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- COP30 makes $1.8 billion commitment to forest communities
COP30 makes $1.8 billion commitment to forest communities
Dear subscriber,
The future of conservation is marked by three key trends. To keep winning in the face of ever steeper odds, its practitioners need to master new funding, new technology and new community relations. We address all three this week.
Treezer Michelle Atieno - Editor
 | Conservation partners have pledged $1.8 billion under the Forest and Land Tenure pledge and committed to legally recognise 160 million hectares of community forest land by 2030. The goal of this COP 30 commitment is to support Indigenous and community forest tenure rights and ensure conservation finance flows directly to communities. |
Africa has seen such pledges before. Of the $1.7 billion COP26 Forest Tenure Pledge, just about 10% reached Indigenous and community-led organisations in 2023.
When the new COP30 finance commitments begin to flow, communities lacking formal land rights could again be left behind if funding delivery is not clearly defined.
Our take: Customary land rights should be considered to enable communities to receive conservation funding as they wait for formal titles…Read more (2 min)
 | There is a growing realisation that protecting nature and economic development must go hand in hand. Our opinion piece by Humphrey Kariuki, the Founder of Janus Continental Group (JCG), reflects on how the continent can take charge of its conservation agenda. It stresses the need for collaboration in different forms to achieve conservation goals. |
Mr Kariuki who is currently the IUCN Patron of Nature, the first African to hold this office, says that Africa needs to be more aggressive in leading global conversations in conservation, putting communities and youth at the centre, building regional partnerships and creating sustainable funding and policies.
“While external support for Africa’s conservation efforts is valuable, the push for increased self-funding is particularly compelling. It represents an investment in our future and ownership of our conservation strategies.” Says Mr Kariuki.
Read the full opinion…Read more (2 min)
 | A new paper by the World Resources Institute stresses that Africa’s next leap in biodiversity protection depends on actionable data. Titled “AI for Nature: How AI Can Democratize and Scale Action on Nature”, it warns that data scarcity is one of the biggest barriers to conservation and artificial intelligence (AI) could bridge this gap. |
AI can automate millions of field observations and improve the continent’s reporting and decision making around conservation.
Use cases for AI in conservation in Africa: Thermal AI cameras, AI ultrasonic deterrents, a Biodiversity Valuator, GIRAFFE, Wetlands Monitoring Workflow and more.
Our take: AI tools should be used as a force multiplier and not a shortcut to reduce head count…Read more (2 min)
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(Source AWF)
AWF pledges $30 million per year for conservation at the Africa Biodiversity Summit
Events
🗓️ Attend the Business of Conservation Conference 2025 (November 19)
🗓️ Join the Conference on Sustainable Agriculture in Tanzania (November 25)
🗓️ Be at the 7th United Nations Environment Assembly in Kenya (Dec 8)
Jobs
👷 Be the Program Communications Officer at AWF (Kenya)
👷 Join Frankfurt Zoological Society as a Community Assistant (Zambia)
👷 Be a Communications Manager at Conservation International (Kenya)
Various
🌳 Africa-Europe research to boost conservation biology
🌳 Botswana supports establishment of Africa Biodiversity Fund
🌳 Sierra Leone communities sign new nature carbon agreement
Seen on LinkedIn
Aby Agina, a Conservation Expert, says, “African countries are winning in their efforts to increase the population of wildlife, handing tourism a lifeline of generating more foreign currency as well creating jobs. With tourism being a top earner for the continent, the sustainability of these animals requires substantial funding to keep the game parks running.”__________________