Summit to promote sustainable development

As infrastructure development will likely be an enhanced theme of China-Africa engagement going forward, especially following the China-African Union agreement, sound and strategic planning is essential for the success of investments to ensure maximum social environmental and economic benefit.

The FOCAC and its member states can achieve these benefits by, for example, promoting more effective use of integrated environmental and development planning tools such as "Strategic Environmental Assessment", and facilitating inclusive and transparent participation of all interested and affected stakeholders in planning and monitoring processes.

About 30,000 elephants are poached each year in Africa for their tusks, primarily destined for Asia. Following the UN General Assembly's resolution on tackling illicit trafficking in wildlife, China and the United States jointly announced that they would end their respective domestic ivory trades. Leaders at the FOCAC can commit to a cross-cutting response from both sides to collaborate on law enforcement, financial support, anti-poaching measures in Africa, and demand reduction for wildlife products in China.

Africa's demand for greater energy access and energy efficient products and services is increasingly rapidly. With the cost of technologies declining, renewable energy is well positioned to fill Africa's energy needs. Building on past provisions, this year's FOCAC summit can take a step further by establishing a financial facility that specializes in investing in projects to advance renewable energy use in Africa and engaging with the African Union to facilitate trans-border renewable energy solutions.

Africa has lost 15.6 million hectares of natural forests in the past five years, mainly because of illegal, unsustainable use of forests. WWF has provided training to Chinese companies managing concessions in Gabon, Mozambique, and Cameroon on sustainable forest management, enhanced social conditions of workers and improved wildlife conservation. The FOCAC can send a clear signal of support to a more sustainable forestry industry in Africa through technology transfer and investment that increase efficiency of wood use and added-value processing.

WWF is one of the world's largest and most respected independent conservation organizations and has a presence in 16 African countries. Since 2008, WWF has promoted the mainstreaming of environmental and social sustainability in trade and investment between China and African countries. And WWF is keen to encourage vibrant partnerships to safeguard the environment for future generations. The decisions to secure Africa's ecological future must be taken today and the FOCAC must take the opportunity to contribute its share.

The author is director of World Wide Fund for Nature's Regional Office of Africa.