On Monday, the Vice President of the Republic, Esperança da Costa, received South African scientist Brian Huntley, Director of the Southern African Botanical Diversity Network (Sabonet) project, for a second audience at Cidade Alta. During the meeting, they discussed his ongoing work in Angola, where he has conducted numerous studies on the biomes of Cabinda’s forests, Miombo woodlands, Mupanda thickets, Cangandala National Park, and the Iona Desert.
Speaking to the press, Huntley expressed his desire to see Angola’s “rich national parks” further developed, with support from both the Government and the Angolan scientific community.
Huntley, who has known the country for 55 years, shared the work he has done in that time with Angolan students in the fields of science, expressing optimism about the future of young botanists and ecologists in Angola.
“It was a great honor to meet with the Vice President to discuss our experiences over the past 30 years. Dr. Esperança da Costa was one of the members of our Sabonet delegation — a major botanical science development program in Southern Africa involving ten countries, in which Angola played a vital role under her leadership,” he said.
Now 81 years old, Huntley emphasized Angola’s rich biodiversity, stating the country has more biomes and ecoregions than any other African nation, ranging from the rainforests of Cabinda to the Namibe Desert. He also highlighted the challenges of conserving Angola’s national parks due to population pressure, which he described as a common situation in such contexts.
“Angola’s national parks are large, but perhaps the focus should be on slightly smaller areas to achieve results. Resources — whether human or equipment — are often limited,” he said, adding that government support is crucial to achieving restoration goals.
During the meeting, Huntley presented the Vice President with two books:
- A book on the Ecology of Angola, written over the past three years, with over 500 pages, translated into Portuguese, featuring hundreds of graphs and photographs, aimed at Angolan university students. The book is expected to arrive in the country in the coming days.
- A book about the Lubango Museum, which he described as an important work recently published by the Provincial Government of Huíla, and which should soon be available in libraries across Angola.
Source: Jornal de Angola
