(AGENPARL) - Roma, 10 Novembre 2025 - (AGENPARL) – Mon 10 November 2025 PRESS RELEASE FROM WITS UNIVERSITY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
10 November 2025
Wits researchers call for Africa-centred approach to nature-based climate solutions ahead of COP30
Scientists from Wits University are calling for a fundamental rethink of how natural climate solutions are implemented across Africa, in the lead up to COP30 in November. In a new Nature Sustainability commentary, Professors Laura Pereira and Sally Archibald, and Dr Kim Zoeller, together with 12 African co-authors, propose six guiding principles to ensure that climate actions benefit both people and ecosystems on the continent.
The paper, titled: Six Principles to Get Natural Climate Solutions Right in Africa argues that many global initiatives to address climate mitigation overlook Africa’s diverse ecological and social contexts. From grasslands and savannas to rich coastal ecosystems, these landscapes are often misclassified as degraded which in turn lead to misguided interventions such as tree planting in open ecosystems that can eventually harm biodiversity and local livelihoods.
“Africa cannot be treated as a blank slate for carbon offset projects,” explains Professor Laura Pereira, Director of the Wits Global Change Institute and a researcher at the Stockholm Resilience Centre. “Our ecosystems and communities have co-evolved for millennia. Climate action in Africa must start with African evidence, African priorities and African leadership.”
The authors warn that many nature-based projects, while well-intentioned, risk deepening inequality or damaging ecosystems if they fail to recognise local realities. Instead, they propose six principles (categorised as foundational, enabling, and implementation) to guide more equitable and sustainable decision-making:
Six Principles for Equitable and Sustainable Decision-Making
1. Acknowledge Africa’s development priorities and needs
Climate and biodiversity goals must align with the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and local development aspirations.
1. Allocate financial resources for the greatest co-benefits
Move beyond narrow profit-driven carbon markets to support livelihoods and ecosystems.
1. Prioritise solutions that maintain options for the future
Avoid irreversible land-use changes and respect Indigenous and local knowledges.
1. Be transparent about trade-offs and opportunity costs
Recognise who gains and who loses from interventions and ensure fair compensation.
1. Ensure local buy-in and co-design
Engage communities as equal partners in defining desired futures.
1. Use accurate, Africa-specific data
Global datasets often misrepresent African conditions, and investment must fill data gaps.
“We need to stop assuming that what works elsewhere will work here,” says Dr Kim Zoeller from the Future Ecosystems for Africa programme. “Climate finance should reflect Africa’s realities and not impose external models. The evidence from African ecosystems is clear – when local knowledge leads, outcomes for people and nature are stronger.”
With COP30 approaching, these principles offer a practical framework for aligning climate mitigation, adaptation and biodiversity goals. They also call for “true cost accounting” of carbon projects, factoring in the social and ecological costs borne by African communities and for transparent finance flows that genuinely support sustainable development.
The authors call on negotiators to integrate the six principles into Africa’s COP30 position under the African Group of Negotiators.
“This isn’t just about protecting nature,” Pereira concludes. “It’s about shaping a future where Africa’s people, ecosystems and economies thrive together and where climate action strengthens, rather than undermines, our collective resilience.”
QUICK SUMMARY
Six Principles for Getting Natural Climate Solutions Right in Africa
Category
Principle
Key Message
Foundational
1. Acknowledge Africa’s development priorities and needs
Climate action must align with Agenda 2063, Africa’s adaptation, food security and livelihood needs are inseparable from climate goals.
2. Allocate financial resources for the greatest co-benefits
Move beyond carbon credits and fund projects that enhance biodiversity, resilience and community well-being.
Enabling
3. Prioritise solutions that maintain future options
Design flexible, ecosystem-appropriate interventions that protect landscapes and livelihoods.
4. Be transparent about trade-offs
Identify winners and losers, compensate fairly and ensure inclusive decision-making.
Implementation
5. Implement with local buy-in
Projects succeed when communities co-design and lead them.
6. Use data that accurately reflect Africa
Replace global assumptions with African evidence, including soil, biomass and marine data.
ENDS
LINK: https://www.wits.ac.za/news/latest-news/general-news/2025/2025-11/wits-researchers-call-for-africa-centred-approach-to-nature-based-climate-solutions-ahead-of-cop30.html
Issued by:
Tiisang Monatisa, Communications Officer, on behalf of Wits University (GCI and FEFA)
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