Congratulations on being appointed as the Global Head of nature-based solutions hub with IUCN. What does the hub aim to solve?

Thank you and happy to be here talking about NbS, something that is very close to my heart. Preceded by its adoption by the 98th Meeting of the IUCN Council in February 2020, the first-ever Global Standard for Nature-based Solutions was launched in July 2020. This was after 20 years of research and consultation with experts and countries across the globe to ensure a common consensus on its definition, how best to develop the standards, and what it entails in terms of indicators and criteria. While they are known to address multiple sustainability crises, including climate change, food and water security, land degradation, and biodiversity loss, the NbS are either underutilized or misunderstood hence the reason why IUCN took the bold step to develop the standards.

To support governments and societies in the adoption and utilization of NbS as best practice, IUCN is setting up NbS hubs to serve as technical centers of excellence.

We want to create more awareness; especially on the importance of NbS and building capacities across Africa;  on how to develop the solutions and implement them on the ground.

  • Land degradation in Eastern Africa is on the increase as a result of desertification, land fragmentation, mono-culture, and urbanization. How are the IUCN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration, Bonn Challenge, and AFR100 responding to reverse the land degradation challenges?

In the last 2 decades, IUCN has made significant efforts to address the said global challenges. For example, in 2011, IUCN together with the government of Germany launched a global restoration initiative commonly known as Bonn Challenge (BC) that has seen the commitment to restore approximately 129 million Ha of land in Africa where  47%  of these commitments are within the Eastern Africa region.

Further in addressing these challenges, IUCN has been at the forefront of the continental efforts to domesticate the initiative in Africa including the launch of the AFR100. Soon  after the announcement of the BC, IUCN in collaboration with WRI developed a Restoration Opportunity Assessment Methodology   – ROAM – which is used by countries in determining their restoration potential and developing feasible and sustainable restoration land use options. Using ROAM, IUCN has supported several countries in Africa to understand their restoration potential and priorities. In EA alone IUCN has supported a number of countries among them   Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, and Ethiopia in undertaking restoration assessment and developing restoration strategies towards achieving their 2030 targets.

IUCN has also developed a global restoration monitoring framework known as the Restoration Barometer that helps countries monitor restoration progress against the commitment made. So far IUCN has supported 13 countries in the continent in the application of the barometer with the latest application in EA being in Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, and Ethiopia. The application is currently underway in Tanzania. Through restoration stock take countries can track the restoration progress to inform the required actions and efforts including but not limited to financing, strategies, institutional coordination, and so on.

Apart from using data and science to inform actions and policy direction in the region,  IUCN is also on the ground implementing restoration activities through various projects aimed at restoring degraded lands and ecosystems, halting biodiversity loss, increasing climate resilience,  improving lives, livelihoods, and human well-being, and developing innovative and inclusive financing mechanisms.  Talking about financing, IUCN has been at the forefront of supporting countries in developing multilateral donor-funded projects which have been transformative and catalytic enabling countries to accelerate their restoration efforts. For example, IUCN has supported the development and implementation of landmarking  GCF/GEF projects in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda. IUCN has recently concluded an integrated water resource management project (Sebeya) that has seen a successful application of the community-centric restoration model in Rwanda and is expected to inform the development or implementation of several other projects including: AREECA, COMBIO  and TREPA in Rwanda, The scaling up of the Sebeya in the Rusizi basin ( Rwanda, Burundi and DRC)

  • COP 26 was in Glasgow was dubbed “Nature COP”. 137 countries committed to collectively end forest loss and land degradation by 2030 and a total of $19.2 billion was pledged to help protect and restore forests globally. Have these ambitions been followed through with commitments by the countries and non-state actors that signed Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration On Forests and Land Use

In terms of making the funds a reality, very little has been realized and I think these were the same sentiments expressed by African Leaders during the recently held ACS in Nairobi.

  • Rwanda has one of the highest forest cover in Eastern Africa with at least 30.4% of the country covered with Forest. What has been the key to this success and what role is IUCN playing in ensuring drought-degraded landscapes in Northern and Eastern provinces of Rwanda are restored?

IUCN is very proud to have been a key partner toward the realization of Rwanda’s 30.4% forest cover.

Rwanda’s ambitious commitment to environmental protection is a major success factor. Starting from setting ambitious national targets {such as tree cover through Vision 2020   and Bonn Challenge by 2030 } speaks for itself. Other success factors include; a responsive policy and governance framework, a cross-sectoral coordination that encourages synergies, and continuous innovation for example with with recent development and adoption of a community-centric restoration model, Village Land Use Plans, and Catchment Restoration Approach. Rwanda is also keen on the use of data and science in developing local solutions. For example in all restoration projects Rwanda has been using ROAM in baselining its restoration projects and setting up restoration targets. Rwanda is known to have been the 1st country in Africa ( 2014) to deploy ROAM in restoration planning and thereafter radiating the application into several countries in Africa.

In terms of restoration monitoring, Rwanda was the first country to apply the Restoration Barometer and has since then revamped its local monitoring framework DFMP-FMES well aligned with the Restoration Barometer Globa framework.

In 2019, the government of Rwanda together with IUCN undertook a  national forest cover mapping exercise which reported a  30.4% forest cover from a previous cover of about 16% a  decade before.  Additionally, IUCN has supported ground-breaking efforts in developing the country’s soil erosion control analytics which allows the government to address soil erosion challenges at a plot level.

In our continued efforts to support the government of Rwanda, IUCN is implementing a number of projects including the just Sebeya (22m EUR), AREECA (4.3m EUR), COMBIO (8.9m EUR), TREPA (33m USD), and others.

  • What should businesses do to halt forest loss associated with agricultural commodity production of crops like Sugarcane, Tea, and Palm oil in Africa that have been dubbed import substitution ventures by Governments?

We cannot ignore the factor of low production/supply of raw materials in these issues. This is largely due to a decline in soil fertility.  Going forward the companies need to invest more in soil fertility to ensure sustainable production and hence business sustainability. By NbS and investing along supply chains, the companies can improve/maximize production and will consequently encourage reduced exploitation of more lands hence reducing deforestation and emission. IUCN has been engaging private businesses in the region in developing nature-positive business models that are profitable and sustainable. For example, between 2019 and 2021 IUCN engaged Kilombero Sugarcane Company in Tanzania to develop a business case where the sugarcane company would invest in nature through NbS to improve water yield and soil health thus maximizing production and avoiding further deforestation through expansion of out-growers.

  • How is IUCN Kenya Portfolio in line with Government of Kenya goal of growing 15 billion trees by 2030, mobilizing climate change financing and empowering communities through nature based solutions?

Through the development and implementation of various projects and providing the necessary technical assistance IUCN is keen on supporting Kenya’s ambitious efforts on 15 billion trees. Currently, IUCN is working with the government on a number of projects including; the 30m USD GCF project in 11 counties and 6m GEF project in 2 counties. Others include; a 3m coastal resilience project known as Save Our Mangrove Now (SOMN)  and an IWRM project known as Sustainable Transformational and Accessible Water Interventions (STAWI) funded by DANIDA. IUCN continues to provide the necessary technical support on restoration assessment and monitoring both at national and subnational levels.

  • The African Climate Change Summit that will be held in Nairobi in September 2023 comes at a time when the African continent has been hit hard by weather related disasters like prolonged drought in the horn of Africa and Cyclones in Southern Africa. What issues should the African countries discuss and resolve as a team before they head to COP 28 in DUBAI?

Carbon taxation, Loss and Damage facility, annual climate finance, and several other announcements in the previous COPS are great steps toward climate justice. However African leaders need to understand that there are no legally binding commitments and therefore a need to do more in terms of financing and actions around mitigation and adaptation. We have had so many commitments in the past and many of them to this end have not been kept. I believe there is a reason and needs to be discussed further. But before ha, in my respectful opinion, Africa needs to develop a well-structured and investment-attractive financing mechanism that doesn’t just pay for damage but brings justice to all.

  • The youth and women in Africa have been severely affected by climate change. What opportunities can they tap in to ensure they become resilient and does IUCN have facilities that can support nature-based enterprises managed by women and youth in Africa?

Indeed gender equality is key when we all about climate change, biodiversity, desertification and degradation, and other sustainable development spheres.

Unfortunately, our youths and women have for far too long been victims of climate disasters primarily because of the imbalance around land rights and land use men are historically and in large proportion man as seen as the authority and thaw one and youth have to take a back seat and watch. In other words, they are rarely involved in the conversation about land use and land rights.

Cognizant of his imbalance, IUCN has been keen on mainstreaming gender-transformative and responsive mechanisms in all its programmes. For example within the land systems programme, IUCN has developed gender-responsive FLR guidelines outlining Gender Golden Procedures to ensure the voice and role of women and youths throughout the restoration process – from the restoration assessment to actual implementation.

IUCN has also developed innovative financing mechanisms models, such as CECF that continue to enable access finance to for women and vulnerable groups and encourage bio-enterprising a the community level. The model has so far me rolled out in Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda.

PARTING SHOT

Climate distros are not waiting for us. Unfortunately, we have taken much time talking and planning yet we all know the dangers of climate change and time is ticking fast! As the UN sec general said sometime back, we need more actions than talk. This is the only way we can move forward.