COMACO COMMENDS GOVERNMENT’S CONFERENCE OF PARTIES (COP27) APPROACH

Lusaka, Zambia/Africa – The Community Markets for Conservation (COMACO) has commended government for rallying the private sector in its strategy to address climate change issues at this year’s United Nations Conference of Parties (COP27) in Egypt.

COMACO Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr Dale Lewis, says Zambia’s multisectoral approach to deal with climate change will help the country benefit a wealth of solutions from both the government and the private sector.

Dr Lewis says this will help Zambia not only stand out among the other African countries but also help in transforming small-scale farmers’ livelihoods at the grassroots.

“The scale and mix of humanity to deal with the global climate threats is overwhelming.  The Ministry of Green Economy has done a great job in leading the Zambian delegation to engage in key negotiations that will offer long term solutions for Zambia. It is clear, lots of investment to decarbonize Africa, restore forests, and create sustainable farming systems is coming to the continent,” Dr Dale Lewis said.

COMACO is currently at the COP27 as part of the Zambia Delegation representatives where the company is this Saturday, 12th November, expected to give a presentation titled “Farmers, Carbon Markets, and A Model Scaling for Climate Solutions.”

Based on the key themes of COP27, among them agriculture, COMACO is promoting the adoption of farming practices that include creating value from their crop through the production of It’s Wild! products, keeping farmers sedentary so they do not have to clear forests, and helping reduce deforestation that is contributing to revenue benefits for the same communities from carbon sales.

COMACO, is a social enterprise that works with more than 230,000 small scale farmers in Zambia promoting agroforestry through the adoption of Gliricidia sepium, a fast growing, nitrogen-fixing tree that allows farmers to grow crops free from chemical fertiliser while replenishing soil health.

COMACO has since planned to plant 100 million trees for the 2022/2023 season as part of its nature-based solutions for climate change.

Last year in Glasgow Scotland, at the COP26, countries made bold collective commitments to curb emissions, halt, and reverse forest loss, and align the finance sector with net-zero by 2050. This was in recognition of the importance of nature for both reducing emissions and building resilience to the impacts of climate change.

For more information, contact

George Sichinga – Communications Manager, COMACO

Email: gsichinga@staging.itswild.org

Cell: +260966494292