The African Forest Forum has called for enhanced integration of nature-based solutions for climate resilience in Africa.

According to the African Forest Forum (AFF), the XV World Forestry Congress (XV WFC) in May should serve as a rallying call for African forestry stakeholders to prioritise nature-based solutions alongside other safety nets in climate change mitigation.

Nature-based solutions have been recognised as important elements in forest conservation, sustainable use, and restoration to address climate change mitigation and adaptation.

As the United Nations General Assembly declared 2021-2030 as the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, AFF believed, nature-based solutions would also address biodiversity and ecosystem services for the benefit of human well-being.

This, among others are critical to the continent's transition to a green and resilient future.

An AFF hybrid side event titled "Strengthening forest management for enhanced livelihoods and resilience in a changing environment in Africa," which took place, in Seoul, South Korea, last month examined the continent's transition to a green and resilient future, as well as other crucial challenges.

Over 100 people attended the event, for an interactive conversation about the need for a balanced approach to forest and tree resource protection and usage.

Executive Secretary of the African Forest Forum (AFF), Prof. Godwin Kowero, stated that while international forest policy dialogue had aided in the development of a green and resilient agenda for the African continent, more work was needed to improve synergies across related agreements and processes.

According to him, the frequently difficult and complex challenges associated with implementing these processes necessitated a comprehensive reassessment of the continent's prevailing policy approaches.

Senior Programme Officer at AFF, Prof. Marie Louise Avana- Tientcheu, highlighted the African framework for integrating mitigation and adaptation in response to climate change as the organization's strategic effort to support locally suitable initiatives that address socio-environmental concerns.

With about 284 million people living in or near forest and savannah areas, she stated that the M&A framework would focus on improving resilience and forestry practices in order to repair, restore, and regenerate nature and communities.

Encourage cross-sectoral integration of forest and farm tree-based initiatives, as well as incentives and capacity-building support for stakeholders, to effectively improve the potential of nature-based solutions to combat climate change.

The Reduction of Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) mechanism is one such approach.

Mr. Charles Meshack, Executive Director of the Tanzania Forest Conservation Group (TFCG), gave evidence of REDD+'s success at the local level.

He demonstrated how forest-dependent communities used clever land management approaches to help minimise deforestation in Tanzania.

Dr. Ben Chikamai, Executive Secretary of the Network for Natural Gums and Resins in Africa (NGARA), presented additional data at the side event that indicated the potential role and contribution of NTFPs value chains in climate change mitigation and adaptation.

He demonstrated that, when harvested responsibly in dry and semi-arid areas of Africa, NTFPs can create revenue for households while also preserving ecosystem services.

Ms. Cecile Ndjebet, President and Founder of the African Women's Network for Community Management of Forests (REFACOF) and winner of the Wangari Maathai Forest Champions Award in 2022, underlined the importance of gender-responsive measures in forest landscape initiatives and programs.

More effective and equitable outcomes would be realised, she said, if women's active participation, land and tree tenure rights, and equitable benefit-sharing procedures were strengthened.

Dr. Doris Mutta, Senior Programme Officer at AFF, confirmed the importance of natural capital assets in achieving global poverty reduction and sustainability goals.

The conservation, sustainable management, and restoration of forests and tree-based systems would be a major road to creating a more affluent future for the continent, with the implementation period for both the African Union's Agenda 2063 and the UN Sustainable Development Goals well underway.

AFF collaborated with the Network for Natural Gums and Resins in Africa (NGARA), the African Women's Network for Community Management of Forests (REFACOF), and the Tanzania Forest Conservation Group to host the hybrid side event (TFCG).

The Government of the Republic of Korea hosted the event at the Coex Convention Center, which was made possible by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).

The Republic of Korea and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) co-hosted the XV World Forestry Congress in Seoul from May 2 to 6, 2022.

More than 15 000 people from over 140 countries attended the event, which was held both in-person and online.

It was an important chance for the global forest community to ensure that forests are included in conversations and decisions surrounding the 2030 Agenda, as well as global COVID-19 recovery efforts.

After five days of debate, the Seoul Forest Declaration declares that forests, forestry, and forest stakeholders provide substantial nature-based answers to climate change, biodiversity loss, land degradation, hunger, and poverty, but that we must act now — there is no time to waste. During the Congress, the Ministerial Call on Sustainable Wood and the Youth Call for Action were launched, in addition to the Seoul Forest Declaration.