Moçâmedes — Over the last five years the Angolan government has invested more than USD 30 million in climate change adaptation programmes to mitigate the effects of drought and more intense storms, the secretary of State for the Environment, Yuri dos Santos, said on Monday in the Province of Namibe.

Speaking at a methodological seminar on 'Waste Management', he said that the money had been used to build waste treatment plants in various provinces of the country, including Namibe.

He added that more than 100 awareness campaigns had also been carried out in local communities in recent years, reaching more than 50,000 people, on the negative impact of these actions and promoting sustainable alternatives.

"Let us work together to find innovative and sustainable solutions to the challenges we face, because environmental crimes cannot be ignored. The implementation of more severe prison sentences for the perpetrators of these offences is a clear message that the destruction of the environment will not be tolerated and that the consequences will be strictly enforced", he stressed.

On the occasion, the deputy governor for technical services and infrastructures, Ema Silva, praised the organisers of the training session and explained that it will provide participants with information on good waste management practices, from hospital waste to domestic waste, among others, with a view to preventing polluting elements.

During the event, which was divided into two panels, the participants discussed, among other topics, "Environmental legislation", "Municipal waste management regulations" and "Decentralisation in the environmental licensing process".

The meeting was attended by members of the provincial government, representatives of civil society and political parties, teachers, students and other guests.