Kenya among 10 African countries that have pledged to restore forests

Kenya is among 10 African countries that have committed to restore 100 million hectares of degraded and deforested landscapes by 2030.

In the pledges dubbed AFR100 (African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative), Kenya is among the countries that have committed to restore about 31.7 million hectares. However, Kenya has not specified yet how many hectares are going to be reserved for the project and is at the verge of finalizing hectare target.

The AFR100 target of 100 million hectares has been endorsed by the African Union. Its partners are earmarking more than Sh100 billion (USD 1 billion) in development finance and more than Sh54 billion (USD 540 million) in private sector impact investment to support restoration activities.

The announcement was made during the Global Landscapes Forum at the Conference of Parties (COP21) in Paris. Green Belt Movement Chair Wanjira Mathai said the initiative is inspiring since it is a promise of a continent-wide movement.

"Restoring landscapes will empower and enrich rural communities while providing downstream benefits to those in cities. Everybody wins," said Maathai who is the daughter of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate the late Prof Wangari Maathai.

Out of the countries that have committed land for forest restoration, Ethiopia is leading with 15 million hectares , followed by Democratic Republic of Congo with eight million, Niger with 3.2 million, two and a half million for Uganda, Rwanda with two million and Malawi with one million.

Kenya, Madagascar, Togo and Malawi are yet to finalize hectare targets. Rwanda's Minister of Natural Resources Dr Vincent Biruta said restoring of the landscapes will bring prosperity, security and opportunities.

"With forest landscape restoration we've seen agricultural yields rise and farmers in our rural communities diversify their livelihoods and improve their well-being. Forest landscape restoration is not just an environmental strategy, it is an economic and social development strategy as well," he said.

This initiative brings together political leadership with an ambitious package of financial and technical resources to support a large-scale forest landscape restoration effort across Africa.

The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD Agency), Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and the World Resources Institute (WRI) are among nine financial partners and 10 technical assistance providers that have pledged to give their support.

"As the world forges a climate agreement in Paris, African countries—which bear the least historic responsibility for climate change—are showing leadership with ambitious pledges to restore land," said president and CEO, World Resources Institute Dr Andrew Steer.

Steer said the goal of restoring 100 million hectares of land will help in capturing carbon and bringing economic benefits to low-income, rural communities.

"These African leaders are turning their words into action and making a real contribution to respond to the global threat of climate change," he said.