The closing plenary of the ‘African Mayoral Climate Change Declaration – West African pre-COP17/CMP7 Congress’ held in Lagos, Nigeria last week saw the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between ICLEI –Local Governments for Sustainability – Africa and the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG-A).
The heads of the two organisations, Ms Kobie Brand, ICLEI Africa Executive director and Mr Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi, UCLG-A Secretary General, were participating in the two day Congress, co-hosted by Lagos State Government and ICLEI Africa. The congress attracted over 500 delegates across West Africa, including various ministers, governors, mayors, chairmen, directors, UN Agencies representatives, expert scientists and many more.
The MoU aims to strengthen ICLEI Africa and UCLG Africa’s cooperation in the areas of:
- Climate change including advocacy, networks, mitigation and adaptation
- Water and sanitation including advocacy, networks, pilot projects and further joint initiatives
- Urban planning, including spatial planning, integrated environmental management, ecosystem management and urban infrastructure
- Green economy and poverty alleviation
- Joint fund-raising to implement the above areas of intervention
The two organisations have committed to increase their cooperation efforts in Africa through this MoU, in order to upscale services and networks to their joint membership base across Africa.
