President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Thursday officially opened the 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties (COP15) to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands as Zimbabwe assumed the rotational presidency of the global environmental treaty.
Held under the theme “Protecting Wetlands for Our Common Future,” COP15 is the first in the Convention’s 55-year history to be inaugurated by a head of state, underscoring Zimbabwe’s rising profile in international environmental diplomacy.
“This gathering is not only about Zimbabwe—it is about the world coming together to save our vital ecosystems for future generations,” Mnangagwa said in his keynote address.
“Wetlands are not wastelands. They are lifelines.”
The summit, hosted in the UNESCO World Heritage city of Victoria Falls, has drawn delegates from 172 countries and will culminate in the adoption of the Victoria Falls Declaration – a landmark commitment to scale up wetland restoration and establish a Global Wetland Restoration Fund.
Zimbabwe takes over the presidency from China and is expected to lead efforts to integrate wetlands into national climate and biodiversity frameworks.
According to the Convention Secretariat, wetlands cover just six percent of the Earth’s surface, yet 37 percent have been lost since 1971, while freshwater species populations have declined by 84 percent since 1970.
Mnangagwa’s opening was attended by regional leaders and deputy heads of state, marking the first-ever Presidential Summit in Ramsar COP history.
The event is seen as a turning point in elevating wetlands to the highest level of political discourse.
JN/APA