Tshisekedi presents Kivu-Kinshasa Green Corridor at COP31
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Beto
Félix Tshisekedi presented the Kivu-Kinshasa Green Corridor at COP31, a protected area covering more than 540,000 km² aimed at combining forest protection and sustainable development. The Congolese president also called for international climate finance to be made a reality, according to Beto.
The President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, presented the Kivu-Kinshasa Green Corridor project on Wednesday 11 November in Antalya, Turkey, a protected and sustainable development area covering more than 540,000 km² of forests. The programme is intended to combine environmental protection, sustainable agriculture, clean energy and opening up territories, according to the points presented by the head of state at COP31.
Félix Tshisekedi also proposed an extension of Kinshasa covering 43,300 hectares in the municipality of Maluku. The project provides for a new city based on environmental planning and multimodal transport to limit the ecological consequences of urbanisation, according to the Congolese president.
On the situation in the east of the DRC, Félix Tshisekedi linked armed conflicts, illegal exploitation of natural resources and ecosystem degradation. He called for greater traceability of minerals and action against trafficking that fuels conflicts, saying that forest protection should also help disarm the war economy.
The presentation comes after calls made on 9 November by COP31 leaders to accelerate climate action, in a context where COP31 in Antalya is focusing on implementing climate commitments.
