The first ever stocktake of restoring Africa’s forests and landscapes, launched today during Africa Climate Week, shows that more needs to be done to fully tap the enormous opportunity for the continent to return land to sustainable production, protect biodiversity, and shield livelihoods in the battle against climate change. Up to 65 percent of productive land is degraded, while desertification affects 45 percent of Africa’s land area. While the overall trend is moving downward, net loss of forests is still increasing in Africa with 4 million hectares of forest disappearing every year. Africa’s drylands are very vulnerable to climate change and their restoration is a priority for adaptation and building resilient and sustainable food systems. The Review of Forest and Landscape Restoration in Africa 2021 is a joint analysis carried out by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the African Union Development Agency-NEPAD and presents the successes so far and the remaining difficulties and opportunities across the continent in restoring land degraded by conversion and forest clearance, overuse of natural resources, urbanization, drought, and other factors.
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