ICF/EWT Partnership Shines at IUCN’s first Africa Conservation Forum
By Dr Adalbert Aineo-mucunguzi, EWT/ICF Parnership East African regional manager, African Crane Conservation Programme
From left to right: Dr Harriet Davies-Mostert, Dr Mwangi Joseph, Ms Kerryn Morrison and Dr Ian Little
In June 2024, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) convened the Africa Conservation Forum (ACF), one of the leading regional platforms to strategically influence the sustainability agenda and biodiversity conservation. The Forum provided an avenue for sharing information and knowledge, building partnerships, and connecting key stakeholders from different parts of Africa. The IUCN Africa Conservation Forum was organised by the three IUCN offices according to sub-regions in Africa: West and Central Africa (PACO), North Africa (Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation – MED), and Eastern and Southern Africa (ESARO).
During the forum, the International Crane Foundation/Endangered Wildlife Trust (ICF/EWT) Partnership hosted a side event workshop titled “Nature-based Solutions for effective community conservation and climate action”. This event brought together conservation practitioners, researchers and policy makers from ESARO, PACO and MED regions of Africa to share the benefits, challenges and lessons learnt about implementation of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) to enhance conservation and climate action.
Moderated by our own Head of Conservation, Dr. Ian Little, the one and half hour workshop was dominated by presentations from ICF/EWT staff. Our East Africa regional Director, Dr Adalbert Aine-omucunguzi gave the opening presentation on the “what and why of Nature-based Solutions in conservation, climate action and livelihoods” largely drawing examples from our work across East Africa. This was followed by a panel discussion where Dr Mwangi Joseph, our Kenya Country Manager, discussed Nature-based solutions in agricultural landscapes and how they benefit conservation and climate action, while Ms Kerryn Morrison, the VP International-Director for Africa, discussed the opportunities for scaling up Nature-based Solutions across the continent. The other panelist, Dr Harriet Davies-Mostert, former Head of Conservation at EWT, and currently the Regional Vice Chair for IUCN’s World Commission on Protected Areas, discussed the effectiveness of Protected and Conserved Areas as Nature-based Solutions.
From left to right: Dr Harriet Davies-Mostert, Dr Mwangi Joseph, Ms Kerryn Morrison and Dr Ian Little
During the question and answer session, participants shared insights and experiences about scalable NbS that enhance ecosystem conservation and climate action and discussed best practices for unlocking the potential of NbS across different ecosystems on the African continent. During this discussion new collaborations within the NbS space were also formed.
The event emphasised the need for conservation organisations to acknowledge that most NbS have been practiced by local communities over generations and they thus have rich indigenous knowledge to utilise in the execution of their projects and programmes. It was also agreed that scientist should not assume that communities lack this knowledge and that, if proper community engagement is done, nature-based solutions can offer integrated avenues for addressing biodiversity loss and climate change challenges while advancing sustainable development goals. They have the potential to simultaneously address the root causes of climate change, bolster resilience against its impacts, and foster adaptability across social, environmental, and economic domains.