Feature: Kigali deal to bolster climate pact in Africa

Amid hope and enthusiasm, delegates signed what is known as the Kigali Declaration on Forest Landscape Restoration in Africa in the Rwandan capital Kigali.

The Ministers of African countries and representatives who gathered in Kigali last week for the Africa High Level Bonn Challenge Roundtable, inked the deal.

It was hosted by the Government of Rwanda, in collaboration with the East Africa Community and the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

African countries are among the most affected regions in the world by climate change even though the continent bears a minimal responsibility with regards to the causes of this global phenomenon.

"We are committed to reaffirm our commitment to the Bonn Challenge target to restore 150 million hectares of deforested and degraded lands by 2020 and 350 million hectares by 2030," the delegates said in a final declaration.

The Kigali Declaration on Forest Landscape Restoration in Africa remains open for further signatures through September 1, 2016 when the Declaration will be celebrated at the World Conservation Congress in Hawaii.

So far representatives from more than ten African countries including Rwanda, Guinea and Ghana have signed the pact.

Forest landscape restoration is vital in the pursuit of sustainable development in African countries, by maintaining and rebuilding countries' natural capital in order to deliver essential societal and economic benefits to rural and urban communities.

It is also an effective mechanism to enforcement of key elements of global processes, including the Sustainable Development Goals, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the United Nations Convention on Combating Desertification.

"We maintain this commitment in support of collective climate change action that will mitigate the emissions of greenhouse gases and support our communities to adapt and build resilience to climate impacts, as well as use ecosystem-based approaches to reduce risk to extreme weather and disasters," the declaration read.

The declaration reminded governments that forest restoration presents multiple benefits that align directly with African Nations' economic growth and poverty reduction plans.

These include the aspiration of the African's Union Agenda 2063 and its first ten-year implementation plan, bolstering economic growth and diversifying livelihoods, creating green jobs, improving agriculture practices, and enhancing food security.

Others cited include improving the availability and quality of water resources, contributing to climate change mitigation, combating desertification, protecting biodiversity, and reducing the impact of natural disasters.

The leaders also committed to undertake national action to champion innovative financial schemes that enable domestic investment in forest landscape, for example through the strengthening and development of national climate and land management fund mechanisms, tax incentives and other fiscal policies to encourage all stakeholders to participate and invest in the implementation of restoration at scale.

More than 50 environment leaders and experts attended the meeting to boost forest landscape restoration across the region through two parallel events: the Africa High Level Bonn Challenge Roundtable, and the International Knowledge Sharing Workshop.

Rwanda offered to host these two meetings as part of its continued commitment and strong leadership on the protection and rehabilitation of its forests and restoration of degraded lands, according to officials.

Rwanda has committed to restore two million hectares of deforested and degraded land by 2020. This commitment was made as part of the Bonn Challenge.

"Landscape restoration is about more than simply planting forests. With the restoration of forests and land, we can overcome climate challenges and food security issues and help improve the wellbeing of our people," said Vincent Biruta, Rwanda's Minster of Natural Resources.

"Rwanda has taken a proactive approach to conservation and green growth, created robust policy and institutional frameworks and strengthened national capacity to ensure the environment is at the heart of everything we do. These efforts are helping us to tackle the many environmental challenges we face," he said. Endit