Together, we have the power to green Africa and beyond – for securing livelihoods, food security, climate resilience and biodiversity conservation.
Éliane Ubalijoro, CEO, CIFOR-ICRAF
Introduction
As the global UN Conferences of Parties on Climate Change, Biodiversity, and Desertification unfold, Africa stands at a pivotal moment in shaping a greener, more resilient future.
With less than a decade left to achieve the critical global goals set for 2030, the window to act is closing fast. Africa must seize this moment to leverage local knowledge, advance technology, and mobilize sustainable finance to lead the charge in creating a thriving, climate-resilient future for generations to come.
On 17 September, 3,500 participants gathered at the GLF Africa Hybrid Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, and online to build a greener and more resilient future in Africa. Here are key takeaways.
1. Accelerate landscape restoration and integrated landscape management
GLF Africa 2024 hailed land restoration as a gamechanger to achieve regional and global climate, biodiversity and land goals in synergy, while also paving the way to secure African livelihoods, improve resilience and food security.
Already a leader in restoration – Africa accounting for nearly half of global restoration pledges – the restoration movement must adopt an integrated approach to landscapes management, with agroforestry and regenerative agriculture among key solutions to be scaled. Farmers can be incentivized and subsidized through mechanisms such as cash-for-labor and social protection programs. Efforts must focus on transforming agrosilvopastoral systems and restoring drylands, which cover 43% of Africa and support 50% of its population.
Healthy and functional landscapes are not only vital for biodiversity and ecosystem services, they are also necessary for the cultural and economic well-being of communities, and they are crucial to achieving global goals and are the basis for local development.
Ariane Hildebrandt, Director General, German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Click the play button to watch the video, and explore more videos here
The international community must recognize that Indigenous Peoples are not just beneficiaries. We are partners in global environmental solutions
Semerian Sankori, Founder, Patinaai Osim, Maasai Woman
2. Center local communities for lasting solutions
African women, youth, farmers, pastoralists, Indigenous Peoples and local communities are leading change and hold invaluable knowledge and expertise which must be the starting point to co-create sustainable solutions for Africa and beyond.
It is essential to build trust through open dialogues and partnerships, integrate local and traditional knowledge forms and practices as the bases for capacity-sharing and strengthening to support local communities to manage trade-offs and synergies in their landscapes and monitor restoration impacts.
In Kisoro, Uganda farmers promote self-reliance restoration that allows them to feed themselves and generate income all year around and protect our biodiversity
Gerald Nkusi, GLFx Virunga chapter coordinator
3. Secure land rights and strengthen governance frameworks
Africa has put in place policy frameworks that connect national and international goals to combat the climate, biodiversity and land degradation crises, such as the Nationally Determined Contributions and National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans. But how can it bridge these mechanisms with landscape action on the ground?
Policies must be developed that enable locally-led land use planning and inclusive governance to reduce conflicts and enhance restoration success. Providing legal security for land tenure and resource access rights is fundamental, especially for women, pastoralists and smallholder farmers.
There is a need to decolonize how we do climate justice and land restoration. Whatever has happened on other continents, whatever the donors and the granters are saying might not be the solution for Africa. There is a need for Africa to come up with African solutions. There is a need for women to be involved in coming up with the solutions to land issues that are upon them.
Deborah Oyugi, English Countries Manager and Safeguarding Lead, Youth Initiative for Land in Africa (Yilaa)
4. Build a restoration economy
Restoration requires investment, but it also has to pay in return. A restoration economy must equitably pay for the ecosystem services that communities are generating through conserving carbon, biodiversity, water and food security. Bringing these together can achieve a critical mass of benefits that foster sustainable livelihoods and promote rural development in Africa.
Public and private finance must complement each other. Sharing and managing risk through insurance products and guarantees can attract investment in nature-based solutions. These investments must be guided by restoration standards based on best practices and safeguards for the rights of local communities. International finance mechanisms need to be simplified and accessible to local communities, and funding must be long-term, flexible, gender-inclusive and grounded in mutual accountability.
Participatory approaches in integrated landscape management are important for community involvement - local communities are stewards of the land tenure and inclusion of various stakeholders, such as farmers, local authorities, indigenous communities, private sector, NGOs is necessary
Anne Itubo, Section Head Participatory Forest Management, Kenya Forest Service
5. Leverage technology and open data
Artificial intelligence and other digital innovations have the potential to both accelerate Africa’s sustainability transition and entrench existing inequalities.
Local communities must enjoy fair and equitable access to these innovations through investments in local capacities and low-cost technologies. Locally collected data must be harnessed and open data platforms accessible to support context-specific, evidence-based decision making and investments that accelerate restoration and build sustainable agrifood systems and value chains.
We need a technology that is Africa-based, applicable to our landscape, and we need to be cautious on the way we process data, who collects it, stores it, and if this will be accessible to all.
Joshua Laizer, Co-founder, Tanzania Conservation and Community Empowerment Initiative (TACCEI) & GLFx Maasai Steppe
6. Foster partnerships and cross-sector collaborations
African countries need an additional $277 billion in annual climate finance to implement their national climate plans by 2030. A clear vision, strong partnerships and collective action are needed to address this shortfall and mobilize the resources required to tackle the poly-crises disproportionately affecting the continent.
Governments, private sectors, financiers and local communities must work together to align policies, balance resources, and co-create and implement locally relevant solutions for landscape restoration. Rights-based partnerships are vital to address power imbalances and build a Pan-African movement that leads the way for a just, resilient and prosperous future.
This is a new time and a new day for Africa. We must demand for what Africa wants, not what the world thinks we need. We must raise our voices, amplify African agency and unlock financing that will really drive change in our ecosystem.
Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli, President & CEO, ONE Campaign
Join the conversation on social media with #GLFAfrica:
Sponsors
Media and Digital Partners
