Uncategorized Archives - Africa Biodiversity Collaborative Group (ABCG)

The year ahead: Climate change is here. Nature can help

February 16, 2023

by edge Uncategorized

For millions of people around the world who are learning to survive in the face of droughts, floods and more frequent storms, climate change is not a future problem — it’s here now. Nature can be a powerful ally in adapting to these impacts, but its contributions are often underappreciated.As we look ahead to the conservation issues shaping 2023, Conservation News sat down with Conservation International’s climate lead Emily Nyrop and scientist Dave Hole to discuss how to maximize nature’s role as a climate solution. What’s on your radar in 2023?Dave Hole: Going into this year, and beyond, we will increase our focus on climate adaptation. We know that avoiding the worst impacts of climate change means limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit). Yet we’re already experiencing a roughly <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/world-of-change/global-temperatures" target="_blank">1.1 degrees Celsius</a> (2.3 degrees Fahrenheit) average global temperature rise, and that will only continue to increase given the world’s limited progress on mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. So, we need to find ways to reduce our vulnerability to the impacts we’re already experiencing from a rapidly warming planet — and try to prepare for the increasing risks that are inevitable in the future. In addition, many of the <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/new-map-pinpoints-where-people-depend-on-nature-the-most">countries and communities</a> that are least responsible for climate change are facing the greatest threats because they rely so heavily on nature. Finding ways to help them adapt to new climate realities is not only a practical need, it’s also a climate justice issue — a moral responsibility. We’re working to figure out how we can better harness nature to help fight climate change and adapt to the changes that are already here.<hr />Further reading: <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/what-on-earth-is-climate-adaptation">What on Earth is ‘climate adaptation?’</a><hr />With only a few years to avert a climate crisis, how can nature help? Emily Nyrop: We’re in a race to avoid irreversible impacts from climate change — but we also know what we need to do to get there. Last year, Conservation International released the <a href="https://www.conservation.org/priorities/exponential-roadmap-natural-climate-solutions">Exponential Roadmap for Natural Climate Solutions</a>, which lays out a path for maximizing nature’s role in tackling global warming. Land use is the largest cause of ecosystem loss and is responsible for nearly one third of all greenhouse gas emissions. To achieve our climate goals, the world must reach net-zero emissions from land — including agriculture and forestry — by 2030 and ensure managed lands absorb 10 gigatons of carbon each year by 2050. This year, we’re working to start to bring the roadmap to life through close partnerships with governments, businesses, financial institutions and local communities that scale up action and improve nature’s ability to store carbon. Do you have an example?EN: Many of the actions we recommend incorporate centuries-old practices: Improving the health of our soils with regenerative practices like reduced-tillage farming, avoiding the over-use of fertilizer to reduce runoff that pollutes waterways and implementing climate-smart grazing practices like rotating animals across fields. We’ll be working closely with our field programs and partners around the world to start putting these recommendations into action and to expand and replicate our effective programs. It won’t be a one-size-fits-all approach because every country has unique ecosystems and culture.DH: One example of an effective program is <a href="https://www.peaceparks.org/h4h/" target="_blank">Herding 4 Health</a>, which helps herders implement climate-smart land management techniques, such as rotational grazing, to restore the nature that they depend on. Currently, the program is in six countries across Africa and protects more than 1.5 million hectares (3.7 million acres) of rangeland. There is significant potential to expand into many more countries and grow into a strong investment opportunity that brings benefits for herders’ livelihoods, carbon storage and rangeland ecosystems.What makes you hopeful for 2023?EN: Compared to where we were even a few years ago, it feels like the urgency of climate change is being better understood. Not everyone sees it through the lens that we do, but the collective consciousness around the need to act is growing. DH: We also have a better understanding of how efforts to address, and adapt to, climate change can complement each other. For example, we know that when we work with a local community to protect a forest and conserve its vital carbon stores, that is also going to have benefits for biodiversity and help that community adapt to future risks like floods. It’s all connected. We have the knowledge to get to a better place — we just have to make the right choices. Further reading: <ul><li><a style="font-family:inherit;font-size:inherit;text-align:inherit;text-transform:inherit;white-space:inherit;word-spacing:normal;" href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/new-map-pinpoints-where-people-depend-on-nature-the-most">New map pinpoints where people depend on nature the most</a></li><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/new-report-without-nature-there-is-no-path-to-a-climate-safe-future">New report: Without nature, there is no path to a climate-safe future</a></li></ul>Mary Kate McCoy is a staff writer at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>.

News spotlight: A climate hero emerges — beavers

February 14, 2023

by edge Uncategorized

Editor’s note: News about conservation and the environment is made every day, but some of it can fly under the radar. In a recurring feature, Conservation News shares a recent news story that you should know about.Over the last half century, droughts and urban expansion have contributed to the destruction and degradation of <a href="https://www.ramsar.org/" target="_blank">35 percent</a> of the world’s wetlands. In fact, these ecosystems — which help regulate Earth’s climate and protect our biodiversity — are disappearing <a href="https://unfccc.int/news/wetlands-disappearing-three-times-faster-than-forests" target="_blank">three times faster</a> than forests. How might we stymie this decline? Introducing beavers back into their natural habitats is a good start, <a href="https://twitter.com/NavinSinghKhadk" target="_blank">Navin Singh Khadka reports for the BBC</a>.Once hunted to near extinction for their fur, beavers have been reintroduced to parts of North America and northern Europe in more than 100 successful programs — giving scientists a view into their role as <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7883483/" target="_blank">ecosystem engineers</a>. "Basically, beavers excel at creating complex wetland habitats that we’d never match,” Nigel Willby, professor of freshwater science at University of Stirling, told the BBC. "Anyone can make a pond, but beavers make amazingly good ponds for biodiversity, partly because they are shallow, littered with dead wood and generally messed about with by beavers feeding on plants, digging canals, repairing dams, building lodges, etc.,” he added.The shallow ponds created by Beaver dams can contain nearly twice as many mammal species as other ponds, according to a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10530-019-01919-9" target="_blank">2018</a> study. Beavers can even help protect wetlands.Emily Fairfax, an ecohydrologist at California State University, studied 10 different wildfires in the United States between 2000 and 2021. In each case, she found beavers and their ecosystem engineering created and preserved wetlands — even through megafires and serious drought — by slowing the flow of water and holding it in the landscape longer."This transforms simple streams into thriving wetland ecosystems," Fairfax told the BBC.And thriving wetlands stash away climate-heating carbon. For example, peatlands, a type of wetland ecosystem made up of decaying waterlogged plants, store massive amounts of “<a href="https://www.conservation.org/projects/irrecoverable-carbon">irrecoverable carbon</a>” — that is, carbon that, if emitted into the atmosphere, could not be restored by 2050. A Conservation International <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-021-00803-6" target="_blank">study</a> mapped the world’s irrecoverable carbon and found that around the world peatlands have locked away more than 39 billion metric tons of irrecoverable carbon. As evidence of wetlands’ underappreciated role in storing carbon mounts, finding new ways to restore these ecosystems is fundamental. The beaver might just help.Read the full story <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-64502365" target="_blank">here</a>.Further reading:<ul><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/5-things-you-should-know-about-wetlands">5 things you should know about wetlands</a></li><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/these-ecosystems-could-determine-our-climate-future-study">These ecosystems could determine our climate future: study</a></li><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/in-china-engineered-wetlands-remove-waste-from-fresh-water">In China, engineered wetlands remove waste from fresh water</a></li></ul><div>Max Marcovich is a staff writer at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>.</div>

5 life lessons from women in science

February 10, 2023

by edge Uncategorized

<div>The gender gap in science is no secret — <a href="http://uis.unesco.org/en/topic/women-science" target="_blank">fewer than 30 percent</a> of the world’s researchers are women. And while the number of women pursuing careers in science is steadily rising, the lack of representation can be a tough hurdle to overcome. Yet the research is clear — <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1700616114" target="_blank">gender diversity</a> improves the scientific process. In conservation, women’s direct participation and <a href="https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/explainer/2022/03/explainer-why-women-need-to-be-at-the-heart-of-climate-action" target="_blank">decision-making</a> results in stronger and more equitable outcomes.</div><div>In celebration of International Day of Women and Girls in Science, five Conservation International scientists reflect on their early careers and share advice they would give to their younger selves.</div><img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/temp/idow-stem-23_1.jpg?sfvrsn=ba17536b_1" style="background-color:initial;font-family:inherit;font-size:inherit;text-align:inherit;text-transform:inherit;white-space:inherit;word-spacing:normal;caret-color:auto;" alt="" sf-size="100" /> <img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/temp/idow-stem-23_5.jpg?sfvrsn=c95b23a8_1" alt="" sf-size="100" /><img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/temp/idow-stem-23_4.jpg?sfvrsn=5a151016_1" alt="" sf-size="100" /><img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/temp/idow-stem-23_3.jpg?sfvrsn=c81f0006_1" alt="" sf-size="100" /><img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/temp/idow-stem-23_2.jpg?sfvrsn=96a179cc_1" style="background-color:initial;font-family:inherit;font-size:inherit;text-align:inherit;text-transform:inherit;white-space:inherit;word-spacing:normal;caret-color:auto;" alt="" sf-size="100" />Mary Kate McCoy is a staff writer at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>.

3 reasons for hope for the Amazon

February 9, 2023

by edge Uncategorized

<div>When U.S. President Joseph Biden meets with Brazil’s newly elected president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in Washington this week, climate change and the fate of the Amazon will be one of the many items of discussion, <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/3838298-biden-to-host-lula-at-white-house-with-brazilian-democracy-on-agenda/" target="_blank">according to news reports</a>. There’s much to talk about: The world’s largest rainforest, 60 percent of which lies inside Brazil’s borders, <a href="https://www.vox.com/down-to-earth/2022/9/29/23373427/amazon-rainforest-brazil-jair-bolsonaro-lula-deforestation" target="_blank">saw an uptick in deforestation</a> in recent years — pushing the Amazon biome ever closer to the dreaded “<a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aat2340" target="_blank">tipping point</a>” at which the entire ecosystem would shift irrevocably to dry savannah. But there’s good news — in the form of three efforts under way that are aimed at halting the destruction of the most important stretch of forests on Earth. 1. Regrowing the forest: A bold initiative to regrow 73 million trees in the Brazilian Amazon has made progress despite unexpected setbacks, according to an upcoming report. The initiative, launched in 2017 to much fanfare, has delivered almost 20 percent of its forest restoration target, according to Conservation International in Brazil, one of several partners involved in implementation. The initiative was to have completed this year — but was thwarted by political winds and the coronavirus pandemic. The good news: The areas that have been restored are seeing tree yields three times higher than initial estimates. “Rather than 3 million trees growing in 1,200 hectares (3,000 acres), as we would have expected, we’re estimating 9.6 million trees in the same area,” based on monitoring reports, said Miguel Moraes of Conservation International’s Brazil office. “This is a very good result, and it offers hope of overcoming the challenge of reducing restoration costs to enable restoration at a large scale.” Read more <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/audacious-reforestation-effort-grows-in-brazil">here</a>. 2. Helping people to help the Amazon: At least a quarter of the Amazon rainforest is under the control or management of Indigenous peoples and local communities. Supporting the Amazon means supporting them. To that end, the “<a href="https://www.conservation.org/projects/our-future-forests-amazonia-verde">Our Future Forests–Amazonia Verde</a>” program is helping them access the funding they need to conserve forests and support their livelihoods.Launched in 2020 by Conservation International and with funding from the government of France, the project aims to contribute to the protection of 12 percent of the Amazon Basin by providing Indigenous peoples and local communities across seven countries with the tools, training and funding needed to build sustainable businesses and social enterprises that do not contribute to deforestation in the Amazon.But how to bring together people and knowledge over such vast distances and with limited infrastructure? One solution: Go remote. One of the most innovative — and ambitious — aspects of the project is setting up a distance learning and global knowledge sharing platform for Indigenous people. Informed by lessons from COVID lockdowns, this platform would enable training activities from afar, taking advantage of existing 3G, Internet and even radio coverage that many of the target communities already have. By building upon this infrastructure, the platform aims to create a strong network of information between the project and Indigenous peoples, and between Indigenous peoples themselves.Read more <a href="https://www.conservation.org/projects/our-future-forests-amazonia-verde">here.</a>3. Millions for reforestation: The government of Germany last month pledged US$ 215 million to help Brazil protect and restore the Amazon rainforest, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/germany-pledges-funds-help-brazil-defend-amazon-rainforest-2023-01-30/" target="_blank">Reuters reported</a>.The package includes US$ 38 million for the Amazon Fund to strengthen a billion-dollar initiative funded by Norway and Germany to combat deforestation.According to Reuters, the Amazon Fund was <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/norway-says-fund-reduce-amazon-deforestation-brazil-back-business-2023-01-04/" target="_blank">re-activated</a> by Brazil’s Environment Minister Marina Silva the day she took office, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/01/19/brazil-environment-minister-climate-bolsonaro-legacy/" target="_blank">vowing to halt deforestation</a> in the world’s largest tropical rainforest. The fund had been frozen since 2019, when former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro abolished its governing board and action plans. The aid package also includes funding for renewable energy and energy efficiency initiatives and reforestation programs. Read more <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/germany-pledges-funds-help-brazil-defend-amazon-rainforest-2023-01-30/" target="_blank">here</a>.Bruno Vander Velde is the managing director of content at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>.</div>

ABCG at COP15 Side Event: The Future of The Protected Areas in The Congo Basin

December 22, 2022

by abcg ABCG News Uncategorized

ABCG Director, Rubina James participated in a panel organized by the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP) and Central African Forest Commission (COMIFAC) to discuss the future of protected areas in the Congo Basin, during the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 15), that was held in Montreal Canada in December 2022.

COP15 Demands for Action from World Leaders

December 8, 2022

by abcg News & Updates Uncategorized

The following are Wednesday December 07, 2022 highlights from ongoing UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 15), in Montreal Canada. Highlights originally summarized in the, What’s Buzzing in Montreal: Wednesday 7 December 2022, WWF newsletter.

pexels-pixabay-460621_Waterfalls in Forest

ABCG at the Conference of Parties #COP15 Montreal Canada

December 2, 2022

by abcg ABCG News Current Issues Uncategorized

The fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 15) will be taking place in Montreal, Canada, December 7-19, 2022. This important meeting of the decade has three objectives, the conservation of biodiversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources.

ABCG LAUNCHES BREATHE PODCAST

October 19, 2022

by abcg ABCG News Uncategorized

ABCG has today, October 19 2022, launched a new podcast series called BREATHE. BREATHE is a podcast series looking to have illuminating discussions around conservation by highlighting the work of individuals and organizations across Africa who are changing the planet for the better one day at a time

Jonathan Torgovnik_Getty Images_Images of Empowerment_Senegal

Gender Equality Today For a Sustainable Tomorrow: International Women’s Day Message

March 8, 2022

by abcg ABCG News Uncategorized

On this International Women’s Day (IWD) and every day, the members of ABCG join our colleagues and friends in applauding and lauding the critical role women play in climate change mitigation, land, and natural resource management and universally to their contributions to sustainable development and society in general.

GLASGOW LEADERS’ DECLARATION ON FORESTS AND LAND USE. Photo COP 26

What are the next steps post COP26: Are we on the right track?

December 14, 2021

by abcg ABCG News Current Issues Uncategorized

We strongly believe that the UN Climate Change Conference and subsequent meetings are necessary and worthwhile to helping achieve some of ABCG’s biggest objectives, including mainstreaming biodiversity considerations into economic development at the community level in African countries, reaching women and youth. We are particularly encouraged by private sector commitments, as well as climate financing, pledged to advance the roles and rights of indigenous peoples and local communities.

Posts in category: Uncategorized

The year ahead: Climate change is here. Nature can help

News spotlight: A climate hero emerges — beavers

5 life lessons from women in science

3 reasons for hope for the Amazon

ABCG at COP15 Side Event: The Future of The Protected Areas in The Congo Basin

COP15 Demands for Action from World Leaders

ABCG at the Conference of Parties #COP15 Montreal Canada

ABCG LAUNCHES BREATHE PODCAST

Gender Equality Today For a Sustainable Tomorrow: International Women’s Day Message

What are the next steps post COP26: Are we on the right track?

Quick Links