Africa Climate Week Showcases the Benefits of Tree Planting for Climate Resilience

Africa Climate Week (ACW) is an annual event that brings together stakeholders from different sectors and regions to discuss and promote climate action in Africa.

The ACW 2023 took place from Sept 4 to Sept 8 n Nairobi, Kenya, and was organized in parallel with the Africa Climate Summit, also hosted by Kenya.

One of the main topics of the ACW 2023 was forest landscape restoration, which aims to restore the ecological functions and benefits of degraded lands by planting trees and other native vegetation.

Tree restoration pledges are ambitious but achievable

(Photo : TONY KARUMBA/AFP via Getty Images)

As part of the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100), four sub-Saharan countries - Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, and Kenya - have pledged to restore a total of 24 million hectares of degraded land by 2030.

This represents almost a quarter of AFR100's goal of restoring 100 million hectares across Africa.

These pledges are also aligned with the global Bonn Challenge, which aims to restore 350 million hectares of degraded land by 2030, and the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, which calls for scaling up restoration efforts to prevent, halt, and reverse the degradation of ecosystems worldwide.

Restoring forest landscapes can provide multiple benefits for people and the planet, such as enhancing biodiversity, improving soil health, increasing food security, reducing poverty, mitigating climate change, and supporting the implementation of the Paris Agreement.

According to a study by the World Resources Institute (WRI), restoring 100 million hectares of land in Africa could generate $84 billion in net benefits over 30 years and sequester up to 1.7 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent.

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Seed shortage is a major challenge for tree restoration

However, achieving these ambitious restoration targets requires overcoming several challenges, especially in terms of seed supply.

A recent study by the Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) found that while there is political will and international support for tree restoration in Africa, seed systems - the networks that produce, distribute, and deliver seeds and other planting materials - are not fully prepared yet.

The study revealed that there is a high demand for native tree species material, but a low supply.

This is due to various factors, such as lack of seed sources, poor seed quality, inadequate storage facilities, insufficient seed testing and certification, limited market access and information, and weak coordination among stakeholders.

The study also found that many actors involved in restoration are not fully aware of the available resources, such as seed catalogs, databases, networks, and guidelines.

The study suggested several ways to address these gaps and improve seed systems for tree restoration in Africa, such as:

Increasing the diversity and availability of native tree species material by engaging local communities, farmers, and seed entrepreneurs in seed production and conservation.
Enhancing the quality and viability of seeds and other planting materials by applying best practices for seed collection, processing, storage, and distribution.
Improving the accessibility and affordability of seeds and other planting materials by developing market mechanisms, incentives, and policies that support seed trade and delivery.
Strengthening the capacity and collaboration among seed system actors by providing training, information, and platforms for communication and coordination.

Africa Climate Week 2023 was an important opportunity to advance tree restoration pledges in Africa but also highlighted the need to address the big seed shortage that remains.

Improving seed systems for native tree species is essential for ensuring the success and sustainability of forest landscape restoration efforts in Africa.

By working together, governments, donors, researchers, practitioners, businesses, and civil society can overcome this challenge and unlock the potential of trees for a greener and more resilient future.