Africa Resources Trust, ZW

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is the best known and most controversial of international conservation treaties. CITES treats the international trade in wildlife as the most important threat to the continued existence of wild species, but it is now generally acknowledged that for most species habitat loss is a much more significant threat.

The exchange visit was designed to enable directors of various government departments from SADC states to examine the Mahenye community's CAMPFIRE project in the southeast lowveld in Zimbabwe, as a working model of CBNRM principles. Specifically, the objective was to contribute to the development of an enbaling environment that will facilitate CBNRM being accepted as a key element in economic development strategies.

The theme of the Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Session of the GBF was “Using Biodiversity to Strengthen Livelihoods”. The Forum explored ways and means of integrating poverty alleviation considerations into local, national and regional actions aimed at conserving, using sustainably and sharing equitably the benefits of biodiversity.