NaturAfrica
NaturAfrica is a European Union initiative to support biodiversity conservation and human development through a people-centred approach to landscape governance in sub-Saharan Africa.
Launched in 2021, the initiative is the external component of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. It was included in the EU-Africa Global Gateway Investment Package at AU-EU Summit (2022), and contributes to the delivery of the commitment to double EU external funding for biodiversity (to 7 billion for the period 2021-2027). It is aligned with the AU African Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, and the landscapes identified for support are based on those contained in the publication, 'Larger than Elephants: EU strategic approach for wildlife conservation in Africa'.
Now one of the Global Gateway flagship initiatives, the programme is implemented in more than 28 transboundary and 9 national landscapes in 45 countries in East, West, Central and Southern Africa.
Support is provided through 3 pillars:
Governance: land use planning, decentralisation, human rights, anti-corruption, participatory budgets
Conservation: capacity-building, anti-poaching, ecological monitoring, research, management effectiveness
Sustainable economic development: green economy, sustainable agriculture, forestry, fisheries, tourism, energy
NaturAfrica covers 6 terrestrial biomes: Congo Basin forest ecosystems, transhumance landscapes in Central Africa, West African forests, Sudano-Sahelian savannahs of West Africa, Eastern Rift savannahs and watersheds, transfrontier conservation areas of Southern Africa; and 4 ocean components: West Africa, Gulf of Guinea, Benguela current and Indian Ocean.
Fundamental to the initiative are: improving coherence and complementarity of EU, Member State and other donor actions for conservation; integrating human rights-based approaches; and ensuring that local people take part in decision-making and management.
NaturAfrica thus includes projects and programmes funded by the European Union or EU Member States (the ‘Team Europe’ approach), which are already active and supporting many of the landscapes identified for support.
Effectiveness is monitored through 15 core indicators. Core indicators, data and documents are shared with the Africa regional centres of excellence (ArcX) interconnected with global portals (UNEP-WCMC; JRC, etc).
Useful links
About NaturAfrica (DG INTPA website)
Online map of the key landscapes for conservation and development (the basis of EU support through the NaturAfrica initiative)
NaturAfrica West Africa regional programme project page (cap4dev)
NaturAfrica Central Africa regional programme website
NaturAfrica indicators support documents