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.

Key takaways

1. Accelerate landscape restoration and integrated landscape management
2. Center local communities for lasting solutions
3. Secure land rights and strengthen governance frameworks
4. Build a restoration economy
5. Leverage technology and open data
6. Foster partnerships and cross-sector collaborations

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About GLF Africa 2024

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 this session

Millions of hectares of diverse landscapes will be needed worldwide to achieve global climate, environmental, and development goals, such as the Sustainable Development Goals and Rio Conventions. In this spirit, 34 countries have pledged almost 130 million hectares for restoration under the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100).

Organized by The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), this session dives into the complex and multilayered fields of governance and action behind the impressive numbers of hectares to be restored. It covers people as rights holders, their land and livelihoods, strengthening rural resilience, leveraging economic opportunities, and creating prospects for local communities, women and young people while restoring ecosystems and their services and functions at the same time.

Resources

• Lessons on land tenure and forest landscape restoration (FLR): A focus on sub-Saharan Africa
• Impacts of land tenure and its governance on the success of Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR)
• The AFR100 Programme – Funding and technical assistance
• The AFR100 Programme – Funding
• Forests4Future: Giving Forests a Future

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This report assesses the state of biodiversity finance and recommends new financial mechanisms, focusing on biodiversity-positive carbon credits and nature certificates. It was developed by a High-Level Working Group with support from an Expert Panel.

Key Messages

1. Financial gap: global biodiversity financing needs to increase to $200 billion annually by 2030, while reducing harmful subsidies by $500 billion per year.
2. Innovative instruments: biodiversity-positive carbon credits and nature certificates can help bridge the financing gap and generate private sector interest.
3. Governance and policy: effective governance, clear policies, and institutional frameworks are crucial for market integrity and scaling up finance.
4. IPLC involvement: full participation and benefit-sharing with IPLCs are essential for successful stewardship of forests and biodiversity.
5. Market development: practical metrics, robust verification processes, and demand incentives are needed to develop high-integrity markets.

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Highlights

• Financial gap: current conservation spending is $124-$143 billion annually, with a $598-$824 billion gap needed to address global biodiversity loss.
• Case studies: examples from New Zealand, Colombia, Australia, and others showcase current initiatives.
• International frameworks: the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework highlights the importance of biodiversity credits for financial mobilization, emphasizing the need for standardized rules and safeguards for Indigenous and local communities.
• Financial assets and legal enablers: identifies legal mechanisms to enhance private sector investment, such as natural capital accounting and risk disclosure.
• Governance framework: stresses the need for stakeholder engagement to build a governance framework that ensures market integrity and confidence.
• Principles and recommendations: proposes five key principles for achieving high-integrity outcomes in biodiversity credit markets.

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Key Messages

• Policy and governance: clear policies, good governance, and transparent engagement are vital for effective biodiversity credits.
• Financial mechanisms: biodiversity credits can enhance financial tools to achieve global biodiversity and climate goals.
• Current trends: increased visibility of biodiversity is driving definitions, measurement schemes, trading pilots, and regulatory developments.
• International cooperation: essential for scaling biodiversity credits and channeling financial flows to meet sustainability targets.
• Financial support: needed for biodiversity maintenance, threat mitigation, restoration, and regenerative practices.
• Design challenges:
  • Measurement: credible and affordable biodiversity monitoring.
  • Demand: sustained high-integrity demand.
  • Supply: ensuring high-integrity supply with positive outcomes.
  • Equity: fair pricing and distribution of rewards.
  • Governance: robust and transparent institutional arrangements.

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In the recent book Power Dynamics in African Forests: The Politics of Global Sustainability, authors Symphorien Ongolo and Max Krott explore the historical and current challenges of forestland governance in Africa, emphasizing the power dynamics between actors involved in resource exploitation and biodiversity conservation policies. It investigates the intersection of global sustainability agendas with domestic politics in Africa, revealing how actors in forest-rich countries employ complex informal strategies to resist the dominance of powerful global environmental players.

Tahina Roland, a young Malagasy agronomist and GLF 2023 Drylands Restoration Steward is the author of chapter 9 titled Linking Institutional Weaknesses to Deforestation Drivers in the Governance of Protected Areas in Madagascar.

In his article, Tahina investigates the persistence of deforestation in Menabe-Antimena, one of Madagascar’s significant protected areas (PAs). While the expansion of PA networks is a key focus of conservation efforts, effective management is crucial for biodiversity preservation. Using the Institutional Analysis and Development framework, the study reveals that inadequate funding for PA managers, insufficient alternatives for farmers, and a focus on enforcing laws against farmers rather than private sector operators contribute to deforestation for cash crop cultivation. The PA’s limited integration into regional economic and governance priorities further hampers conservation efforts, making shifting cultivation an attractive option for local communities, while regional authorities struggle to protect the area from the cash crop industry driving deforestation.

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About GLF Nairobi 2023: ‘A new Vision for Earth’

The GLF Nairobi 2023 Hybrid Conference, held on October 11 and 12, convened global thought leaders to set the stage for COP28, the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference. This pivotal event mobilised action on critical issues affecting humanity, biodiversity, and our planet.

The conference featured two focused days: Day 1 centered on “Africa’s Sovereign Solutions,” exploring pathways to a sustainable and prosperous future for the continent. Day 2, dedicated to climate, aimed to craft a “Survival Guide for a Planet in Crisis,” paving the way for a fairer world ahead of COP28.

GLF Nairobi brought together a diverse coalition of influential voices, ranging from scientists, activists, and Indigenous leaders to financiers, women, youth, policymakers, and private sector representatives. As a united front, we collectively championed change and passionately advocated for meaningful action in these pivotal times.

About Jochen Flasbarth

Don’t miss the chance to be part of an extraordinary experience at the GLF Nairobi 2023 Hybrid Conference, as we take you on a remarkable journey with our must-see speakers campaign.

Join Jochen Flasbarth, State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, at the opening plenary on Day 1: Africa of the global event.

Learn more about the GLF Nairobi 2023 Hybrid Conference here

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The objective of the East and Southern Africa Forest Observatory (OFESA) is to produce a comprehensive and harmonized regional dataset on the latest trends and threats to forests, and to make information useful and easily accessible to policymakers, funders, forestry practitioners and citizens.

By informing decision-making, OFESA supports five countries in the region – Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda – to meet their climate and environment targets. These include regional pledges such as the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100), a country-led effort to bring 100 million hectares of land in Africa into restoration by 2030, as well as global commitments under the Paris Agreement to achieve climate neutrality through forests.

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About the Sustainable Finance For Nature-based Solutions Digital Forum

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