Banjul, The Gambia – African countries considered regional progress towards halting and reversing deforestation during discussions at the 25th Session of the African Forestry and Wildlife Commission and the 9th African Forestry and Wildlife Week, taking place under the theme “Innovative and Inclusive Forest and Wildlife Resources Management for Africa”. An event hosted by the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF), provided a platform for country participants to share priority actions for reversing forest loss and enhancing restoration efforts.
According to FAO’s latest Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA), Africa’s forests cover approximately 663 million ha, representing 16 percent of the global total and 22 percent of the African land area. Although the rate of deforestation has decreased in recent years, African forests continue to be lost at a rate of 3.45 million hectares per year, driven by land-use competition from agriculture, mining and energy sectors and exacerbated by factors such as weak governance, poverty and insecure land tenure. These combined pressures threaten food security, sustainable livelihoods, and climate and biodiversity goals.
Several countries highlighted that the knowledge and tools to halt deforestation exist and successful lessons and strategies need to be better supported and shared to accelerate progress. Pierre Taty, Chair of FAO’s Committee on Forestry and representative of the Republic of the Congo, said, “Countries are strengthening agriculture–forestry linkages, promoting agroforestry, advancing sustainable value chains as part of the forest-based bioeconomy, and pursuing integrated landscape approaches. These efforts not only conserve forests but also improve food security, livelihood options and resilience for millions of people”.
Delegates also highlighted the urgent need for policy and legal reforms to strengthen forestry governance for enhanced forest conservation, restoration and sustainable use, including new frameworks and strategies to enhance community participation and integrate agroforestry into national development plans. Participants showcased national restoration efforts, including tree-planting programs and initiatives that have attracted pledges from donors and private sector partners, rehabilitating degraded landscapes and creating platforms for long-term collaboration and investment. The event also emphasized innovative approaches for sustainable wildlife management, which combine scientific data with community-driven solutions to combat illegal trafficking and reduce human-wildlife conflict.
Looking ahead, several areas were identified for increased focus and effort, including greater access to technologies and innovation and targeted support to improve access to finance and involvement of rural communities, smallholder farmers and Indigenous Peoples. The importance of robust forest monitoring and reporting systems to generate accurate data and evidence for informed policy decisions and improved policy coherence on forest-related matters was also emphasized.
During the event, FAO and UNFCCC launched a joint publication, titled Branching out: Synergies in forest assessments and climate transparency reporting, highlighting how synergies between reporting processes for FRA and Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs) under the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) can strengthen the quality and consistency of forest-related data, ease reporting burdens on countries, and support countries in their land-use choices and evidence-based forest climate actions.
Background: The event was convened under the CPF Joint Initiative on Turning the Tide on Deforestation (JI on TTD), co-led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Secretariat (UNFCCC) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The initiative supports countries with data, analysis and policy advice to make informed decisions and advance forest-based solutions for climate action, biodiversity conservation and sustainable livelihoods.
