For the past 27 years, the GEF has supported African countries’ efforts to protect their incredible biological riches in line with their commitments to the Convention on Biological Diversity. To date, the GEF has built a robust portfolio of 380 projects biodiversity conservation projects in Africa, for a total value $1.2 billion while also leveraging $7 billion in financing from other sources. This publication summarizes these projects and investments and provides examples of successful or unique projects in the GEF’s different thematic areas: protected areas, mainstreaming of biodiversity in the productive sector, wildlife conservation, fisheries, the Nagoya Protocol, the Cartagena Protocol, and the Small Grants Program.
However, we must recognize that our efforts have not been enough. Africa is losing biodiversity at alarming rates and is not on track to reach many of the 2020 Aichi Targets. The reality is that our efforts have not been commensurate with the scale and speed of the forces that are driving biodiversity loss: Habitat conversion, urban expansion, unsustainable land and forest management practices, poaching and illegal wildlife trade, and climate change all pose significant challenges Africa’s biodiversity and ecosystems.
Looking ahead, changing this trajectory requires a profound transformation of our key economic systems–in our food, energy, urban, and production and consumption systems. Only an systems change approach to changing the way we manage and use our land, water and forests will help safeguard biodiversity, in Africa and globally. This is exactly what our new next investment cycle, GEF-7, intends to do through our Impact Programs focusing on Food and Land-use, on Drylands, on the key biomes like the Congo Basin, and a renewed focus on combatting poaching and illegal wildlife trade.
This report thus does not simply compile our work thus far, but rather illuminates the opportunities we have to invest in Africa’s future. While we must be cognizant of the significant challenges ahead, I believe that we are well-positioned to make a real positive difference for Africa’s biodiversity and sustainable development, and thereby help safeguard our Global Commons.
