Questions for Ammar Boumezbeur, AEWA National Focal Point for Algeria and AEWA Sub-regional Focal Point for North Africa.
First of all, could you quickly present your own personal career-path, and explain how you became the AEWA Focal Point for North Africa?
After my initial degree in forestry engineering, I served as Head of the National Parks Service in the Nature Protection Administration within the Ministry of Hydrology, the Environment, and Forests, before ultimately specialising in wildlife research. In 1993, I completed my doctoral degree on the population biology and ecology of two bird species, the White-headed Duck, and the Ferruginous Duck, on Lake Tonga in El Kala, Algeria.
I then worked as the Assistant Director of National Parks and natural plant groups, including wetlands. As a result, I was named National Focal Point for Algeria to the Ramsar Convention, a kind of “Mr Wetlands” at the national level. It was during this appointment that I completed the process of having 48 areas designated as Ramsar sites, and oversaw the publication between 1999 and 2004 of four Algerian wetlands atlases that are still authoritative today, even in the academic world.
Since 2009 I have been the Director for the protection of fauna and flora at the Algerian Directorate of Forests, and AEWA National Focal Point for Algeria. In addition, I am the National Focal Point for the Nagoya Protocol.
At the meeting on IWCs in El Kala, Algeria in June 2013, I was appointed AEWA Focal Point for North Africa on the basis of my extensive professional and personal experience.
What are your main duties and activities as the AEWA Focal Point for Algeria?
My role as the AEWA Focal Point for Algeria, and that of my team, is quite modest and sometimes overlaps with what I do within the framework of the Ramsar Convention, for which one of my colleagues is now the National Focal Point.
In this capacity, I presided over the Algerian meeting in El Kala on IWCs, in June 2013. I also attended the 9th meeting of the Standing Committee, and since then I have responded to various requests from the President and Executive Secretary of the AEWA to follow up on the Agreement between the sessions. In that respect, Africa has thus been able to speak with one voice, consolidate its position, and defend its own interests, which are also, of course, those of the AEWA.
I hope to be able to play a significant role in this area, capitalizing on my experience as a Ramsar Focal Point to help to achieve AEWA objectives. One of the questions on which I hope to have a positive influence is that of the differences of opinions between Europe and Africa, which can sometimes be significant, as was the case at the 9th meeting of the Standing Committee.
What is the current level of cooperation between North African countries in terms of AEWA implementation, and what are the positive points and/or possible difficulties you see in this area?
Cooperation is still quite limited between countries in North Africa, except for the encounters that occur during the meetings held in the sub-region (two in 2013: one in Algeria and one in Tunisia). It is, however, worth noting that relations are improving with the Tunisian representative, who is a member of the AEWA Technical Committee.
And in your capacity as North Africa Focal Point, what level of cooperation do you enjoy with the other sub-regions on the African continent, on the one hand, and with Northern Mediterranean countries, on the other?
The level of cooperation on the African continent is excellent, particularly within the framework of official meetings such as the MOP5 and the 9th meeting of the Standing Committee. The African group is strong and tight-knit, which allows it to defend African interests effectively within the context of the AEWA.
On the other hand, relations are a bit more complex with European countries, particularly in terms of the budget, due to the current economic crisis affecting countries throughout Europe.
More generally speaking, how has the AEWA fared in terms protecting African and Eurasian migratory species since it was signed in 1999?
For the moment, the overall outcome is quite modest as far as North Africa is concerned, at least in terms of Algeria where we haven’t received any AEWA aid since we signed the agreement. The situation is more positive in my opinion in other African sub-regions, where the context is different. It is true that in Algeria we still have significant needs in terms of training, expertise, and mentoring, which must be satisfied before we can start working on more concrete projects.
Contact: Ammar Boumezbeur [1]