Partnership in Kigali, Rwanda, on 20 February, members reiterated their commitment to promoting sustainable mountain development, building on the results of the last regional meeting that took place in Mbale, Uganda, in 2011.

The Mountain Partnership African Champions Committee is organized to facilitate the addition of new members and its next steps will be to define and implement a work plan.

Mountain Partnership focal points, officials from the government of Rwanda, private sector actors and representatives from civil society also launched the Africa Water Towers Initiative during the regional meeting.

The Water Towers Initiative will focus on conducting research and generating knowledge on mountain ecosystem issues, carrying out stakeholder and institutional analysis to understand the actors involved in mountain ecosystems, and creating awareness of the need for payment for ecosystem services.

The Albertine Rift Conservation Society (ARCOS) organized the regional meeting jointly with the Mountain Partnership Secretariat and the MacArthur Foundation, and in collaboration with the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Related links

Press release

Photo: Flickr/samurai_dave

 Kigali programme.pdf