Building capacity related to Multilateral Environmental Agreements in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries (ACP MEAs 3)

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Under MEAs 2, participants at a regional workshop on “Addressing pesticide use and identification of common issues in managing and reducing pesticide risk in Southern Africa.”

Africa

Africa is home to 25 percent of the world's biodiversity. The continent depends on its wealth of biodiversity and on its associated traditional knowledge to address challenges such as climate change, food security, nutrition and food safety, and to support sustainable and resilient agricultural production systems.

Africa’s biodiversity is alarmingly under pressure. In an effort to feed the growing populations, the region is intensifying the agricultural production: the challenge lies in being able to produce more from the same area of land while conserving resources, reducing negative impacts on the environment and enhancing natural capital and the flow of ecosystem services.  Without forgetting the substantial increase in the use of pesticides and the lack of regulatory control.

ACP MEAs 3 regional level activities in Africa

African member states have committed to work together fostering sustainability and a healthy relationship with the environment. ACP MEAs 3 gives support by scaling out best policy initiatives and ecosystem-based approaches to mainstream biodiversity into agriculture. The work is being achieved through strong collaboration with Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and regional bodies, namely the East African Community (EAC), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) with funding of the European Union.

Countries

The programme provides intensified support to four focus countries: Niger, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. A further ten countries have been prioritized for scaling out best practices: Burkina Faso, Burundi, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Senegal, South Sudan, Uganda, and Zambia.

ACP MEAs Actions

East Africa

  • Drafting of EAC Highly Hazardous Pesticide (HHP) Strategy document and circulating among partner states for national validations. 
  • Training on risk reduction of HHPs conducted with 16 pesticide regulators from Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda with focus on HHP identification to facilitate shortlisting of HHPs in each partner state.
  • Creating community consultations and training sessions promoting women and youth participation.
  • Promoting the adoption of agroecosystem-based practices through Farmer Field Schools.
  • Supporting an agrobiodiversity expert from Uganda to represent the EAC at 5th meeting of the Open-ended Working Group on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) ahead of Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP15).

Southern Africa

  • Supporting in the update of the regional HHP strategy and revise the SADC regional pesticide management guidelines.
  • Training for 15 SADC member states organized on registration of biopesticides, with a special focus on the Fall Armyworm.
  • Enhancing of Non-timber products sector via supporting the creation of small enterprises led by young rural entrepreneurs.
  • Supporting countries to phase out HHPs and phase in safer alternatives.
  • Training workshop held to unpack outcomes of the CBD COP15 and the GBF for the SADC Plant Genetic Resources network.
  • Reviewing the draft SADC regional biodiversity strategy for alignment post-2020 GBF.

West Africa

  • Activities implemented in collaboration with l'Alliance pour l'Agroécologie en Afrique de l'Ouest (3AO) and Réseau des Organizations Paysannes et Producteurs Agricoles d'Afrique de l'Ouest (ROPPA):
    • Sharing of experiences of good animal and plant biodiversity management practices in Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal and Niger.
    • Selection of projects to be capitalized. 
  • Scaling up activities in Senegal, Burkina Faso and Mali with the distribution of the manual “Agrobiodiversité: Note d'orientation pour Facilitateurs des Champs Ecoles des Producteurs".