Africa could deliver major climate gains by protecting nature
Protecting and restoring Africa’s ecosystems could deliver up to 1.6 gigatons of carbon mitigation each year from 2026 to 2050 – roughly equivalent to taking 350 million gas-powered cars off the road — while supporting economic growth and social development, according to a new Conservation International report.
Drawing on expertise from across the African continent, the report, Africa’s Nature Transition: A Roadmap for People, Nature and Climate, identifies science-based actions to safeguard forests, grasslands, wetlands and oceans, while also strengthening food security, creating jobs and protecting Africa’s iconic wildlife.
Although Africa contributes only a small share of global emissions, its natural landscapes represent one of the world’s largest opportunities for mitigating climate change, according to the report. The opportunity for mitigation in Africa presents significant and simultaneous adaptation benefits. Careful and thoughtful planning to protect, manage and restore nature in the context of the continent’s inevitable development trajectory is critical to securing Africa’s future.
Africa’s Nature Transition: A Roadmap for People, Nature and Climate.
“For too long, global climate policy and finance have treated Africa as an afterthought. This roadmap seeks to change that,” said Conservation International’s Chief Field Officer in Africa, Jimmiel Mandima. “It’s an African-led initiative that says economic growth doesn’t have to come at a high carbon cost — we can drive climate action while also lifting people out of poverty.”
“The Roadmap provides practical and inclusive pathways for nature-based climate action”, said Laura Pereira, co-PI of the Future Ecosystems for Africa Program at Wits University, who co-authored the report. “We aim to inspire novel approaches to natural climate solutions globally by defining best practices”.
The report’s top solutions for carbon mitigation include:
- Sustainable management of livestock and fire: Smarter grazing and fire management across Africa’s vast rangelands could sequester up to 11Gt of carbon dioxide equivalents by 2050, while increasing livestock productivity and protecting biodiversity
- Reforestation and freshwater ecosystem restoration: Restoring degraded forests, wetlands and watersheds through natural regeneration, assisted planting and sustainable water management could capture up to 8Gt of carbon dioxide equivalents by 2050, while improving water quality, reducing flood and drought risks, and supporting rural livelihoods. Notably, the report fills an urgent gap by proposing ecologically based methods for restoring tree cover in savannas and woodlands – areas previously subject to inappropriate afforestation targets.
- Climate-smart farming and cultivation: By scaling regenerative and agroforestry practices across just half of Africa’s smallholder farms, the continent could prevent 6.5 Gt of carbon dioxide equivalents by 2050 while boosting yields, improving soil health and creating millions of new agricultural jobs.
A call for investment and partnership
Nature already underpins an estimated 62 percent of Africa’s GDP, with about 70 percent of communities in sub-Saharan Africa relying on forests and woodlands for economic security — underscoring the importance of protecting these landscapes.
But the continent faces mounting pressure from population growth, rising food demand and intensifying climate impacts.
The roadmap calls for coordinated action across sectors, urging governments to embed nature targets into national climate plans while encouraging financial institutions to expand green investment and close persistent climate finance gaps.
Ultimately, the report argues that advancing natural climate solutions in Africa is not only a regional priority, but a global necessity.
“Climate change is accelerating and the window for action through adaptation is closing,” said Perushan Rajah, who leads Conservation International’s nature-based solutions in Africa and co-authored the report. “This report shows that Africa is central to the global solution. Investing in nature now can help chart a unique path forward that allows people and nature to co-exist in harmony.”
As part of this growing body of work, partners involved in the roadmap are also developing the Landscape Decision Dashboard (LDD), a new decision-support tool designed to help landowners, communities, researchers and policymakers explore how different land management choices may affect ecosystems over time.
By combining real-world environmental data with ecosystem response models, the LDD aims to make science more accessible and actionable for on-the-ground decision-making across Africa. More information on the platform and future developments will be announced in the coming months.