A reforestation camp was launched on 24 August 2023 in Diembering, in the south of Senegal. The initiative by the Ziguinchor regional youth council aims to combat coastal erosion. Senegal’s Atlantic coast is suffering from severe erosion. Nearly 65% of the coastline is affected by this phenomenon, which has dramatic consequences for the local population.
Toute l'actu sur la protection de l'environnement
A reforestation camp was launched on 24 August 2023 in Diembering, in the south of Senegal. The initiative by the Ziguinchor regional youth council aims to combat coastal erosion. Senegal’s Atlantic coast is suffering from severe erosion. Nearly 65% of the coastline is affected by this phenomenon, which has dramatic consequences for the local population.
Five days to plant almost 10,000 filaos, Niawli and other plants. This is the aim of the reforestation camp launched on 24 August 2023 in Diembering, a coastal town in the Ziguinchor region of southern Senegal.
At least 150 young people were mobilised for this reforestation camp, now in its fourth year. The Ziguinchor Regional Youth Council’s initiative is supported by the Ziguinchor Water and Forestry Department, which is supplying the seedlings used for the reforestation. The task is to create a plant barrier along the coast to protect it from erosion. « We’ve noticed that the sea has started to advance a few metres. That’s why we thought we’d respond by planting filaos, which can bind sand and slow the advance of the sea », explains Mamadou Talibé Diallo, President of the Ziguinchor Regional Youth Council.
However, this reforestation camp is only a local solution to a phenomenon that is national in scope and beyond. According to official figures, coastal erosion affects almost 65% of Senegal’s coastline, threatening the infrastructure and livelihoods of coastal populations.
A phenomenon with dramatic consequences
According to scientists, coastal erosion in Africa is caused by both global warming and human activity. The demographic pressure that towns have to cope with as a result of the rural exodus is leading to urbanisation that is often uncontrolled. To meet the need for building materials, uncontrolled sand quarries are springing up along the coasts, significantly weakening the coastline and reducing the alluvial potential of the coasts.
Coastal degradation is a threat to the livelihoods of the populations affected. In agricultural terms, marine submersions increase the salinisation of soil and groundwater and have a negative impact on farmers’ yields. For fishermen and people living off seafood, the advancing sea is destroying mangrove areas, which play an essential role in the reproduction of several species of fish and birds.
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France and Germany are joining forces to improve climate risk prevention in Africa. More than 60% of the continent’s population has no climate warning system. To make good this shortfall, the French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research are organising Climate services for risk reduction in Africa 2023 (CS4RRA). The initiative consists of a series of four webinars, scheduled to take place in Togo, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Senegal from September to November 2023.
Lomé, the capital of Togo, will host an international webinar on 28 September 2023. This will be the first in a series of four webinars on improving early warning systems and adaptation measures for disaster risk reduction in Africa. Supported by the French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the Climate Services for Risk Reduction in Africa 2023 (CS4RRA) initiative is taking place on four dates, in four locations and on four themes.
The webinar on « Improving the early warning system and disaster risk adaptation measures » will be held on 28 September 2023 at the University of Lomé. The one on « Excessive water management » is scheduled for October 2023 at the Université Felix Houphouet Boigny (UFHB) in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The other two webinars, on « Climate-smart agriculture and sustainable landscapes » and « Climate impacts and resilience in current and future scenarios », will be held in November 2023 at the Kwame-Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana, and the Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, Senegal, respectively.
Implemented by France’s Institut de la Recherche pour le Développement (IRD) in partnership with the West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL), these meetings, led by a cohort of African and European experts, aim to build climate resilience in Africa by raising awareness of climate knowledge, identifying key services for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction.
Low coverage of climate warning systems
Africa only accounts for around 2-3% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but it suffers the consequences disproportionately. This situation is made more difficult by the continent’s poor coverage of climate warning systems.
The « State of the Climate in Africa 2021 » report published by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) indicates that 60% of Africa’s population is not covered by early warning systems for extreme weather events and climate change.
According to the same report, droughts and floods are the most worrying climate risks in Africa. Over the past fifty years, drought-related hazards have claimed the lives of more than half a million people and caused economic losses in excess of 70 billion dollars in the region. Over the same period, Africa has suffered more than 1,000 flood-related disasters, resulting in more than 20,000 deaths. The WMO estimates that by 2050, the consequences of climate change could cost African countries 50 billion dollars a year.
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AFRICA: a series of seminars to improve climate warning systems
France and Germany are joining forces to improve climate risk prevention in Africa. More than 60% of the continent’s population has no climate warning system. To make good this shortfall, the French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research are organising Climate services for risk reduction in Africa 2023 (CS4RRA). The initiative consists of a series of four webinars, scheduled to take place in Togo, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Senegal from September to November 2023.
The Gabonese authorities, in collaboration with the NGO Conservation Justice, are continuing to track down members of an international ivory trafficking network from Gabon to Cameroon. Five other suspected traffickers have been arrested in various locations. The alleged traffickers risk a prison sentence of up to 10 or even 20 years, as this is a transnational network organised as a criminal association.
Investigations into the dismantling of an international ivory trafficking network from Gabon to Cameroon are continuing. A trafficker suspected of recovering ivory in the provinces of Ogooué-Ivindo and Haut-Ogooué was arrested on 11 August 2023. Subsequently, on 17 and 18 August 2023, four other people were arrested between Makokou and Okondja. These four suppliers were successively arrested in Mohoba, Mbela, Zolindin and Bakeba-Bakouaka. Two additional ivory tusks weighing 11 kg were seized.
The alleged trafficker from Makokou is said to have admitted certain facts. The use of pick-up vehicles with a secret compartment under the body has been confirmed, facilitating the transport of ivory to Cameroon.
These operations follow those of 8, 9 and 10 August 2023, during which five suspected ivory traffickers were apprehended in Lambaréné and Sindara 1, in the Moyen-Ogooué and Ngounié provinces respectively. The total seized during these operations consisted of 120 kg of ivory, 18 rounds of 458 calibre hunting ammunition, nearly one million CFA francs in cash, illegal substances (Tramadol) and an expired residence permit belonging to a well-known Cameroonian ivory trafficker.
Read also-Gabon : un camerounais interpelé avec 120 kg d’ivoire
As a pyramid-type organised network, several local coordinators appear to collaborate with poachers, whose activities they finance and whose ivory they buy. The head of the network is believed to be in Cameroon, financing local traffickers, who in turn finance the poachers.
Those arrested face prison sentences of up to 10 or even 20 years, as this is a transnational network organised as a criminal association.
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GABON: international ivory trafficking network dismantled
The Gabonese authorities, in collaboration with the NGO Conservation Justice, are continuing to track down members of an international ivory trafficking network from Gabon to Cameroon. Five other suspected traffickers have been arrested in various locations. The alleged traffickers risk a prison sentence of up to 10 or even 20 years, as this is a transnational network organised as a criminal association.
A new project to conserve ecosystems and biodiversity around the Kibira and Rusizi protected areas in Burundi has just been launched. Supported by the European Union (EU), Belgium and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the project aims to have a positive impact on the quality of life of around 900,000 Burundians living in the areas around the two reserves.
The socio-economic situation of the people living near the Kibira and Rusizi national parks, in the north-west and west of Burundi respectively, promises to improve in the coming months. This is thanks to the Programme for the Conservation and Development of Natural Ecosystems and their Biodiversity for the Green Growth of Rural Communities in Burundi, launched on 27 July 2023 in Bujumbura.
Called « Dukingire Ibidukijije », the objectives of this new biodiversity protection project are aligned with the priorities of the Burundian government. This is reflected in the first component of the project, entitled « Support for governance and sustainable, inclusive and participatory management of the Kibira and Rusizi protected areas ». This component will be implemented by the Burundi branch of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in collaboration with the Office burundais de la protection de l’environnement (OBPE).
The project, which will be implemented in 11 communes bordering the two parks in the provinces of Bujumbura, Bubanza and Cibitoke, will promote the conservation and protection of natural resources and the socio-economic development of around 900,000 people living near the targeted protected areas.
The « protected areas » component of the « Dukingire Ibidukijije » programme has received a financial contribution of €4 million from Belgium, €1 million from the European Union (EU) and €1 million from the UNDP. « Lessons learned and/or good practices developed under previous and current biodiversity conservation programmes will be put to good use to achieve greater impact and sustainability, while at the same time involving communities, specifically women and young people living in areas bordering national parks », says UNDP Burundi.
The East African country has 14 protected areas covering 5.6% of the national territory and 31% of the surface area made up of natural ecosystems.
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BURUNDI: towards the protection of biodiversity around Kibira and Rusizi
A new project to conserve ecosystems and biodiversity around the Kibira and Rusizi protected areas in Burundi has just been launched. Supported by the European Union (EU), Belgium and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the project aims to have a positive impact on the quality of life of around 900,000 Burundians living in the areas around the two reserves.
The Wild Africa Fund, a wildlife protection organisation based in South Africa, is experimenting with a number of repellents to protect elephants from conflict with humans. In Africa, human-wildlife conflicts are one of the causes of the disappearance of African elephants. The species now numbers around 415,000, compared with 3 to 5 million at the beginning of the 20th century.
The conservation of African elephants means keeping them in parks and nature reserves. This is one of the recommendations made to African governments on 12 August 2023 by the Wild Africa Fund, to mark World Elephant Day. The wildlife protection organisation, based in South Africa with offices in Nigeria and Rwanda, presented the various techniques it uses to limit elephant movements in protected areas.
In Zimbabwe, the Wild Africa Fund has teamed up with the Tikobane Trust (a community organisation seeking to empower and educate communities living in and around Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe’s largest) to use an elephant repellent. It’s a concoction of chilli, garlic and rotten eggs. A non-toxic product, according to these ecologists.
« In Nigeria, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) uses satellite collars to improve monitoring of elephant movements, enabling a quicker response when they venture outside the reserve, » says Festus Iyorah, Nigeria’s representative to the Wild Africa Fund. These repellents aim to reduce incidents of human-elephant conflict (HEC), including the use of elephant guards, the construction of watchtowers and the establishment of a beehive and scent fences for the elephants.
Pachyderms on the brink of extinction
African elephant species are now « Endangered » and « Critically Endangered », according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The latest assessments show a significant decline in the number of African elephants across the continent. The number of African forest elephants has fallen by more than 86% over a period of 31 years, while the population of African savannah elephants has declined by at least 60% over the last 50 years, according to the assessments.
Nigeria is one of the countries where the species is most persecuted. The Wild Africa Fund states that over the past 30 years, the elephant population in the West African country has declined considerably, from an estimated 1,200 to 1,500 individuals two decades ago to a current estimate of 300 to 400.
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AFRICA: new repellents to limit human-elephant conflicts
The Wild Africa Fund, a wildlife protection organisation based in South Africa, is experimenting with a number of repellents to protect elephants from conflict with humans. In Africa, human-wildlife conflicts are one of the causes of the disappearance of African elephants. The species now numbers around 415,000, compared with 3 to 5 million at the beginning of the 20th century.
The Biovers NG project aims to educate and mobilise around 200 young Nigerians on the role of biodiversity for the planet. The project, run by the SustyVibes organisation, is funded by the German embassy in Nigeria. The initiative comes at a time when biodiversity in Nigeria is steadily deteriorating. The West African country has lost more than 80% of its forest cover over the last thirty years.
SustyVibes aims to improve young Nigerians’ knowledge of biodiversity and its role in maintaining natural ecosystems. The Nigerian environmental protection organisation has signed a partnership agreement with the German embassy in Nigeria. The document, initialled on 10 August 2023 in the capital Abuja, formalises the collaboration between the two parties in setting up the Biovers NG project.
With funding from the German Embassy, the amount of which is yet to be determined, SustyVibes will carry out the activities of the Biovers NG project. These include organising a six-week virtual workshop that will provide around 200 young Nigerians with a wide range of knowledge about the links between climate change and biodiversity, as well as the daily lives of people living with disabilities, women, indigenous peoples and members of local communities who are on the front line of climate action and biodiversity protection.
This project will offer internships to the three best participants in the workshop. They will benefit from practical experience in climate action and biodiversity projects, and will be coached by professionals in the field. « The Bioverse NG project offers us a platform to rejuvenate the participation and leadership of Nigerians in dialogues on biodiversity and climate change. It is a project for young people and by young people, designed to help us build and maintain the optimism and resilience we need in these times of multiple crises », explains Jennifer Uchendu, the founder of SustyVibes.
Forest cover has shrunk by 80%
By highlighting the importance of disseminating knowledge about biodiversity, SustyVibes, with the help of the German embassy, aims to make its contribution to protecting nature in Nigeria. According to official figures, the West African country has lost more than 80% of its forest cover over the last thirty years.
In the rest of the world, the situation is no better either. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the planet is currently facing the greatest loss of biodiversity since the industrial era, with around a million plant and animal species threatened with extinction.
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NIGERIA: 200 young people trained in the role of biodiversity for the planet
The Biovers NG project aims to educate and mobilise around 200 young Nigerians on the role of biodiversity for the planet. The project, run by the SustyVibes organisation, is funded by the German embassy in Nigeria. The initiative comes at a time when biodiversity in Nigeria is steadily deteriorating. The West African country has lost more than 80% of its forest cover over the last thirty years.
Dans le cadre d’une vaste opération de lutte contre le trafic d’ivoire au Gabon, une opération d’envergure a permis d’intercepter une cargaison importante d’ivoire qui devait être acheminé depuis le Gabon vers le Cameroun par un vaste réseau organisé de trafic d’ivoire. Plusieurs personnes ont été interpellées dont au moins deux des protagonistes importants de ce trafic international.
Les journées du 8, 9 et 10 août 2023 marquent un tournant significatif dans la lutte acharnée contre le commerce illicite d’ivoire au Gabon.
En effet, dans la soirée du mardi 8 août 2023, des agents de la Police Judiciaire de la province du Moyen-Ogooué (située à l’ouest du Gabon) ont interpelé une personne suspectée de participer activement au trafic d’ivoire. Grâce à des renseignements cruciaux obtenus grâce à des enquêtes approfondies, le principal suspect, un Gabonais d’origine camerounaise, a été appréhendé au volant d’un véhicule en compagnie de sa compagne.
Une fouille minutieuse et longue du véhicule a finalement révélé l’existence d'un compartiment secret astucieusement conçu et dissimulé sous la benne du véhicule de type pick-up utilisé par le présumé trafiquant d'ivoire. Les agents ont découvert 19 pointes d’ivoire et 4 morceaux d’ivoire totalisant un poids de 120 kg, 18 munitions de grande chasse de calibre 458, près d’un million de FCFA en espèces, des substances illicites (Tramadol) ainsi qu’une carte de séjour expirée appartenant à un célèbre trafiquant d’ivoire camerounais.
Le présumé trafiquant arrêté a reconnu sa participation dans la détention, l’achat et le transport illégal de ces ivoires, admettant la nature illégale de ses activités. Il a également évoqué sa collaboration avec un autre trafiquant d’ivoire bien connu de la justice et qui venait justement d'être arrêté pour d’autres motifs par les agents de la Direction Générale de Recherche de la Gendarmerie de la province du Moyen-Ogooué. Devant les évidences, ce deuxième trafiquant a également reconnu certains faits qui lui ont été reprochés.
Dans une succession d’opérations stratégiques, les agents de la police judiciaire ont continué à faire tomber les pièces du puzzle. Un autre complice a été interpellé le 9 août 2023 pour son rôle présumé en tant que vendeur d’une partie du lot d’ivoire saisi, qui viendrait en ce qui le concerne de la ville de Mandji. Et le 10 août 2023, un autre maillon de l’organisation a été appréhendé. Il aurait facilité une transaction d’ivoire, cette fois à Lambaréné.
Le directeur-fondateur de l’ONG Conservation Justice, qui appuie les autorités gabonaises dans leur lutte contre le trafic d’ivoire s’est voulu optimiste en félicitant l’opération réalisée : « Ce type d’opération est capital et à renouveler pour démanteler les quelques gros réseaux de trafic d’ivoire qui ont pu se maintenir au Gabon où la volonté politique en faveur de l’environnement demeure forte. La population d’éléphant de forêt y est estimée à 95.000 éléphants et semble stable, ce qui en fait leur dernier grand refuge. Mais la pression demeure, notamment depuis le Cameroun » déclare Luc mathot.
Envergure de l'organisation criminelle
Les individus appréhendés sont soupçonnés de faire partie d'un réseau criminel bien organisé qui opère entre le Cameroun et le Gabon depuis plusieurs longues années et est suspecté d’avoir déjà exporter du Gabon vers le Cameroun plusieurs tonnes d’ivoire.
Ce réseau fournit des fonds, des munitions et facilite le transport d'ivoire d’éléphants tués par des braconniers organisés, ce qui représente une menace sérieuse pour la survie des éléphants et la sécurité nationale. L'utilisation de véhicules équipés de compartiments secrets vise à dissimuler l'ivoire et à échapper aux contrôles. Plus d'une dizaine de personnes pourraient être impliquées, avec des points de dépôt d'ivoire répartis dans différentes provinces du Gabon. L'organisation a mis en place un système moderne et sophistiqué pour assurer le succès de ses opérations de collecte et de livraison d’ivoire vers le Cameroun.
Répercussions de l'opération
Conservation Justice souligne l'importance cruciale de cette opération des forces de l'ordre dans la lutte continue contre la criminalité environnementale au Gabon. Cette avancée significative démontre l’engagement fort des autorités gabonaises et l'efficacité de leur collaboration avec les organisations non gouvernementales pour démanteler les réseaux criminels qui menacent les éléphants de forêt.
Liens avec le crime international
La criminalité liée à la faune sauvage génère d'importants profits pour les réseaux criminels, rivalisant avec le trafic de drogues, d'armes et d'êtres humains. Cela constitue un risque sécuritaire important à cause de réseaux organisés de type mafieux et prêts à tout pour s’enrichir. Les défenses d'éléphants restent prisées en Asie, malgré les efforts déployés par certains pays, comme la Chine qui a finalement interdit le commerce intérieur d'ivoire en 2015.
Le succès de cette opération souligne la volonté politique au Gabon mais également l’importance de la collaboration régionale dans la lutte contre le trafic illégal de faune. En effet, ce réseau international est organisé depuis le Cameroun qui est un pays de transit pour l’ivoire en destination de l’Asie.
A ce sujet, le fondateur du réseau EAGLE, actif sur
une dizaine de pays dont le Cameroun et le Gabon, explique que : « Le
trafic illégal de faune est permis à cause de la corruption. C’est ici un
triste exemple de cela, avec un réseau criminel organisé qui amène les
éléphants vers l'extinction. Un des dirigeants principaux de ce réseau a été
condamné au Cameroun à une peine de prison ridicule malgré son arrestation avec
plus de 600 kg d’ivoire en 2020. Et leurs activités illégales ont été
maintenues sans avoir été réellement dérangées.
»
Boris
Ngounou
Gabon : un camerounais interpelé avec 120 kg d’ivoire
Dans le cadre d’une vaste opération de lutte contre le trafic d’ivoire au Gabon, une opération d’envergure a permis d’intercepter une cargaison importante d’ivoire qui devait être acheminé depuis le Gabon vers le Cameroun par un vaste réseau organisé de trafic d’ivoire. Plusieurs personnes ont été interpellées dont au moins deux des protagonistes importants de ce trafic international.
Le Gabon verra ses créances s’alléger de 450 millions de dollars, grâce au mécanisme novateur dette-nature. Piloté pour le compte du Gabon par Bank of America (BofA), le mécanisme dette-nature permet aux pays en développement de diminuer leur dette extérieure en contrepartie d’un financement de leur biodiversité. La contrepartie du Gabon consiste à protéger une partie de son écosystème marin. C’est le deuxième cas en Afrique après les Seychelles.
Après les Seychelles, le Gabon monnaie sa biodiversité à travers le mécanisme dette-nature. Cette opération, dont les appels d’offres ont été lancés sur la London Stock Exchange le 25 juillet 2023, permettra au Gabon de réduire à hauteur de 450 millions de dollars (soit 267,1 milliards de francs CFA) sa dette extérieure. En contrepartie, le pays s’engage à protéger son milieu marin, avec l’appui de l’organisation non gouvernementale (ONG) The Nature Conservancy, basée aux États-Unis d’Amérique.
Sur le plan financier, l’opération est conduite par Bank of America (BofA), la deuxième plus grande banque américaine en termes de dépôt.
Un échange dette-nature est une technique d’allègement de la dette des pays en développement. Elle passe par l’allongement des délais de paiement, la diminution des taux d’intérêt, l’octroi de nouveaux crédits à des taux bas et l’annulation de créances. Cette technique, inventée par le biologiste américain Thomas Lovejoy, considéré comme le parrain de la biodiversité, consiste à échanger une partie de la dette extérieure contre des investissements locaux dans des mesures de protection de l’environnement.
Le plus grand réseau de réserves marines d’Afrique.
Dans le cadre de l’opération dette-nature du Gabon, le choix de protéger la biodiversité marine n’est pas anodin. Le pays d’Afrique centrale a bâti au fil des ans, le plus grand réseau de réserves marines, riches et diversifiées d’Afrique. S’étendant sur 53 000 km2, soit 26 % des eaux territoriales du pays, ce milieu comporte 20 parcs marins et réserves aquatiques. Il abrite d'innombrables espèces marines menacées, parmi lesquelles les populations reproductrices les plus importantes de tortues luths et de tortues olivâtres, ainsi que 20 espèces de dauphins et de baleines.
Le Gabon devient ainsi le deuxième pays africain, après les Seychelles, à bénéficier de l’échange dette-nature. Un échange qui devrait se rependre en Afrique, « premièrement, parce sur le continent il y a beaucoup de pays qui ont un montant très important de dettes obligataires, et qui ont des problèmes de refinancement de ces dettes. D’ailleurs d’ici à 2025, il va y avoir un mur de refinancement de la dette en Afrique subsaharienne, et comme vous le savez, la dernière fois qu’un souverain africain a émis de la dette obligataire, remonte à 18 mois. Il y a donc un problème de manque de ressources, pour aider les souverains africains, à refinancer les dettes obligataires qu’ils ont émis entre 2010 et 2020. Et c’est en cela que le Swap “dette contre nature” peut être intéressant pour les pays africains. », explique Hamouda Chekir, membre de l’équipe Conseil aux gouvernements de la banque Lazard.
La banque française vient d’assister l’Équateur dans le cadre d’un montage financier bénéfique à la fois pour la nature et l’économie du pays. Concrètement, l’Équateur a échangé sa dette actuelle de 1,63 milliard de dollars contre une dette de 656 millions dollars, une transaction qui correspond à 3 % de la dette extérieure totale du pays d’Amérique du Sud, soit 48,129 milliards de dollars en février 2023.
Boris Ngounou
GABON : quand la biodiversité marine permet de réduire la dette extérieure, de 450 M$
Le Gabon verra ses créances s’alléger de 450 millions de dollars, grâce au mécanisme novateur dette-nature. Piloté pour le compte du Gabon par Bank of America (BofA), le mécanisme dette-nature permet aux pays en développement de diminuer leur dette extérieure en contrepartie d’un financement de leur biodiversité. La contrepartie du Gabon consiste à protéger une partie de son écosystème marin. C’est le deuxième cas en Afrique après les Seychelles.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) is joining forces with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to create an expert group on financing biodiversity in Africa. The initiative is part of the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) in Africa. This framework sets out an ambitious path for achieving the global vision of a world living in harmony with nature by 2050.
Responding to the triple
crisis of biodiversity loss, climate change and pollution is an urgent
imperative. To this end, the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15)
to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), held from 7 to
19 December 2022 in Canada, adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity
Framework (KMGBF) to protect nature and halt the loss of biodiversity
worldwide.
To turn words into action,
the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) are setting up an expert group on biodiversity financing,
which will provide African countries with knowledge and technical assistance to
mobilise more funding for biodiversity. It will also provide a platform for
decision-makers and development partners in Africa to establish links, share
knowledge, approaches, opportunities and solutions to mobilise biodiversity
finance for nature-friendly development pathways in Africa.
Filling an annual gap of
700 billion dollars
The African Biodiversity
Finance Expert Group was announced following the sub-regional workshop of Phase
III of the Multilateral Environmental Agreements Programme in Africa, the
Caribbean and the Pacific, organised by the United Nations Economic Commission
for Africa (UNECA) in Addis Ababa, from 25 to 28 July 2023.
"The AfDB recognises
the importance of biodiversity financing to complement development aid and
climate financing for African countries. The scale and scope of the impacts of
biodiversity loss in Africa require innovative financing mechanisms and
partnerships capable of rapidly mobilising resources from public, private and
multilateral institutions on a large scale," explains Vanessa Ushie, Acting
Director of the AfDB's African Natural Resource Management and Investment
Centre.
In its deployment, the
expert group on financing African biodiversity will focus on achieving Goal D
of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which aims to ensure
adequate financial resources, capacity building, technical and scientific
cooperation, as well as access to and transfer of technologies, in order to
fully implement the framework. Goal D also aims to close the $700 billion
annual gap in biodiversity funding and to harmonise the financial flows of the
Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the 2050 Biodiversity
Vision.
Fanta Mabo
AFRICA: the AfDB and UNEP join forces to implement the KMGBF of biodiversity
The African Development Bank (AfDB) is joining forces with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to create an expert group on financing biodiversity in Africa. The initiative is part of the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) in Africa. This framework sets out an ambitious path for achieving the global vision of a world living in harmony with nature by 2050.