Lusaka Agreement Task Force (LATF) teams up with UNOOSA, UNEP and Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of Kenya in bridging Wildlife Conservation, Space Technology and Applications to enhance service delivery in wildlife management and protecting biodiversity in Africa.
Nairobi, 24 June 2016
Two years after the Tokyo Conference on Combating Transboundary Wildlife Crime organized and hosted by the United Nations University Tokyo, Japan in collaboration with LATF from 3rdto 5thMarch 2014 alongside celebrations of the World Wildlife Day, and a year after the Brazzaville International Conference on the Illegal Exploitation and Illicit Trade in African Wildlife Products from 27th to30th April 2015 followed by adoption of the African Common Strategy on Combating Illegal Trade in Wild Flora and Fauna by AU Heads of States Summit, processes in which the Lusaka agreement fraternity played critical roles in their successes;
Africa is honoured to host the United Nations/Kenya Conference on Space Technology and Applications for Wildlife Management and Protecting Biodiversity will take place from 27th to 30thJune 2016 at the United Nations Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. The conference organized by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the Government of the Republic of Kenya supported by the European Space Agency, Lusaka Agreement Task Force and other partners will be hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
The Conference brings together stakeholders involved in biodiversity and wildlife management, including representatives of space industry, governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and expert communities, as well as the relevant space applications and geo-spatial experts and the users of such applications, including park rangers and wildlife managers, law enforcers to share their user requirements and experience and present existing and planned space technologies and applications focusing on the African continent.
During the conference, participants will among others undertake the following:
- Present experiences with existing and planned state-of-the-art space technologies and applications that provide solutions for wildlife management (flora and fauna) and for protecting biodiversity, including for biodiversity assessments, ecosystem and wildlife habitat management, wildlife monitoring and tracking, as well as for addressing wildlife crime, by documenting and preventing poaching;
- Bring together and connect the stakeholders involved in relevant initiatives, including those with mandates responsibilities;
- Present capacity building opportunities to implement space-based solutions;
- Discuss opportunities for cooperation;
- Consider relevant legal and regulatory aspects;
- Collate observations and recommendations for the best way forward in using space based solutions for wildlife management and protecting biodiversity.
In order to leverage high level interventions and successes in delivering its objectives, panel discussions will be organized to share experiences and lessons learned through capacity-building activities in relevant space technology and application activities as well as to deliberate on opportunities for international and regional collaborations among the participants. These sessions will be supplemented by a poster session, technical and practical hands-on training exercises. There will be side-events for all conference participants including a training session for Lusaka Agreement National Focal Points involved or potential users of the ongoing WEMS Africa Initiative. The session will also review progress in the country implementation of WEMS and chart the way forward including capacity building, partnership development and expansion of its geographical scope.
The Lusaka Agreement Task Force is expected to make substantive contributions through chairing or moderating some sessions and making presentations during the conference as well as actively participating in relevant side events.
We call upon all participants to this unique symposium to take the opportunity to advance our agenda on space technology and applications to wildlife management and protecting biodiversity in Africa.
We thank and appreciate Lusaka Agreement member States and our partners for their continued support and guidance over the years and into the future.
|Lusaka Agreement Task Force |LATF|
administrator@lusakaagreement.org
Fighting Wildlife Crime in Africa