The Minister of Natural Resources and Climate Change, Patricia Wiskes, has reiterated the importance of Malawi to be engaged in conversations with other countries on environmental challenges and opportunities so that the country can continue to find more ways of addressing any climate related issues.
Wiskes said this as she officially opened the 44th Conference of the Environmental Education Association of Southern Africa (EEASA) in Lilongwe.
According to Wiskes, given that the conference brings together students, policy makers, researchers, academia and experts from Southern Africa to discuss impacts of climate change, it is an indication that many countries in the region are facing the same challenges hence an opportunity to come together and find solutions.
She added that the discussions at the conference will guide on national strategies and inform policies and practices that will contribute to the sustainable development goals.
“When we talk about the environmental sustainability, we are not talking about an isolated sectoral issue but from a broader development perspective. As we pursue the Malawi 2063, we should also look at the critical role our environment plays in ensuring that we realise that development aspiration,” Wiskes said.
President of EEASA Professor Heila Sisitka from Rhodes University concurred with the minister, adding that environmental challenges do not have borders, therefore sharing of knowledge and experiences allows the individual member countries to have strength in dealing with the challenges.
“We should think of environmental education as transformative education that will strengthen agency for change and action in our communities where people are facing the impact of the environmental crisis,” Sisitka said.
