Climate, Land, Agriculture and Biodiversity (CLAB)-Africa Webinar Series

Webinar 4: Land Restoration and Biodiversity 

Healthy and productive land resources – soil, water, and biodiversity – are the foundation of our societies and economies. In recent decades, land resources have been subject to persistent degradation and loss due to global patterns of human domination. An estimated 20% of Africa’s soil (6.6 million km²) is degraded owing to soil erosion, salinization, pollution and loss of vegetation or soil fertility.

The underlying causes of land degradation are multifaceted, with human pressure, poverty contributions to economic opportunities influenced by institutional factors, making significant contributions. Land degradation affects a large portion of drylands and many places of humid ecosystems on the continent.

In Africa, reversing soil degradation is a priority. Land which is seemingly irreparably degraded can be restored. Land offers a huge opportunity to identify and enable the adoption and implementation of productive, equitable and sustainable land management (SLM) for poverty reduction.

The Land Restoration and Biodiversity Webinar was convened on 30 May and focused on land restoration and biodiversity relevant innovations/solutions worthy of investment. The presenters shed light on the land restoration and biodiversity challenges and the key governance frameworks and their shortcomings. 

Watch the recording here.

The CLAB –Africa Project is led by University of Pretoria, Future Africa Institute, and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in collaboration with the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN) with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It aims to provide a platform for Africa’s leading scientists to engage Africa’s political leadership on the varying catalytic sectors to address the continent’s wicked challenges in this regard. The Project is structured along four thematic areas focusing on: (i) climate change impacts on food systems; (ii) people-animals-ecosystems health and wellbeing; (iii) land restoration and biodiversity and (iv) land-water-energy resources use.