Angola

Roots Of Peace in Angola

Angola is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world. Years of civil conflict has devastated the ag-based economy and left much of the country’s infrastructure in ruins, hampering recovery. Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of the United Nations Environmental Program, aptly said, "Land mines are among the horrendous legacies of war that play their deadly role in perpetuating poverty. The direct threat to people must be our first concern but it is clear that the environment and wildlife, upon which local people depend for items such as food, shelter and natural medicines, suffers, too."

Harvesting Hope: Fulfilling Angola’s Agricultural Potential

The central highlands of Angola have the agricultural potential to satisfy the nation’s demands for basic foodstuffs, provide a major surplus for export, and bring rapid growth in incomes for the rural population. Our program will re-establish Angola’s “breadbasket”— as the region is known— to assist Angolan farmers who have suffered through a protracted civil war to become productive and move to economic self-reliance. Read more about the proposed program.

Pathways for Peace: Restoring Nature’s Balance in Southeastern Angola

The elephants of northern Botswana make up the single largest surviving elephant population in the world, numbering about 120,000 elephants. These elephants once roamed areas that were historically contiguous with areas in Zimbabwe, Namibia, Zambia and southern Angola. Unfortunately, landmines sown during Angola’s 26-year civil war have now made critical access corridors used by the elephants between northern Botswana and prime wildlife regions in Angola impassable. As a result, the elephants are increasingly coming into conflict with villagers, damaging agricultural fields and endangering lives of villagers. Roots of Peace and a number of partners will clear mines and unexploded ordinance to create a trans-frontier conservation area to restore the habitual elephant roaming ranges. (See a map of Angola and read more about the proposed program.