HM King Mohammed VI has called for a collective awareness of the devastating effects of global warming on the planet.
Aside from the consequences of climate change, food shortages and dwindling water reserves can lead to significant population migration flows, weaken states and create precariousness, the Sovereign said in a speech to the 1st Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Climate Commission of the Congo Basin and the Blue Fund for the Congo Basin, which opened on Sunday in Brazzaville.
“How is it possible that in a continent which has more than 5,000 billion cubic meters of water in its aquifers, 320 million African men and women still have no access to drinking water?,” HM the King said, adding that “if we fail to act, in the coming years climate change will lead to land degradation and a scarcity of water resources: the 25,000 sq. km of waterways will then face the risk of silting and pollution.”
“Collective mobilization is crucial. And this Summit shows that it is possible,” the Monarch noted, adding that “in the task of building the Africa of the future, environmental preservation is the cornerstone of African co-emergence.”
“It is the bedrock on which the Continent’s inclusive economic growth will be built,” the Sovereign pointed out.
HM the King underlined, in this regard, the need to work together to tackle global warming and its risks, and transform economies to promote sustainable development.
The Sovereign also stressed the importance of reconciling the need to achieve development in the African Continent with the awakening of ecological consciousness.
“Africa has irreversibly embarked on a path towards profound change. With each passing day, our Continent is asserting itself more and more, looking to the future with confidence and serenity,” HM the King said, adding that “we do realize there are plenty of challenges.”
“Our meeting today sounds like an urgent wake-up call for us all. It is vitally important for our Continent – indeed for humankind – because it implies a collective awareness of the devastating effects of global warming on the planet,” the Sovereign noted.
“Ours is a collective responsibility: to safeguard African biodiversity. The depletion of that common heritage has a far-reaching impact on people’s daily lives and is detrimental to the socio-economic development of the communities which depend on it,” HM the King said.
“Our presence here today attests to our resolve to place these issues front and center in our concerns and our action. We are determined to undertake concrete initiatives that are likely to help safeguard the rights of future generations,” the Monarch added, underlining that Morocco will work resolutely and unremittingly for the implementation of the Continent’s large-scale development projects.
(MAP)