Professors from the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits)- Laura Pereira, Sally Archibald and Dr Kim Zoeller, along with 12 co-authors from African countries, argue that many global initiatives to address climate mitigation, overlook Africa’s diverse ecological and social contexts.
They argue ecosystems such as grasslands and savannah are often misclassified as degraded, resulting in misguided interventions, such as tree planting in open ecosystems that can eventually harm biodiversity and local livelihoods.
In a paper titled “Six Principles to Get Natural Climate Solutions Right in Africa” researchers want six principles for sustainable decision making considered.
They include the acknowledgement of Africa’s development priorities and needs, the allocation of financial resources for the greatest co-benefits.
They are also calling for solutions that maintain options for the future, transparency about trade-offs and opportunity costs, as well as buy in and local co-design.Scientists want local information to be prominent in global databases, which often misrepresent African conditions, and investment.
Professor Laura Pereira, Director of the Wits Global Change Institute and a researcher at the Stockholm Resilience Centre, said “Africa cannot be treated as a blank slate for carbon offset projects. Our ecosystems and communities have co-evolved for millennia. Climate action in Africa must start with African evidence, African priorities and African leadership.”
The authors warn that many nature-based projects, while well-intentioned, risk deepening inequality or damaging ecosystems if they fail to recognise local realities.
Picture: Centre for Environmental Rights (CER).