PRESIDENT WANTS CONCRETE ACTIONS FOR ENVIRONMENT

 Luanda - Angolan president João Lourenço on Saturday called for concrete actions to protect the environment.

"We have reached a time when it is no longer enough to talk. It is not enough to be aware (...). It is necessary to take concrete actions, small or large", he said.

Speaking at mangrove reforestation project launch ceremony, also called "Blue Carbon", João Lourenço said that the action, if it is multiplied, will certainly have its impact on the defence of the environment.

He pointed out the human being as the main responsible for the damage that the environment has been suffering, adding that it was "the action of man that led to the current situation of droughts, floods, typhoons, hurricanes, tsunamis and fires".

João Lourenço noted that all these disasters that have been observed all over the world are consequences "of man's irresponsibility, no matter where he is".

In the mangrove area, commune of Ramiros, Belas municipality, in Luanda, João Lourenço said there were no reasons for conflicts between the construction of leisure infrastructure on the seafront and the maintenance of protected areas, in the case of mangroves.

The incumbent of Executive Power said that the country has a lot of space to build, so the competent authorities should instruct investors where to build the infrastructure.

The Head of State reaffirmed the Angolan Government's commitment to environmental protection.

He noted that this is a way forward, having said that the mangrove replanting project is an example of this commitment, in a partnership between Sonangol and Associação Otchiva, aimed at protecting mangroves.

"Sonangol is a public company, represents the interests of the State and is providing (...) public resources for the protection of the climate and the protection of the environment", he said.

Mangrove reforestation

As part of the Blue Carbon project, the Head of State and the first lady, Ana Dias Lourenço,  planted around 200 mangrove trees in a 200 meter perimeter along the coastline of the Ramiros commune, Belas district. The project is an initiative of Sonangol, in partnership with the Otchiva organisation. During the launch, the two institutions signed a cooperation protocol.

After the ceremony, President João Lourenço offered two vehicles to support the Otchiva Association.