Nature is a key strategic asset for Africa that can be used as bargaining power in the global arena, the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) has said.
The Organisation's Vice President of Global Leadership, Fred Kwame said being home to more than a third of the world’s ecosystems, nature presents Africa with an untapped investment and green development opportunity.
He said global biodiversity conservation and climate agenda should be twinned with Africa because the former two could not succeed without Africa.
Kwame said the nexus between the conservation of nature and meeting the needs of people with a keen focus on the mobilization of resources commensurate to the ambition of the GBF has been a key negotiating position for Africa.
Speaking during a Media for Environment, Science, Health and Agriculture Café’ in Nairobi sponsored by Africa Biodiversity Collaborative Group (ABCG), Kwame said the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) was signed by 196 nations to take urgent action to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030.
The Framework’s other main objective was to protect 30 percent of land and sea area by 2030.
“GBF provided a mixed outcome for Africa. The agreement has what it takes for Africa and the world to make substantial progress towards reaching the 2030 targets,” he said.
He said the Framework has delivered on the conservation of nature by affirming a global spatial protection target of 30 per cent by 2030 within national jurisdiction and capabilities and prioritising restoration of degraded lands.
“The goal is attaining the desired results within the boundaries of national priorities and with respect to the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities while at the same time enabling sustainable use of natural resources where appropriate,” he added.
Kwame said the affirmation of sustainable use of wild species and products was a position of the African region as deemed necessary within the limits of sustainable development.
He observed the affirmation was a major win for Africa in terms of its negotiation position and one that aligns with meeting the needs of people.
“While there are no comprehensive studies around the true economic value of Africa’s natural assets, in 2018, Africa’s measured natural capital was estimated to be US$6.2 trillion with its mineral and fossil fuel resources respectively estimated at US$290 billion and US$1.05 trillion,” he said
Kwame who was accompanied by ABCG Group Director, Rubina James, Wildlife Ecologist, Paul Gacheru of Nature Kenya and BirdLife International Kenya Project Manager, Ken Mwathe noted that Africa’s renewables capacity output in the energy sector is expected to increase from about 27.4 GW in 2023 to over 280 GW in 2035.
“With an estimated 60 per cent of Africa’s GDP coming from natural resources and essential ecosystem services, the continent has enormous potential to benefit further from its natural resources as capital that finances its development ambitions,” he said.
He said these are some of the reasons indigenous people and local communities should be recognised, respected and their rights safeguarded, specifically of their rights to land and to their territories and of participation in decision making is a massive step forward for the GBF.
Kwame said the recognition of the principle of sustainability across food systems and productive sectors (Agricultural, Aquaculture, Fisheries, Forestry) and the need to address consumption patterns that mark the real drivers of biodiversity loss was another significant step in the right direction.
