6 December 2015: Launched at the 2015 Global Landscapes Forum in Paris, France, by the African Union New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), the African Resilient Landscapes Initiative will be implemented in partnership with the World Bank and World Resources Institute (WRI) through forest and ecosystem restoration, biodiversity conservation, climate-smart agriculture, and rangeland management.

Endorsed by the African Union in October 2015, the Initiative will be implemented in coordination with the African Landscapes Action Plan, a roadmap prepared by NEPAD and the Landscapes for People, Food and Nature Initiative, and the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative. Its aims are to contribute to improved soil fertility and food security, improve access to clean water, combat desertification, increase biodiversity and habitat, create green jobs, bolster economic growth and livelihood diversification, and increase the capacity for climate change resilience and adaptation. It connects agricultural land, forestland and rangeland under the landscape approach as a single management concept, in order to boost the resilience of both ecosystems and livelihoods.

Priority actions will be based on analytical work such as the report on confronting drought in Africa’s drylands, in preparation by the World Bank and partners, which describes cost-effective measures to reduce the vulnerability and enhance the resilience of populations living in drylands.

According to Ibrahim Mayaki, Executive Secretary of the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency, the Initiative will “mobilize African countries and partners to leverage sectorial interventions and collectively ensure the integrity, resilience, restoration and sustainable management of landscapes across regions.” [NEPAD Press Release] [World Bank Press Release] [African Drylands Report webpage]