2 weeks Ago By News Ghana
News Ghana, Latest Updates and Breaking News of Ghana, News Ghana, https://newsghana.com.gh/southern-africa-summit-tackles-mountain-conservation-policy-gaps/Over 300 researchers, policymakers, and conservationists will gather at the Maloti-Drakensberg mountain range from March 17–20 for the Second Southern African Mountain Conference (SAMC2025), aiming to address urgent ecological and governance challenges facing the region’s critical highland ecosystems.
Organized by the University of the Free State’s Afromontane Research Unit (ARU) alongside UNESCO and the African Mountain Research Foundation, the event underscores mounting pressure to integrate science, policy, and community-led solutions to safeguard water security and biodiversity.“Southern Africa’s mountains are lifelines, yet their policies lag far behind their ecological value,” said ARU Director Vincent Clark, noting that the region’s peaks supply over 50% of freshwater to downstream economies but remain underrepresented in national agendas. The conference, themed Overcoming Boundaries and Barriers, will spotlight transboundary cooperation, with sessions on water management in Lesotho’s Orange-Senqu River Basin and proposals for a Southern African Mountain Treaty modeled on the Alpine Convention.
High-level discussions will confront climate threats—temperatures in the Drakensberg have risen 1.5°C since 1950, accelerating glacier retreat and disrupting rainfall patterns. “Mountain ecosystems aren’t just tourist destinations—they’re climate barometers,” said keynote speaker Dr.
Willem Daffue, a wildlife veterinarian and explorer. Other speakers include Lesotho’s Natural Resources Minister Mohlomi Moleko, who will address governance gaps in the “Kingdom in the Sky,” and Sissie Matela, a resilience strategist advocating for community-led conservation.The conference also seeks to bridge traditional knowledge and modern science.
A Royal Mountain Indaba, co-hosted by UNESCO, will explore integrating Indigenous stewardship practices—like rotational grazing used by Basotho herders—into national policies. “Top-down approaches fail. Solutions must emerge from those who live in these landscapes,” said Matela.
With Southern Africa’s mountains supporting 40% of the region’s biodiversity, including endangered species like the Maloti minnow, debates will also focus on balancing conservation with economic pressures. Madagascar ecologist Steve Goodman will highlight biodiversity erosion in the island’s highlands, where 90% of endemic species face habitat loss.Critics argue such summits often yield more rhetoric than action.
Yet organizers point to SAMC2022’s legacy: a 30% increase in cross-border research collaborations. “This isn’t a talk shop,” said UFS Deputy Vice-Chancellor Vasu Reddy. “We’re drafting policy frameworks for SADC ratification by 2026.
”As registration remains open, the stakes are clear: Southern Africa’s mountains sustain 100 million people. Whether SAMC2025 can turn dialogue into enforceable policies may determine if these ecosystems survive the next decade. News Ghana, Latest Updates and Breaking News of Ghana, News Ghana, https://newsghana.
com.gh/southern-africa-summit-tackles-mountain-conservation-policy-gaps/.
