Major African conservation congress kicks off this week

Rwanda is hosting Africa’s first congress addressing protecting areas as part of a continental effort to help preserve wild lands and waters in the face of limited conservation budgets. The Africa Protected Areas Congress is taking place in Kigali, and will include discussions on such topics as the Great Blue Wall Initiative to protect marine life along the continent’s east coast, improving the quality of wildlife hot spots and addressing illegal wildlife trade. “Africa’s protected and conserved areas face serious issues that need to be addressed urgently,” Ken Mwathe, policy coordinator for Birdlife International in Africa, told the Associated Press.

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