The agenda-setting IUCN Congress on ‘Africa Protected and Conserved Areas’ (APAC) that took place in Kigali in July 2022 was historic in nature, being the first such international congress held on the African continent. The Congress, attended by leaders, policy makers and practitioners from all over the world, and in particular from 53 African countries, served as a milestone in conservation efforts which have come under immense pressure as global warming, together with increased pressure on land by development activities and population growth takes its toll on the environment.
The Congress, convened jointly by the Government of Rwanda, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), attracted 2,400 in-person participants from across the African continent and beyond, representing governments, African regional bodies, NGOs, national and international experts and organizations, local communities, Indigenous People, youth, academia, the judiciary, development partners and the private sector. The four days of deliberations of APAC culminated in the “Kigali Call to Action for People and Nature” which was unanimously adopted by the participants.
