AWF, Zambezi River Authority to Share Knowledge with Chinese

International Forum Venue for Exchange

March, 2007 -- Eleven Africans from the Zambezi River basin will travel to China in mid-April to take part in China’s Yangtze Forum, a conference organized to guide the sustainable development of the 4,000-kilometer Yangtze River, Asia's longest and the third longest river in the world.

The international exchange is taking place, in part, because of the Conservancy’s new partnership with African Wildlife Foundation. Jimmiel Mandima, an AWF Zambezi Heartland director, and 10 people from the Zambezi River Authority will be part of an international delegation to the meeting. Attendees will share river and water management experiences from other places, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Greece and the United States. Mike Tumbare, the executive director of Zambezi River Authority, will talk about his agency’s experience in working with multiple countries to manage the health of this river. In turn, the Africans hope to learn more about the Yangtze, its management and China — an important investor in many southern African nations.

As a co-sponsor for the Yangtze Forum, the Conservancy has organized and will present a series of activities at the 2nd Annual Yangtze Forum, scheduled during the week of April 16, 2007, in Changsha, China. One of the key Conservancy-sponsored sessions will focus on river basin management, including how to best protect watersheds and manage freshwater resources. A second session will showcase the Conservancy's global freshwater conservation work, including featured presentations on environmental flows, ecosystem services, floodplain reconnection, water quality and identification of conservation priority sites.

Facilitated discussions are planned to allow scientists to share their knowledge and experience and explore new opportunities as it relates to the conservation and protection of great rivers.
For more information about the Yangtze Forum, visit www.yangtzeforum.org 

The gathering of so many Conservancy partners also will allow a flourish of exchanges to take place. Officials from the Zambezi River Authority, for example, will tour Three Gorges Dam and see other Yangtze River sites that are important to the river’s management. AFW’s Jimmiel Mandima will meet staff from the Conservancy’s China program to learn about their work to catalog lands and waters critical to conserving the nation’s diversity of life. This research process might inform planning for the Zambezi River, expected to begin later this year.

The African Wildlife Foundation is active in managing threats to and opportunities for conservation in Africa © TNC

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