NAIROBI, Kenya (PAMACC News) - Kenya’s Karura Forest Reserve sits on a prime land in the city of Nairobi, covering an area of over one thousand hectares.
The Forest features three natural caves and a 12m waterfall on river Karura, which attracts approximately 20,000 visitors monthly.
Through ecotourism, the forest generates enough revenue to cover its expenditure and makes good profit which is ploughed back into the management of the forest, according to forest manager, John Orwa.
The local community is also empowered under the Forest Act 2005 to demand best practices in the management of the forest – no tree is removed from the forest without community engagement.
Jacqueline Mbawine of conservation NGO, A Rocha Ghana, is inspired by the Karura story, as she shared the experience of community action in restoring degraded savanna, forest and mangrove areas in Ghana at the 2018 Global Landscapes Forum.
“I think it’s very possible to have forests within our cities,” she said. “In recent times there have been talks about urban forestry and effort being taken by many countries and organizations. In Ghana, the Forestry Commission is making efforts at establishing some urban forestry within the Weija enclave and I think this can be brought further down to Accra, the capital and other cities in the country”.
Jacqueline is however unhappy that community efforts to restore and protect landscapes are not recognized and appreciated.
“A current challenge we have is our Atewa rain forest reserve which has a wealth of Bauxite but also key in providing water supply to about 5million Ghanaians. However this forest is under great threat and it’s currently being exploited which is going to affect the people who get their livelihood and most especially their water supply from this landscape,” she observed.
Restoring 2m hectares in Ghana
Transitional and forest zones of Ghana are being threatened by mining, charcoal production and unsustainable agricultural activities.
The country’s Northern Savannah Ecological zone is highly vulnerable to environmental degradation and climate change due its geographic location and the dependence of its population on natural resources, rain-fed agriculture and transhumance systems.
This area, rich in biodiversity, was identified as one of the priority zones which need immediate attention under the Ghana Strategic Investment Framework (GSIF) for Sustainable Land Management (SLM).
In 2015, Ghana joined the AFR100 with a restoration commitment to plant 2million hectares of trees.
The AFR100 is in accordance with Ghana's national priorities and commitments to the three Rio Conventions; namely the UN Convention to Combat Drought and Desertification (UNCCD), the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD).
Losing the forests implies that about 60 percent of the Ghanaian population who depend on the forest for their source of livelihood would be challenged.
The 2012 Forest and Wildlife Policy has some significant provisions to increase the country’s forest cover whilst addressing issues of tree tenure, which is a major cause for deforestation.
“We have managed to put into policy some steps to reform tree tenure, in which case government hands over off-reserve areas to communities to manage,” observed Albert Katako of Civic Response, an NGO.
He however said “it’s about time the government puts thoughts into action,” said.
Putting commitments into action
Trees and forests sustain and improve water availability, increase harvests, make communities more resilient to weather extremes, mitigate climate change, enhance food security and combat rural poverty.
Restoring degraded lands for agro-forestry contributes to soil fertility and enhances the availability of food, fodder, fuel wood and other products.
The 3rd AFR100 Annual Partnership meeting in Nairobi, Kenya had the theme “Taking Restoration to Scale: From Commitment to Implementation”.
The meeting brought together leadership from AFR100 partner countries, restoration champions, private sector operators, and technical partners to share lessons and good practices to further the implementation of forest landscapes restoration.
The meeting comes at a time when momentum is growing for a UN Decade on Landscape Connectivity and Ecosystem Restoration.
AFR100 not only contributes to the Bonn Challenge goal of bringing 350 million hectares into restoration by 2030, but also fulfills the African Union’s mandate to bring 100 million hectares into restoration by 2030.
To date, 26 African countries have pledged to restore 91.4million hectares through the AFR100 initiative.
Mamadou Diakhité of the AU’s NEPAD Agency points to a strong political commitment to the AFR100, but says there is the need to move to the grassroots level for investments on restoration to reach the local communities, especially women and youth.
“We know that there are a lot of economic potentials, in terms of job creation, increasing productivity while restoring and working for sustainable development goals,” he said.
Describing the environment as central to economic development, Wanjira Mathai, an advisor to the AFR100, also acknowledged the political will of African leaders to landscapes restoration.
She however says enforcement of environmental legislation is most important, adding that “we’ve got to move from those pledges to implementation” by looking at critical issues of planning, monitoring, resourcing mobilizing and financing of restoration activities.
Forests for sustainable economies
Forest landscape restoration can drive economic development in Africa and enhance human well-being through enhancing agricultural output and securing livelihoods.
Reforestation and landscape restoration as means of combating climate change are now high on the agenda of many governments and organizations, especially in the wake of COP21 in Paris.
Wanjira Mathai says it is only prudent not to encroach on the forests but to be efficient in the management of available space and be creative about the built environment.
“The environment, the parks, the green spaces are very much a part of livable cities,” noted Wanjira, whose mother, the legendary Wangari Maathai put her life on the line to save the Karura Forest from land grabs. “If you destroy your environment, you destroy yourself; a healthy environment supports healthy people”.
Jacqueline Mbawine is hoping Ghanaian and other African leaders will take a lesson from the Global Landscapes Forum to pay more attention to efforts to restore lands and to conserve the wealth of natural resources available for the betterment of the people.
“Forests play key role in managing forest system and given the fact that there is increasing effect of climate change, the presence of forests in our cities will help people have more healthy lifestyles, would have cleaner air and a wealth of wellbeing by the way we keep our environment”.
NAIROBI, Kenya (PAMACC News) - Kenya’s Karura Forest Reserve sits on a prime land in the city of Nairobi, covering an area of over one thousand hectares.
The Forest features three natural caves and a 12m waterfall on river Karura, which attracts approximately 20,000 visitors monthly.
Through ecotourism, the forest generates enough revenue to cover its expenditure and makes good profit which is ploughed back into the management of the forest, according to forest manager, John Orwa.
The local community is also empowered under the Forest Act 2005 to demand best practices in the management of the forest – no tree is removed from the forest without community engagement.
Jacqueline Mbawine of conservation NGO, A Rocha Ghana, is inspired by the Karura story, as she shared the experience of community action in restoring degraded savanna, forest and mangrove areas in Ghana at the 2018 Global Landscapes Forum.
“I think it’s very possible to have forests within our cities,” she said. “In recent times there have been talks about urban forestry and effort being taken by many countries and organizations. In Ghana, the Forestry Commission is making efforts at establishing some urban forestry within the Weija enclave and I think this can be brought further down to Accra, the capital and other cities in the country”.
Jacqueline is however unhappy that community efforts to restore and protect landscapes are not recognized and appreciated.
“A current challenge we have is our Atewa rain forest reserve which has a wealth of Bauxite but also key in providing water supply to about 5million Ghanaians. However this forest is under great threat and it’s currently being exploited which is going to affect the people who get their livelihood and most especially their water supply from this landscape,” she observed.
Restoring 2m hectares in Ghana
Transitional and forest zones of Ghana are being threatened by mining, charcoal production and unsustainable agricultural activities.
The country’s Northern Savannah Ecological zone is highly vulnerable to environmental degradation and climate change due its geographic location and the dependence of its population on natural resources, rain-fed agriculture and transhumance systems.
This area, rich in biodiversity, was identified as one of the priority zones which need immediate attention under the Ghana Strategic Investment Framework (GSIF) for Sustainable Land Management (SLM).
In 2015, Ghana joined the AFR100 with a restoration commitment to plant 2million hectares of trees.
The AFR100 is in accordance with Ghana's national priorities and commitments to the three Rio Conventions; namely the UN Convention to Combat Drought and Desertification (UNCCD), the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD).
Losing the forests implies that about 60 percent of the Ghanaian population who depend on the forest for their source of livelihood would be challenged.
The 2012 Forest and Wildlife Policy has some significant provisions to increase the country’s forest cover whilst addressing issues of tree tenure, which is a major cause for deforestation.
“We have managed to put into policy some steps to reform tree tenure, in which case government hands over off-reserve areas to communities to manage,” observed Albert Katako of Civic Response, an NGO.
He however said “it’s about time the government puts thoughts into action,” said.
Putting commitments into action
Trees and forests sustain and improve water availability, increase harvests, make communities more resilient to weather extremes, mitigate climate change, enhance food security and combat rural poverty.
Restoring degraded lands for agro-forestry contributes to soil fertility and enhances the availability of food, fodder, fuel wood and other products.
The 3rd AFR100 Annual Partnership meeting in Nairobi, Kenya had the theme “Taking Restoration to Scale: From Commitment to Implementation”.
The meeting brought together leadership from AFR100 partner countries, restoration champions, private sector operators, and technical partners to share lessons and good practices to further the implementation of forest landscapes restoration.
The meeting comes at a time when momentum is growing for a UN Decade on Landscape Connectivity and Ecosystem Restoration.
AFR100 not only contributes to the Bonn Challenge goal of bringing 350 million hectares into restoration by 2030, but also fulfills the African Union’s mandate to bring 100 million hectares into restoration by 2030.
To date, 26 African countries have pledged to restore 91.4million hectares through the AFR100 initiative.
Mamadou Diakhité of the AU’s NEPAD Agency points to a strong political commitment to the AFR100, but says there is the need to move to the grassroots level for investments on restoration to reach the local communities, especially women and youth.
“We know that there are a lot of economic potentials, in terms of job creation, increasing productivity while restoring and working for sustainable development goals,” he said.
Describing the environment as central to economic development, Wanjira Mathai, an advisor to the AFR100, also acknowledged the political will of African leaders to landscapes restoration.
She however says enforcement of environmental legislation is most important, adding that “we’ve got to move from those pledges to implementation” by looking at critical issues of planning, monitoring, resourcing mobilizing and financing of restoration activities.
Forests for sustainable economies
Forest landscape restoration can drive economic development in Africa and enhance human well-being through enhancing agricultural output and securing livelihoods.
Reforestation and landscape restoration as means of combating climate change are now high on the agenda of many governments and organizations, especially in the wake of COP21 in Paris.
Wanjira Mathai says it is only prudent not to encroach on the forests but to be efficient in the management of available space and be creative about the built environment.
“The environment, the parks, the green spaces are very much a part of livable cities,” noted Wanjira, whose mother, the legendary Wangari Maathai put her life on the line to save the Karura Forest from land grabs. “If you destroy your environment, you destroy yourself; a healthy environment supports healthy people”.
Jacqueline Mbawine is hoping Ghanaian and other African leaders will take a lesson from the Global Landscapes Forum to pay more attention to efforts to restore lands and to conserve the wealth of natural resources available for the betterment of the people.
“Forests play key role in managing forest system and given the fact that there is increasing effect of climate change, the presence of forests in our cities will help people have more healthy lifestyles, would have cleaner air and a wealth of wellbeing by the way we keep our environment”.
KIGALI, Rwanda (PAMACC News) - Key stakeholders in Africa’s agricultural sector today identified partnerships for sustainable agricultural technology delivery as a critical factor in Africa’s quest to feed Africa.
This came out strongly at a breakfast session that heralded the presidential summit of the 2018 African Agricultural Revolution Forum (AGRF) which ended today in Kigali, Rwanda’s capital city.
Organised by the ClearingHouse of the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT), an initiative of the African Development Bank’s Feed Africa Strategy that aims to achieve major agricultural transformation in Africa, the session had in attendance, African Agriculture Ministers, Scientists, representatives of multilateral development banks, donor partners and the private sector.
Mpoko Bokanga, Head of the TAAT ClearingHouse, in his opening statements traced the programme’s history to the October 2015 Dakar High Level Conference on Africa Agricultural Transformation Agenda which led to the adoption of 4 goals and 18 action points to transform African agriculture.
With a focused approach on integrated development of agricultural value chains, Dr. Bokanga highlighted the main objective of TAAT which is to “take proven agricultural technologies to scale in a commercially sustainable fashion through the establishment of a mechanism to facilitate partnerships.”
“These partnerships will not only provide access to expertise required to design, implement and monitor the progress of crop, animal and aquaculture, they will also contribute to ending extreme poverty by eliminating hunger and malnutrition; and making Africa a net exporter of agricultural commodities,” Dr. Bokanga said.
Innovative approach in partnerships
TAAT, according to Dr. Bokanga, isn’t an addition to Africa’s long list of agricultural initiatives but an innovative programme that serves as a clearing house for sustainable agricultural technology delivery.
Through its components, the programme will promote an enabling environment for technology adoption; establish a regional technology delivery infrastructure to accelerate delivery; and raise Africa’s agricultural productivity by deploying proven agricultural technologies at the agro-ecological and country levels in strengthened agricultural value chains.
The Togolese Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Ouro-Koura Agadazi was full of praises for the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) for this well thought-out programme, which according to him, “carries the prospects of transforming Africa’s agricultural landscape.”
“Togo has benefitted from several of IITA path-breaking agricultural solutions and it is our hope that TAAT will not be any different,” Agadazi added.
Hon Joseph Mwanamvekha, Malawian Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development, commended the partnership between IITA as the executing agency and the over 10 research institutes and centres driving the implement of the TAAT programme.
Also underscoring the imperatives of partnerships for sustainable agricultural technology at the breakfast session were representatives of International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and the IITA.
Technologies for Africa
Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) is a knowledge and innovation-based response to the recognized need to scaling up proven technologies across Africa.
Already being implemented in 31 low income Regional Member Countries of the AfDB, TAAT supports AfDB’s Feed Africa Strategy for the continent to eliminate the current massive importation of food and transform its economies by targeting agriculture as a major source of economic diversification and wealth, as well as a powerful engine for job creation.
The initiative will implement 655 carefully considered actions that should result in almost 513 million tons of additional food production and lift nearly 250 million Africans out of poverty by 2025.
KIGALI, Rwanda (PAMACC News) - For its creative work in generating solutions on and off the farm, innovative solutions that have improved the lives of millions in the face of climate change, and rampaging crop pests and disease, the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) has emerged winner of the 2018 African Food Prize.
IITA is the first institution to receive the distinguished Africa Food Prize as announced today at the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) in Kigali, Rwanda.
The independent Africa Food Prize Committee, chaired by H.E. Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of Nigeria, selected IITA for its deep commitment over many decades to producing a steady stream of innovations that have boosted the nutrition and incomes of millions of people across Africa.
In recent years, that work also has included a critical focus on connecting crop science to creating employment for Africa’s youth, and ensuring African farmers can adapt to the stress of climate change and the growing threat for an array of crop pests and plant diseases.
“IITA stood out to us for its steadfast and inspiring commitment to a research agenda that aligns with both our African traditions as well as the evolving needs of African farmers and consumers for the latest advances food production,” said Obasanjo.
“From the cassava we’re still eating today, to the valuable and nutritious soybeans we now grow in our fields, to maize varieties that can withstand drought and deadly toxins—our diets and our agriculture businesses would be much poorer today without IITA’s leadership, and its willingness to forge powerful bonds with African farmers and African communities.”
Speaking as he received the Prize on behalf of his institution, Dr. Nteranya Sanginga, IITA’s Director General, stated his belief that a great deal of IITA’s success rests on its ability to develop relationships and collaborations that allow the fruits of its research to be scaled up and made available to millions of farmers.
“I’m extremely honoured to be receiving this prize on behalf of IITA and proud to be part of a group of researchers dedicated to building lasting and relevant solutions for the continent,” said Sanginga.
“But it would be remiss of me if I didn’t acknowledge the important role of our various partners, from other research centers to governments to the private sector, without whom our research might never have seen the light of day.”
Responding to today’s realities
In addition to its research work, the Africa Food Prize selection committee also cited the institute’s role in moving from being a developer to becoming the producer and distributer of Aflasafe—a product that can remove 80 to 99 percent of a deadly, cancer-causing fungus called aflatoxin that contaminates maize and groundnuts.
In order to prove there was a market for the product, IITA established a “Business Incubation Platform (BIP)” and manufactured and sold Aflasafe itself. The product was a hit with farmers, who found the savings generated by Aflasafe were many times more than the product cost. IITA eventually handed off production to a private sector partner and there are now manufacturing plants for Aflasafe in Nigeria and Kenya.
Congratulating IITA on this recognition, Svein Tore Holsether, President and Chief Executive Officer of Yara International, noted that “since its inception in 2005, the Yara Prize—now the Africa Food Prize— has honoured people and organizations who are strong voices in the African agriculture sector. Now, African agriculture is at a defining moment.”
“To achieve real transformation we need to mobilize across sectors, and research organizations like IITA will play a crucial role, providing valuable science, vital in making sure we can produce enough food, which is also nutritious and environmentally friendly,” Holsether, added.
IITA was also praised for understanding and acting on the potential of agriculture to become a source of employment for young people on a continent that is grappling with a significant youth employment challenge. Under Dr. Sanginga’s leadership, IITA began a Youth Agripreneurs Program in 2012 to help young Africans create profitable agribusinesses.
The program has since been adopted by the African Development Bank as a model for its ENABLE Youth initiative. AfDB has tapped IITA to lead the efforts, which has ambitions to reach 800,000 young people in at least 20 African countries.
A model of superb African leadership and management
As the first African Director General to lead the organization, Dr. Sanginga was recognized by the Prize committee as a powerful force behind many of the organization’s impressive achievements--and for its imaginative new strategic direction that has taken it into areas like artificial intelligence and business development.
He also was praised for decisively extending IITA’s reach across the continent. When he was appointed in 2012, IITA’s physical presence in Africa was limited to its headquarters in Nigeria.
Today, it has 18 country offices and regional hubs in East, Central and Southern Africa—each with its own state of the art research facilities and stations.
“We want African governments and institutions to feel the presence of IITA and know that we are invested in the long-term future of the continent,” said Sanginga.
“For me, it was important to have more tangible connections with the communities we are serving and while I am a big fan of virtual collaborations, Africans still place a lot of value in face to face exchanges.”
In addition to Dr. Sanginga, also recognised by the committee were hundreds high-performing experts that IITA has recruited, trained and developed over the years, many of them going on to become pre-eminent leaders on the continent and champions for agriculture.
They include: Dr. Akin Adesina, President of the African Development Bank; Dr. Kanayo Nwanze, former Head of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and 2016 winner of the Africa Food Prize, as well as Dr. Agnes Kalibata, President of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).
