Luanda — Angola's deputy minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Dário Catata on Tuesday in Luanda said that the forests and fauna play an important role in the country's development, as they are the sources of goods and services of economic, social and environmental character.

According to the deputy minister, who was speaking at the opening session of a seminar on "regional public consultation for the participative drafting of policy and legislation on forest", started today, fauna and forests play an important role in the poverty reduction and food security of rural communities.

Mr Catata stressed that Angola has an enormous potential of forests, wild fauna and huge protected areas, a fact that grants the Southern African country a valuable basis for its economic, environmental and social development.

Acknowledging the importance of those resources, de deputy minister said that the forests are the sources of subsistence and income for the majority of the rural population, as they contribute to the substantial reduction of poverty in the country.