Approximately 65% of the agricultural land in sub-Saharan Africa is classified as degraded compared to a global average of 20% – 15%. Land degradation is estimated to cost $68 billion annually, while reducing the agricultural Gross Domestic Product by 3% in the continent. Recently, there has been a growing momentum towards reversing land degradation through large scale restoration on the continent. For example, the Bonn Challenge promises to restore 150 million hectares by 2020; and 350 million hectares by 2030. Responding to the Bonn challenge, the African Union pledged to restore 100 million hectares by 2030 under the AFR100 initiative. Other multilateral and bilateral initiatives, such as the EU-funded Regreening Africa Programme, have since emerged.
These initiatives are a step in the right direction, but there is a pressing need for scaling up to the vast areas that remain degraded.
The Regreening Africa project will hold a parallel session at the Beating Famine Conference, to discuss issues around consolidation and acceleration of these on-going initiatives and activities, how to ensure land restoration is driven by and suited to local needs, how to deliver evidence-based outcomes and impacts, how to ensure governments are making conducive policies, investments and citizen mobilization and how to mobilize funds and coordinate the diverse sets actors involved in regreening on the African continent.
Moderator: Patrick Worms, World Agroforestry
Panelists:
Mr Amaury Host – Team Leader for rural development, food security, environment and decentralisation,
EU Delegation, Mali
Dr Elvis Tangem – Coordinator Great Green Wall for the Sahara and the Sahel Initiative, Africa Union
Dr Susan Chomba – Programme Manager, Regreening Africa, World Agroforestry (ICRAF)
Dr Patrice Savadogo – Drylands Agroforestry Systems Scientist, World Agroforestry (ICRAF)
Mr Diawary Boure – Country Director, Oxfam Mali
Mr Seyni K Traore – National Directorate of Water and Forests (DNEF), Mali
Dr Jes Weiglet – Head of Programmes, TMG Research GmbH