Leaders from Kenya's capital Nairobi and Chongqing Municipality in China agreed on Wednesday to a partnership on environment wildlife conservation. While speaking at the "Land-Sea: China Africa Ecological Civilization Exchange Event" held at the Confucius Institute at the University of Nairobi, the leaders said they will work together to protect their cities' ecology and promote the sustainable development of their environmental protection.
Njoroge Muchiri, Nairobi's deputy governor, welcomed the initiative, which is supported by the Chongqing Luhai International Communication foundation, saying that the choice of Nairobi city as a partner in the project is a display of the flourishing relationship between Kenya and China.
"I was in China a few weeks ago and I was impressed by their initiatives to preserve the environment. While there, I visited the Yangtze River and witnessed the rehabilitation efforts. I am happy to say that we are partnering with a Chinese company to reclaim the Nairobi River as part of our conservation efforts," Muchiri said.
He added that Nairobi city has been working with Chinese partners in several areas to promote sustainability, such as the introduction of electric vehicles and motorcycles in the transport sector, and the partnership with Chongqing is a stepping stone to more exchange programs in protecting the environment.
Hu Henghua, mayor of Chongqing Municipal People's Government, said that by sharing conservation knowledge, technology, expertise, and investment, Chongqing believes it can work with African cities, such as Nairobi, to build the necessary frameworks to protect the environment.
He added that African cities, such as Nairobi, which are grappling with rapid urbanization and ecological degradation, could greatly benefit from Chongqing's expertise in developing efficient and sustainable programs to reverse environmental pollution.
Guo Haiyan, the Chinese ambassador to Kenya, said that Kenya and China have been cooperating in protecting the environment as they pursue development, giving the example of Kenya's Chinese built Standard Gauge Railway, which was routed through Nairobi National Park on an elevated bridge to minimize environmental impact and allow wildlife passage.
Guo noted that under the partnership initiative for green development in last year's Forum on China-Africa Cooperation summit, China promised to support Africa in enhancing climate adaptation capacity through such partnerships. She added Africa is endowed with abundant natural resources and a bulging youth population who should be co-opted into conservation initiatives.
Guo also said the partnership between Chongqing and Nairobi is very important because through the Chinese embassy they have set up measures to encourage and inspire Chinese businesses and communities living in Kenya as well as Chinese tourists who visit Kenya to join in the conservation efforts.
According to Nevil Agesa, a project manager at the Mara Conservation Fund, China has been a trusted partner in initiating cross-border initiatives to unite people from different countries, religions and cultures to join hands to save wildlife habitats. He said through support from Chinese organizations and individuals, they have been able to carry out conservation measures, such as installing cameras in the wild, attaching trackers to animals, using GPS equipment to monitor wildlife, and mitigating human wildlife conflict.
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