Are Africa’s biodiversity and ecosystems threatened? It is not suicidal to answer in the affirmative if we trust the scientists. Indeed, the Initiative for the Restoration of African Forest Landscapes (AFR100) is under fire after a study published in the scientific journal Science. According to experts, this project, which aims to restore 129 million hectares of degraded land by 2030, could endanger Africa’s biodiversity and ecosystems.
On WhatsApp, he sends a photo of his thriving and impeccably maintained farm. Preferring to remain anonymous, this AFR100 beneficiary in sub-Saharan Africa is the first in his family to own his own business. A chance partly due to the initiative: “I could not carry out all my work without the help of AFR100, because my government does nothing to help us” he explained to RFI.
Launched in 2015, this initiative concerns 34 African countries and the objective announced in red letters on its website is to “restore the landscapes of Africa”. If the project has an impact in helping the development of local communities, in particular through agroforestry projects and the addition of trees to already cultivated land, the environmental aspect is pointed out by experts.
“We looked at how much area they had promised to reforest and then how much forest area was available and we found that in many countries there was no forest at all or the forest area was much smaller than that. that promised to restoration” explains Kate Parr, professor of tropical ecology at the University of Liverpool and co-author of the article published in Science.
In 18 of the 34 countries where the initiative takes place, there are more restoration projects promised than surface area to be restored. The risk: planting trees in savannahs or grasslands that do not need them and damaging biodiversity and ancient ecosystems.
Combining environment and development
Contacted by RFI, AFR100 refutes the researchers’ findings: “They did not consider the use of land by humans. There are villages, towns that are located on these meadows and when people start to cultivate them, they plant mango trees or passion fruits for example,” explains Sheryl Quail to justify these tree plantations, 60% of which are non-native species. The project monitoring officer for the secretariat of AUDA-NEPAD, the development agency of the African Union behind the AFR100 initiative, affirms that these agroforestry projects must have a return for farmers.
Agroforestry is seen as an effective means of combining the environment and the development of local communities. But when it comes to understanding whether the goal of AFR100 is more about land restoration than helping local communities, Sheryl Quail acknowledges that the initiative is unclear. In addition, she admits that the objective of 129 million hectares restored by 2030, two and a half times the size of France, is “symbolic” since “there is no money for that”. A surprising point when more than a billion dollars in private and public funds was raised for the initiative.
A shaky control system
Among the funders is the Bezos Earth Fund, the philanthropic organization of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. On its website, the Bezos Earth Fund highlights lush landscapes with images of the billionaire, sunglasses on his nose and looking focused on the nature in front of him. According to Emily Averna, in charge of restoration programs, the foundation has paid more than 50 million euros to the AFR100 and is monitoring the projects carefully. “We have a very rigorous control protocol carried out using satellite technologies, geo-reference and field photos,” she explains.
Yet when it comes to understanding who is doing the field checks, Emily Averna doesn’t know. Little additional information from the AFR100 side and even an admission from Sheryl Quail: the priority is to “understand where all the projects are”. While it is certain that perspective is needed to evaluate these projects, RFI discovered that at least two of them highlighted on the website have never started or have had to be interrupted since 2022. Worse still , the contact details of project managers available online are sometimes incorrect. Some contacted by us say they do not know why their name or their organization is affiliated with the AFR100.
Despite a resounding online communications campaign and ambitious goals, the results related to AFR100 are mixed. As proof, a report from the initiative estimates that a little more than 900,000 hectares were restored between 2016 and 2021, a far cry from the 129 million promised by 2030. However, behind the figures, human lives are positively impacted , as shown by the projects highlighted on the initiative’s website. But restoration also involves protecting the environment and ecosystems. And from this point of view, as the Science article explains, the AFR100 still has to prove itself.
With RFI
