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Trans-Frontier Conservation Areas
The establishment of Trans-Frontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs) is a milestone for the
region, and an achievement in implementation of the protocol on wildlife conservation.
The TFCAs are conservation initiatives that straddle national boundaries of two or more
Member States and are jointly administered to re-establish the ecological integrity of trans-
boundary ecosystems separated by international boundaries.
To date there are 18 terrestrial and marine TFCAs in the region at different stages
of development, including the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park and conservation area 125
established in 2002 by the governments of Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Nine TFCAs involving 11 Member States are now active with agreements and governance
structures in place, while an M&E Framework to monitor the implementation of the
SADC TFCAs programme has been approved and implementation has started.

Blue Economy Strategy
SADC has developed the Blue Economy Strategy and the Secretariat is supporting
Member States to develop national Blue Economy strategies. The Secretariat has initiated
processes for accreditation to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) as the regional implementing
entity for securing climate-change funding for regional programmes such as this one.

Gender and Development
SADC has a long history of commitment to gender equality and women em-
powerment, dating back to 1992 when the Declaration and Treaty of SADC
was signed. Article 5 (1) (a) and Article 6 (2) of the Declaration and Treaty of SADC en-
courage the improvement of the standard and quality of life of the peoples of southern
Africa and discourages discrimination on the basis of gender. Therefore, SADC places
gender issues firmly on the agenda of the SADC Programme of Action and Community
Building Initiative.
The RISDP 2020-2030 identifies gender as a priority under Special Programmes
of Regional Dimension, and all RISDP phases have recognised gender equality and women
empowerment as a crosscutting issue for all sectors and an important enabler of regional
integration. Many milestones have been achieved in this sector leading to increased partici-
pation by women in leadership and decision-making at national and regional levels, and
the recognition and expansion of the contribution by women to national and regional econ-
omies alongside men, as well as in maintaining the peace and security of the region.
The Council of Ministers approved the SADC Gender and Development Pro-
gramme in February 1997 following the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995 in
Beijing, China which called for the removal of all “obstacles to women’s active participation