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Angolan NGO protecting the environment |
David Pereira, ADRA
The Environment, regarded as everything that surrounds us, remained for some time linked to the biophysical world, with an emphasis on fauna, flora and water. Man was not considered part of the environment.
The natural environment in Angola was greatly affected by the civil war that lasted for around 30 years, as well as by other factors such as the absence of environmental legislation. Currently, the main environmental problems are essentially linked to poor urban waste management, unemployment, poverty, HIV/AIDS, deforestation, natural disasters, basic sanitation, uncontrolled mining, human settlements with no proper planning, and insufficient and irregular potable water and electricity supply.
The theme of “Environment” is part of the vision and mission of ADRA (Action for Rural Development and Environment), an Angolan NGO created in 1990. However, the organisation does not have specific projects that deal exclusively with environmental issues. Our approach to environmental issues is rather cross-cutting to all projects and is more focused on environmental education of communities.
ADRA implements projects to support local development, mainly in rural areas, through civil education actions, use of local resources and environmentally friendly agricultural practices. Farmers’ associations and cooperatives, youth and women groups, schools, and local and traditional power institutions, all participate in these projects.
As an example, 700 fruit and shade trees have been recently planted in the municipalities of Matala and Gambos. In the town of Lubango, a capacity building workshop has been held for 88 primary school teachers, showing how paper recycling and reuse of waste (empty containers, cardboard, etc) can be used to prepare support teaching material.
Visit ADRA’s new Kiosk on DLIST or write to adrahlub@yahoo.com.br to find out more about ADRA. Read about Angola’s coastal communities on the DLIST Hotspots.
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