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Published April 06, 2022 / Environment

Pope Francis' voice to plead for the preservation of the Congo Basin

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April 6, Rome, Italy - In a meeting with Pope Francis, the Minister of the Environment, Sustainable Development and the Congo Basin of the Republic of Congo, Arlette Soudan-Nonault, who is also the technical coordinator of the Congo Basin Climate Commission (CBCC), called for the Holy Father's support in preserving the planet's first lung in the making.

More than forty-two years after the great apostolic pilgrimage of Pope John Paul II to Africa and on behalf of Congolese President Denis Sassou N'Guesso, the Minister of the Environment renewed the request for a visit of the Holy Father to the African continent in the course of the year 2023.

 

In his encyclical Laudato Si, Pope Francis addresses the issues of climate change, security, migration, peace and justice. Despite the fact that the Congo Basin represents an area of tropical forest of 3.7 million km2 and peatlands sequestering at least 31 billion tons of carbon, the basin mobilizes only 11% of combined green and blue finance.

 

"We cannot tighten our belts, we, the countries of the southern hemisphere, the African countries, the countries of the Congo basin, so that the rest of the world can breathe. The countries of the region provide an ecosystem service to the rest of the world," says Arlette Soudan-Nonault.

 

It also specifies that the preservation of the basin's biodiversity intrinsically includes the protection of the region's peoples. The African solution for the global common good is the Congo Basin Blue Fund :

 

- based on the principles of the green and blue economy;

- supported by the African Union's Congo Basin Climate Commission, which brings together 16 countries in the basin, with the support of the Kingdom of Morocco;

- domiciled at the Development Bank of Central African States (BDEAC).

 

Finally, the minister called for the Holy Father's sacred voice and leadership to mobilize the international community and organize a synod dedicated to the preservation of this global climate regulator.

" The pope was very sensitive," she concludes.

 

Read thearticle published by Vatican News.