06 Oct 2025

The African Biodiversity Summit will serve as a high-level platform to inform the political leadership about biodiversity conservation, particularly in governance, resource mobilisation and Africa’s contribution to global biodiversity negotiations.

The summit will be held in Botswana in collaboration with the African Union Commission (AUC) in Gaborone from November 2 to 5.

Giving welcome remarks during the African Biodiversity Summit Donor Roundtable, which is a preparatory forum for the summit on Thursday, Minister of Environment and Tourism, Mr Wynter Mmolotsi said the conference themed: Leveraging Africa’s Biodiversity for Prosperity would serve as a pivotal opportunity for approximately 10 000 expected participants to deliberate and exchange ideas on how best to safeguard the planet’s future.

“Government is keen to hear from the private sector on how we can work together to include our natural capital in our planning and business decisions, as well as harness our natural capital not only to protect biodiversity, but to drive peace, prosperity and resilience,” he said.

Mr Mmolotsi said Africa was confronted by a rapid and unplanned urbanisation, unsustainable resource use, illegal wildlife trade, pollution and invasive species, which were all contributing to eco-system fragmentation and species extinction on an unprecedented scale.

Therefore, he expressed concern that the inequitable sharing of benefits and natural resources use further undermined the ability to build resilient communities and economies.

“Current assessments show that Africa is the most affected continent with growing threats to food, water, and energy security,” he added.

This, he said posed escalating risks to livelihoods, development and well-being, stressing that ‘biodiversity loss, climate change and pollution were now recognised as inextricably linked, crisis-threatening the foundation of life on earth’.

Mr Mmolotsi said the unprecedented laws of biodiversity and degradation of eco-systems were also eroding the productivity of vital services that sustained human well-being, food security and economic stability.

As for the donor roundtable event, he said it was meant to bridge the funding gap by securing financial commitments to cover costs associated with convening the upcoming summit.

The roundtable was also aimed at mobilising pledges for post-summit implementation by encouraging initial pledges and expressions of interest for a dedicated African Biodiversity Fund to finance the implementation of the summit outcomes and priorities.

For his part, the AUC Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Sustainable Development and Blue Economy, Mr Moses Vilakati thanked Botswana for having agreed to host the summit; saying it would provide an opportune moment for Africa to assert its collective voice, as well as its leadership in the global biodiversity agenda.

“It is an opportunity to drive alignment, to drive integration and action around shared continental goals,” he said.

For Botswana, the commissioner said the summit would serve as a moment of pride and a chance to showcase its conservation legacy and landscapes to the world.

For that reason, he assured that the AUC was committed to ensuring the success of the summit.

“This is your opportunity. With approximately 10 000 participants expected from across the globe, the summit presents an opportunity for both environmental and economic advancement,” he added.

He expressed gratitude that the first Conference of Parties to the Maputo Convention on Nature and Natural Resources would also be held in Botswana on the margins of the summit.

Furthermore, Mr Vilakati appealed to partners and stakeholders, as a collective, to support the initiative by mobilising the necessary resources to make the summit a success.

He said the summit was designed to identify and map Africa’s biodiversity priorities.

“This must happen at the highest political level, as biodiversity is central to our economies especially through tourism and sustainable resource use,” he said. ENDS