Africa Archives - Global Landscapes Forum

Rooted in restoration Youth-led transformative change for regreening Africa

kneditor — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 13:36:09 +0000

Currently, African landscapes are being degraded at alarming rates. Two-thirds of the continent has been degraded by expanding agriculture frontiers, foreign market pressures, deforestation, and the climate crisis. In an attempt to address this worrying scenario, restoration efforts can be found across the continent, however, many frameworks to restore African landscapes are created and disseminated by those who don’t live on these territories. Often, vertical approaches to restoration and conservation in the continent are consolidated without considering the knowledge of local communities, including youth, Indigenous peoples, and other minorities. Despite this, many youth and community-led efforts are successfully contributing to the efforts of regreening the continent.

This report synthesizes the shared experiences, challenges, and solutions suggested by several dozen young landscape practitioners and experts across Africa who participated in a series of consultations centered on the restoration of African ecosystems. Co- written by several experts in the field, this report covers gaps and solutions across policy, finance, capacity building, and communication to show how landscape restoration can be scaled for long-term impact on people and the planet. The report identifies 4 opportunities for transformative change:

Finance: create flexible financing and resources for community-led restoration.
Policy: commit to a paradigm shift, ensuring youth and excluded groups are meaningfully represented in decision-making.
Capacity development: support the capacity of young experts and restoration practitioners across Africa.
Communications: use clear, culturally appropriate methods and platforms to co-create and communicate about restoration.

Are you attending UNCCD COP16? Join us on 9 December at 09:00 local time (UTC+3) at the Restoration Pavilion for the session “How are young visionaries rewriting the future of Africa’s landscapes?“

Join 1M+ youth on the Youth in Landscapes Initiative, driving change for people and landscapes worldwide!

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Solange Bandiaky-Badji: Shifting Finance for Local Climate Solutions

kneditor — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 08:54:37 +0000

About GLF Africa 2024

Can Africa show the world a sustainable way forward? The climate crisis is taking a toll on Africa – and especially on rural communities that depend on natural resources for their livelihoods.

On 17 September, thousands of participants gathered at ‘GLF Africa 2024: Greening the African Horizon’ in Nairobi, Kenya, and online for a global conference focused on forging a prosperous and sustainable future for Africa’s land- and seascapes, driven by local solutions.

About Solange Bandiaky-Badji

In this video, Solange Bandiaky-Badji, Coordinator and President of the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) / Group, discusses the urgent need to shift finance towards local landscape levels to support grassroots climate solutions, highlighting the challenges faced by local organizations in accessing funding and proposing a transformative approach CLARIFI, led by RRI and Campaign for Nature.

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Scaling Restoration Efforts: Key Lessons from the World Resources Institute (WRI)

kneditor — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 08:46:28 +0000

About GLF Africa 2024

Can Africa show the world a sustainable way forward? The climate crisis is taking a toll on Africa – and especially on rural communities that depend on natural resources for their livelihoods.

About Susan Chomba

In this video, Susan Chomba, Director of Vital Landscapes at the World Resources Institute (WRI), shares valuable insights from WRI’s experience in scaling landscape restoration efforts in Africa, emphasizing the importance of financial sustainability, capacity building, enabling policy environments and data-driven approaches. Learn how WRI’s projects are empowering communities to restore degraded landscapes and create sustainable livelihoods. This speech was recorded at the GLF Africa 2024 Hybrid Conference, where thousands of participants gathered in Nairobi, Kenya, and online to forge a prosperous and sustainable future for Africa’s land- and seascapes, powered by local solutions.

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Beyond urgent solutions: How landscapes communities seed lasting change for people and nature

kneditor — Fri, 04 Oct 2024 10:51:20 +0000

About GLF Africa 2024

Can Africa show the world a sustainable way forward? The climate crisis is taking a toll on Africa – and especially on rural communities that depend on natural resources for their livelihoods.

About this session

Despite the limited climate and development funding directly channeled to local organizations, communities in the Global South are restoring their territories as a living legacy for their people’s present and future. Rooted in their landscapes, local organizations leverage ancestral wisdom, cooperation and available resources to make positive change happen.

Beyond tackling immediate environmental issues, community-led restoration models have proven to seed lasting change and repair long-neglected social injustices. How are grassroots initiatives leading holistic action towards restoration and development targets at regional and global levels? What can climate funds and development aid agencies learn from them to match community efforts and achieve long-term impact?

Featuring GLFx chapters and Restoration Stewards, this session delves into what local organizations need to achieve lasting impact – and how funds should be allocated and targets defined to support grassroots restoration initiatives.

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Ndidi Nwuneli: Transforming Africa Through Philanthropy

kneditor — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 11:15:11 +0000

About GLF Africa 2024

Can Africa show the world a sustainable way forward? The climate crisis is taking a toll on Africa – and especially on rural communities that depend on natural resources for their livelihoods.

About Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli

Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli is the President/CEO of the ONE Campaign with over 25 years of experience in international development, particularly focused on Africa. She began her career at McKinsey & Company and later became the founding Executive Director of the FATE Foundation in Nigeria. Ndidi founded LEAP Africa, African Food Changemakers, and co-founded Sahel Consulting and AACE Foods, supporting leadership and sustainable agribusinesses in Africa.

She serves on boards including the Rockefeller Foundation and Stanbic IBTC Group and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. Recognized globally, Ndidi is a TED speaker, published author, and recipient of numerous awards, including Nigeria’s National Honor and the Harvard Business School Distinguished Alumni Award.

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Ariane Hildebrandt: “Community engagement is key to restore the land”

kneditor — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 08:41:47 +0000

About GLF Africa 2024

Can Africa show the world a sustainable way forward? The climate crisis is taking a toll on Africa – and especially on rural communities that depend on natural resources for their livelihoods.

About Ariane Hildebrandt

Dr. Ariane Hildebrandt, Director General at Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) since September 2023, oversees global health, equality, digital technologies, and food security, including areas like social protection, education, sustainable supply chains, and rural development. Previously, she led policy, data, and effectiveness, managing bilateral development cooperation and implementing agencies (GIZ, KfW). With a career at BMZ since 1998, she also worked at the Federal Ministry of Finance and the University of Würzburg, where she earned her PhD. She holds a degree in economics and an MBA from the State University of New York at Albany.

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Catherine Nakalembe: Bridging the Information Gap for Farmers

kneditor — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 08:32:44 +0000

About GLF Africa 2024

Can Africa show the world a sustainable way forward? The climate crisis is taking a toll on Africa – and especially on rural communities that depend on natural resources for their livelihoods.

About Catherine Nakalembe

Dr. Catherine Nakalembe is an Associate Research Professor at the University of Maryland’s Department of Geographical Sciences. Her research focuses on developing remote sensing and machine learning applications for smallholder agriculture, early warning of food insecurity, and disaster assessment in Africa. She is the Africa Program Director for NASA Harvest and a NASA SERVIR Applied Sciences team member. She is an award-winning scientist, including a 2022 Highest Civilian Award: The Golden Jubilee Medal-Civilians of Uganda and the 2020 Africa Food Prize for her dedication to improving food security in Africa through the enhanced use of Earth observation.

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Wraping up GLF Africa 2024

kneditor — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 12:50:54 +0000

About GLF Africa 2024

Can Africa show the world a sustainable way forward? The climate crisis is taking a toll on Africa – and especially on rural communities that depend on natural resources for their livelihoods.

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Semerian Snakori: “Indigenous communities are the custodians of knowledge”

kneditor — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 08:55:35 +0000

About GLF Africa 2024

Can Africa show the world a sustainable way forward? The climate crisis is taking a toll on Africa – and especially on rural communities that depend on natural resources for their livelihoods.

On 17 September, thousands of participants gathered at ‘GLAF Africa 2024: Greening the African Horizon’ in Nairobi, Kenya, and online for a global conference focused on forging a prosperous and sustainable future for Africa’s land- and seascapes, driven by local solutions.

About Patinaai Osim

Patinaai Osim is a non profit organization that advocates for the rights of Indigenous children, women and youth. This is done by supporting their education on different levels and aspects throughout their lives. Founded in 2010 Patinaai has succeeded in assisting vulnerable women create alternative sources of income, retaining children in school, sponsorship of children from vulnerable backgrounds and sensitization in environmental conservation. Semerian Sankori founded this organization with those aims and tremendous changes have been achieved in improving the lives of many children, women and the youth.

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Can Partnerships Unlock Africa’s Sustainable Future?

kneditor — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 08:52:53 +0000

About GLF Africa 2024

Can Africa show the world a sustainable way forward? The climate crisis is taking a toll on Africa – and especially on rural communities that depend on natural resources for their livelihoods.

About Marion Nduta Ng’ang’

Marion Nduta Ng’ang’a is the Country Director for Kenya and Tanzania at the Rainforest Alliance. She leads efforts to promote biodiversity, sustainable livelihoods, and climate resilience, working closely with local communities and stakeholders to drive sustainable development in East Africa.

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