African Development Bank Spearheads Plans to Preserve Continental Biodiversity
The African Development Bank has outlined a comprehensive plan to support the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) in Africa. The framework, adopted at COP15 in December 2022, sets ambitious targets to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 20230 while working toward harmony with nature by 2050. During a key side event at the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP16) in Cali, Colombia, the Bank stressed the importance of biodiversity as a key priority under the Bank’s Ten-Year Strategy 2024-2033 and presented Bank’s initiatives and plans for enhancing biodiversity support and action in Africa.
The Bank’s side event, which brought together key environmental and development stakeholders, highlighted the critical role of Africa’s natural resources in the continent’s economic future.
Dr. Al-Hamndou Dorsouma, Manager at the Climate Change and Green Growth Department at the African Development Bank Group, told delegates that natural capital represents between 30% and 50% of national wealth in most African countries, emphasizing the critical need for sustainable biodiversity management in Africa.
“Despite the great opportunities that biodiversity provides for Africa’s development, the continent is experiencing an unprecedented decline,” Dorsouma stated. “Strategic partnerships will be critical in leveraging these natural resources sustainably to drive Africa’s economic transformation.”
The Bank showcased its expanding portfolio of biodiversity initiatives, including the $6.5 billion Great Green Wall Project, the Desert-to-Power Initiative, and the Natural Capital for African Development Finance Project. Innocent Onah, Chief Natural Resources Officer, said the Bank has integrated nature-based solutions across multiple projects through a watershed approach in the Lake Chad, Niger, Congo and Zambezi River basins, focusing on ecosystem restoration, sustainable use and management of natural resources, among other areas.
The Bank’s approach centers on three strategic pillars: Biodiversity policy, biodiversity finance, and natural capital valuation and investment facilitation. Key objectives included raising awareness about the Bank’s new Ten-Year Strategic Plan (2024-2034), sharing information on supportive programs and projects, and exploring the interconnections between KMGBF targets, the Bank’s High 5s, and its strategies and action plans.
Sustainable finance experts at the event underscored Africa’s unique and rich biodiversity. “Africa’s wealth is really in our natural assets. We are sitting on some of the greatest biodiversity on the planet,” stated Candice Stevens, CEO and Founder of the Sustainable Finance Coalition.
Frederick Kwame Kumah, Vice President of Global Leadership at the African Wildlife Foundation, called for broader integration of biodiversity priorities by stakeholders, including national governments, “not just through natural biodiversity action plans, but through the national development plans.” He further noted that “the Bank can use of its convening power to ensure that biodiversity support is a priority for all financial institutions”.
The event drew participants from major international organizations, including the United Nations Capital Development Fund, United Nations Environment Programme, World Wildlife Fund, African Union Commission, African Wildlife Foundation, and the Great Green Wall Organization of Africa.
Cover photo: (L-R): Innocent Maloba representing WWF; Frederick Kwame Kumah, Vice President, Global Leadership, AWF; Innocent Onah, AfDB; Candice Stevens, CEO and Founder, Sustainable Finance Coalition; Arona Soumare, AfDB; Al-Hamndou Dorsouma, AfDB; Bamba Diop, AfDB; and Rodrigo Cassola, Principal Specialist, Nature and Finance, UNEP-WCMC.
