Digital edition: Africa 2021

The Dedicated Grant Mechanism (DGM) is a global initiative that supports the participation of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) in the international effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) and promote sustainable forest management. Although still a relatively new initiative, it is showing promise as a new model for building capacity and broadening engagement with IPLCs. A broad range of stakeholders – including forest-dependent communities, DGM practitioners, donors, multilateral development banks, and climate funds – have expressed a strong interest in both the DGM-specific and the universal lessons that are being captured.

This session provides an overview of the practical experience, techniques, and results of an “evergreening” approach to dryland restoration in the Sahel. A particular focus is given to Farmer Managed Natural regeneration (agroforestry), but within a more integrated approach, including soil and water conservation. A short video provides testimonies by women and men farmers in villages. The session concludes with messages to financial donors about the lessons learned for scaling out land restoration drawn from experiences in Senegal, Mali and Burkina Faso.

Join us for an exclusive screening of a brand-new documentary featuring some of Africa’s restoration champions, AFR100 Presents: The Grand African Green Up. From Ghana to Kenya, Tanzania, and Madagascar, follow narrator Wanjira Mathai for a narrative journey through a few of Africa’s regenerating landscapes. The Grand African Green Up is co-produced by AUDA-NEPAD and Justdiggit, with support from World Resources Institute.

Tropical dry forests are subject to some of the highest rates of deforestation and degradation around the world, even though they cover some 2.7 million square kilometers in Africa alone and represent globally important carbon storage. These ecosystems are particularly at risk due their fragility and the high demand for forest goods and services, which are required to support the livelihoods of large numbers of the world’s poorest people. Despite their importance, little is known about dry forests and they are often not covered by inventories and management planning.

Recent major breakthroughs in satellite Earth Observation (EO) data provision provide unprecedented views of the Earth and present an opportunity to address existing limitations in forest monitoring capabilities. In 2014 and 2015, the European Space Agency (ESA) launched two satellite missions – Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 – to improve monitoring the global environment. Both satellites are revolutionary in terms of wide coverage, high spatial resolution, and frequent repeat coverage. Similar to the Landsat-8 mission, data collected by the Sentinel satellites are provided through an open access policy. These missions and open access policies have dramatically increased available data on global forests.

The session will focus on introducing the new and innovative tools developed by the Satellite Monitoring for Forest Management (SMFM) project by the World Bank in 2017–2020. The SMFM project developed tools to allow forest practitioners to use these new satellite resources for forest cover and biomass assessment, dense time-series change analysis and analyzing the drivers of forest change.

Read more: White Paper

Innovation, at its core, is about doing business differently. Innovation might include products, services, processes, business models, and technologies; creating value primarily through social impact as well as commercial gains. Yet not all innovations work, and not all innovations that work do so at scale especially in the arid-to-semi-arid lands and fragile and conflict-affected areas. The goals of this session is to present the landscape of innovations in drylands and conflict-affected countries in the Horn of Africa and the Sahel; benchmark success factors for innovations to have impact; as well as discuss opportunities and challenges of sustainably scaling innovations.

Read more: White Paper 

On the one hand, we have drylands. They constitute 60% of the surface of the African continent, and while some might think they do not have much agricultural potential, they can actually sustain thriving agricultural practices, including – but not limited to – agroforestry systems.

On the other hand, we have youth. Young people are dynamic and innovative; have a high uptake of technological know-how; and are passionate, perseverant, and most of all, courageous.

During this Youth Daily Show, we want to explore the opportunities that agroforestry can bring to Africa’s drylands – not only as a sustainable food system, but also as an opportunity for youth employment and the achievement of food security for present and future generations. We will hear from amazing young professionals from across the African continent, who will share their experience with, and innovations for, dryland agroforestry.

Read more: Youth Participation at GLF Africa Digital Conference: A Wave of Opportunities

Women in Africa’s drylands could be likened to superheroes: they take care of the kids and the land, and ensure income for their families. And, as if this was not enough, they are an incredible source of knowledge on traditional practices, sustainable land management and innovations for resilience and survival during periods of drought. During this Youth Daily Show, we will present an intergenerational conversation between two women, exploring their roles in their communities, and understanding the importance of handing down knowledge from generation to generation.

Read more: Youth Participation at GLF Africa Digital Conference: A Wave of Opportunities

The Youth population in Africa is projected to reach 1.2 billion by 2030. But lack of job opportunities, under-employment or challenging work conditions might increasingly become problematic as the number of young people increases. This Youth Daily Show, jointly organized by the African Youth Initiative on Climate Change and the Youth in Landscapes Initiative (YIL), will explore the topic of youth unemployment in Africa and how dryland’s restoration, and more in general the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, can play a role in increasing employment opportunities for regional youth. Two young African leaders will share with us their perspectives and stories and together we will explore how the restoration of drylands can bring hope, for communities and for nature.

Read more: Youth Participation at GLF Africa Digital Conference: A Wave of Opportunities

The GEF-7 Drylands Sustainable Landscapes Impact Program (DSL IP) aims at transforming the management of drylands in 11 countries across three geographical clusters; 1) the Miombo and Mopane ecosystems of Southern Africa, 2) the savanna and grasslands in East and West Africa and, 3) the temperate grasslands, savannas and shrublands of Central Asia.

This session will bring partners and stakeholders from different sectors and scales (local, national, regional and global) together to share their respective perspectives on the dryland management challenges in the target regions and to discuss how the DSL IP’s programmatic approach will support them in overcoming these challenges.

Read more: White Paper 

The session will:

• Provide evidence to inform restoration policy and practice and achieve the vision of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
• Synthesize factors affecting the success or failure of restoration initiatives, leading to recommendations for the design of new restoration initiatives.
• Share lessons learned in terms of outcomes in the restoration impact pathway: 1) policies catalyzing change; 2) investments supporting change; 3) awareness of the need for change; 4) adoption of solutions; and 5) synergies and tradeoffs with other development outcomes.
• Discuss the potential of existing scientific evidence, data, metrics, tools, methods and partnerships that CGIAR has generated as leveraging points for the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.