In 2023, Mongabay is officially expanding its coverage of environmental and conservation news in Africa by launching a news bureau dedicated to producing our renowned and award-winning brand of journalism in both French and English. The new bureau, Mongabay Africa, will create original reporting on issues relevant to the conservation of Africa’s wildlife and their habitats, development pressures and the activities of natural resource industries, and the impacts of climate change on ecosystems and communities across the continent.

The Canada–African Development Bank Climate Fund (CACF), established to support gender-affirmative climate change projects in Africa, has approved $36.3 million to two private sector operations to advance climate adaptation in the African continent.

African Leaders for Nutrition (ALN), a platform for high-level political engagement to advance nutrition in Africa, has joined two crucial forums for advancing policy dialogue on agriculture and nutrition in Africa. ALN representatives attended the commemoration the 14th Africa Day for Food and Nutrition Security (ADFNS) and 19th Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Partnership Platform (PP).

The Congo Basin, the world’s second-largest forest has distinct meteorological characteristics, and its ecosystem is controlled by complex interactions between many climatic phenomena that act across scales (Fig. 1). While it receives little attention compared to the Amazon Basin, due to its location, the Congo rainforest also contributes to processes responsible for interhemispheric climatic communications in Africa. At the larger scale, the basin regulates the global tropical circulation by serving as one of the world’s most convectively active regions. Therefore, the Basin offers a unique natural laboratory for climate science explorations and the implications for people and ecosystems. But, why has this green heart of Africa been neglected and what should we do about it?.

On 8 August 2023, twenty-six restoration practitioners and stakeholders set off from Oloitokitok – a small town on the green slopes of Kenya’s Mount Kilimanjaro – to Mbirikani Group Ranch in Kajiado County. There, the Centre for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF) and Big Life Foundation were holding a field visit as part of a two-day learning event on monitoring rangeland restoration – specifically on the assessment methods, data, and evidence base that is critical for long-term restoration impact.

To elevate women from the micro to macro status, the African Union Strategy for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) outlines the pathways to achieve the holistic empowerment of women. The GEWE strategy complements other policy frameworks by the African Union aimed at promoting the rights of women and girls and advocates for adequately resourced gender structures within formal and non-formal institutions and bodies to ensure that women at the grassroot and executive levels, have opportunities that to allow them to reach their full potential.

Government policymakers, mining sector leaders, and civil society will convene to focus on the many issues connected to “Sharing Mining Benefits in the Energy Transition. Setting the tone during the opening of the 19th Annual General Meeting of the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF), Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder, Interim Co-President and Co-CEO, International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), noted that critical minerals are the backbone of the clean energy transition. She urged mining countries seeking to tap the booming demand for these minerals to take “immediate and bold action” to ensure they expand their share of benefits while doing so in an equitable and environmentally and socially responsible manner.

October 27, 2023 (ENTEBBE, Uganda): The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) yesterday wrapped-up its Blue Economy Project’s 2nd Steering Committee Meeting in Entebbe with field visits to Mahati Marine Transport Base and Kasenyi fishing landing site.

East Africa’s multitude of forested ecosystems – which include woodlands, savannah, coastal areas, mangroves, and more – hold important global reserves of biodiversity, and play critical roles for local communities, too. But climate change impacts such as prolonged drought, unpredictable rain, food insecurity, and health hazards are all taking their toll on its ecosystems and people.

BRAZZAVILLE, Republic of Congo (Oct. 28, 2023) – The Executive Secretariat of the Central African Forest Commission (or Commission des Forêts d'Afrique Centrale - COMIFAC) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the implementation of Target 3 of Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

The aim of the Global Legal and Sustainable Timber Forum is to increase networking, collaboration and business exchange among timber industry stakeholders—producers, buyers, processors and market players—with a view to promoting sustainable forest management, creating legal and sustainable wood product supply chains, facilitating the legal and sustainable use and trade of wood products in a stable, transparent and predictable business environment, and contributing to sustainable development and climate-change mitigation.

Under the High Patronage of His Excellency Mr PAUL BIYA, President of the Republic of Cameroon, Head of State, the High-Level Meeting on the " Second International Conference of Ministers on Transboundary Transhumance" was held in Yaoundé, Republic of Cameroon, from July 10 to 12, 2023. Nexus: transhumance, protected areas and natural resources, development, peace and security". Please, download the report...

Calls for synergistic actions to tackle the interlinked crises of biodiversity loss and climate change dominated the meeting’s deliberations. Delegates proposed holistic solutions such as nature-based solutions, ecosystem-based approaches and the OneHealth approach.

 

Forest elephants are known to form small groups, generally a mother and her dependent offspring. Males can leave their birth group as early as at the age of 7 years, and females around the age of 15-20, or when they have their own first offspring. However, exceptions can be seen at Dzanga Bai such as the Alvah family. Alvah was first seen in 2006 and estimated to have been born in 1962. Alvah has most probably sired more than seven offspring in her life, and she is often seen at the clearing with up to 12 family members, including her daughters Alvah II, Alvah III, Alvah IV, Alvah V and Alvah VI.

On behalf of the Civil Society and Community Engagement Division of the African Development Bank, we are pleased to announce the holding of the East Africa Regional Civil Society Forum on 18-19 October 2023 in Nairobi, Kenya. This event is part of a series of regional forums to be held in 2023 on the overall theme of "Engaging Civil Society in Mobilising Private Sector Finance for Climate and Green Growth in Africa", alternating with the Bank's biennial Continental Civil Society Forum.

The twelfth workshop of the Working Group for the Follow-up of the Implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) of the Central African Forests Commission (COMIFAC) was held from 27 to 29 September 2023 in Malabo, Republic of Equatorial Guinea.

The 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly marks a crucial milestone in the journey towards achieving the 2030 Agenda and the urgent need to put the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) back on track. Everything you need to know about the upcoming UN General Assembly High-level Week 2023...

 

The Climate Change Action Plan 2021–2025 aims to advance the climate change aspects of the WBG’s Green, Resilient, and Inclusive Development (GRID) approach, which pursues poverty eradication and shared prosperity with a sustainability lens. In the Action Plan, we will support countries and private sector clients to maximize the impact of climate finance, aiming for measurable improvements in adaptation and resilience and measurable reductions in GHG emissions. The Action Plan also considers the vital importance of natural capital, biodiversity, and ecosystems services and will increase support for nature-based solutions, given their importance for both mitigation and adaptation. As part of our effort to drive climate action, the WBG has a long-standing record of participating in key partnerships and high-level forums aimed at enhancing global efforts to address climate change.

Ahead of the 28th United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP 28), the African Development Bank Group has launched country-by-country economic reports to guide African policymakers in their discussions at the global event.

Chemicals of concern (CoC) in the building and construction sector is not a new issue. Childhood lead poisoning and chronic lung disease from the inhalation of asbestos fibers are well-known impacts of chemicals that have afflicted the sector over the decades. Building and construction is one of the most chemical-intensive sectors downstream of the chemical industry and the largest end market for chemicals, generating the highest chemical revenue of all sectors. Driven by rapidly accelerating urbanization, the global construction sector is expected to grow by 3.5% annually, with its chemicals market growing by 6.2% annually between 2018 and 2023.

Peatlands are among the most valuable ecosystems on Earth. The carbon-rich ecosystems, located near wetlands around the globe, store almost a third of the world’s terrestrial carbon, creates a great habitat for wildlife and plays an important role in water management. It also provides livelihoods for communities by supporting agricultural activities and producing natural products, such as medicinal plants or honey. Sadly, peatlands are also prone to disturbance, both from natural and human activity.