Coalition

A CENTRAL ISSUE: INCORPORATING THE “ECOLOGICAL CONNECTIVITY” DIMENSION INTO CONSERVATION POLICIES

Ecological connectivity represents nature’s circulatory system, the flow of natural processes that sustains life on earth. It refers to continuous ecosystems that are often linked by ecological corridors to enable species to move around unhindered.

Ecological corridors, also known as “green and blue corridors”, aim to “maintain and reconstitute a network of exchanges so that animal and plant species can, like man, circulate, feed, reproduce, rest… and thus ensure their life cycle”. They are defined as “a clearly identified geographical space that is governed and managed over the long term with the aim of maintaining or restoring effective ecological connectivity”. By connecting land and sea, they complement the existing range of tools for protecting natural areas (national parks, natural marine parks, nature reserves, etc.). Ecological connectivity is therefore one of the most important adaptive responses for ensuring the resilience of species and ecosystems.

In an unprecedented context of global biodiversity losses at an unprecedented rate, accelerated by the effects of climate change, the latest Conference on Biodiversity (COP15) in December 2022 proved to be a crucial step in defining an ambitious framework for ecosystem protection. The resulting Kunming-Montreal framework emphasizes the fundamental contribution of ecological connectivity to the proper functioning of ecosystems and species by including it in a number of objectives and targets.

The aim is to bring about a fundamental shift in the conservation paradigm, emphasizing that the future of wildlife lies as much in shared territories with human communities as in protected sanctuaries.

In Africa, to combat habitat fragmentation, informed planning decisions can therefore determine the future of much of the wild flora and fauna: either confinement to large parks with genetic fragmentation of populations, or networking via ecological corridors where human-animal cohabitation is managed to ensure sustainable livelihoods for local communities.It was against this backdrop, in Montreal, that an international coalition for biodiversity corridors in Africa was launched.

Co-chaired by Gabon, Guinea, Tanzania and France, with a secretariat provided by the Climate Chance association, the coalition aims to bring together all players working to maintain and restore these corridors: public and private players, conservation and development NGOs, research organizations…

Official launch of the international coalition for biodiversity corridors in Africa – COP15, December 2022

Consult the Coalition leaflet 

Since the launch of the International Coalition on Biodiversity Corridors in Africa, Climate Chance, as the coalition’s secretary, has first sought to identify the key players in this field. Thus, for the launch of the coalition at COP15 Biodiversity in Montreal, we mobilized and brought together a wide range of players, thereby underlining the existing momentum around this issue.

Today, the Coalition is structured around fluid governance, based on expertise, sharing and consensus.

• The Strategic Steering Committee
  Co-chaired by France, Guinea, Tanzania and Gabon, the Strategic Orientation Committee defines the Coalition’s major orientations. It plays a strategic role in determining the Coalition’s roadmap and strategic orientations, and builds a shared vision of the Coalition’s challenges. It is made up of partner countries, funders and working group representatives.

• The Scientific Committee
  The members of the Scientific Committee offer their expertise as members of the International Coalition African Biodiversity Corridors. It is made up of independent personalities responsible for guaranteeing the scientific rigor of the process (data put online, production of documents and analysis tools: mapping, studies). It validates the recommendations made by the members of the specific working groups

• Working groups
  The Coalition’s technical partners are members of these groups. Other reference structures may also join. They are dedicated to defining a common methodology and approach to ecological connectivity issues, defined according to the Coalition’s main themes, and to identifying concrete commitments to monitor their implementation.

-Mapping Working Group
The role of this working group, made up of the major players in ecological connectivity on a global scale, is to define existing migration routes and major connectivity axes in Africa, according to a well-defined organized data collection methodology. It references the major areas at stake, including the identification of projects requiring financing.

-Innovative financing and compensation mechanisms working group
This group studies progress on the issue of pro-nature finance and the mechanisms currently being developed. More broadly, it addresses the issue of financing projects dedicated to ecological connectivity, beyond traditional financing models. It focuses in particular on the voluntary offset market and the integrity of the carbon market.

-Advocacy and Governance working group
The Advocacy and Governance working group takes stock of ecological connectivity and its integration into political and legal systems in Africa. It carries out a comparative study of existing frameworks. By drawing up recommendations, it is working to define instruments that will create the right conditions for integrating ecological connectivity into local, national and regional policies (transposability of reference frameworks). It develops and makes available more operational analyses and tools (training of strategic players, community capacity-building, etc.). To this end, it focuses on two major topics:

– Human-animal conflicts
– Corridor interruption

• The secretariat

The Coalition’s secretariat is responsible for leading the Coalition, coordinating and ensuring the coherence of its activities and operations. It ensures compliance with the key principles of the Coalition’s governance and strategy. It communicates collegially on its working documents (action plans, work programs, etc.). Its role is to ensure the transparency of both the Coalition’s activities and the data exchanged between its members. To this end, it has a dedicated team, of which the Observatoire Climate Chance Afrique is also a member. The Observatoire Climate Chance Afrique is also a member of this team.

It monitors scientific publications, current research and, more generally, the projects carried out by Coalition members. The Climate Chance association strengthens the dynamics of the Coalition and encourages dialogue between all stakeholders.

CONVERGENCE OF INFORMATION

The creation of the International Coalition on Biodiversity Corridors in Africa began with the observation that there was a lack of forums for exchange between all the players working on these issues. Many NGOs, both international and local, are developing high-quality actions in the field, but there are still few forums for dialogue and feedback on successes and difficulties encountered. Through a dedicated website, the coalition offers all players concerned by the subject of ecological connectivity an operational portal for pooling information. The aim is also to present as exhaustive a “mapping” as possible of corridor actions and territories at stake. Today, this mapping work does not exist on an African scale.

KNOWLEDGE SHARING AND CAPACITY BUILDING

This involves analyzing the synergy between national public policies and actions on the ground. Some countries, such as Tanzania, have adopted important legislation concerning biodiversity corridors, creating a favorable framework for conservation and development. One of the coalition’s objectives is to analyze and publicize this legislation.

The evolution of research and the publication of new studies on corridors will be the focus of our attention, and will be mentioned in the news feed on our site.

SEARCH FOR INNOVATIVE FINANCING SOLUTIONS

The methods of financing conservation and development appear to be changing significantly. In this context, the coalition also aims to monitor and disseminate information on new financing, the mobilization of climate finance and the evolution of standards, the impact in terms of development for the benefit of local populations

EMERGENCE OF PROJECTS

By bringing actors into contact with each other, it is a matter of encouraging the emergence, consolidation and development of connectivity projects in the field and of supporting project leaders through the exchange of knowledge and connection with potential financiers.

We aim, through the mapping of major corridors, to visualize areas with challenges and to generate new projects there.

A MAJOR ADVOCACY EFFORT
The Coalition has an active advocacy strategy in favor of connectivity. It is present at major international conferences on biodiversity, but also raises this issue in other forums: COP climat, development summits, annual Climate Chance Africa summits…

A central plea: the search for innovative financing

Conservationists and development players alike are looking for new financing models that will generate sustainable income for local populations, and enhance the value of all the ecosystem services provided by wildlife. The aim is to contribute to the definition of new inter-national standards for impact analysis, based on an applicable and replicable methodology that integrates climate-biodiversity-development co-benefits. The aim of the coalition is to initiate dialogue and debate around these financing solutions, with particular attention to the impact on local populations, who should be the main beneficiaries.

ACTIONS DEPLOYED OVER A YEAR
In 2022, several events and interventions were organized ahead of COP15: a side-event in partnership with WWF International during the 1st African Congress of Protected Areas in Kigali; a specific day on biodiversity, ecological connectivity and the Great Green Wall during the Climate Chance Africa Summit in Dakar… The official launch of the biodiversity corridors in Africa coalition took place in December 2022, at COP15 Biodiversity, under the co -presidency of the French Republic, the Republic of Gabon, the Republic of Guinea and the United Republic of Tanzania, in the presence of ministers and competent personalities.

In 2023, a first strategic meeting brought together the members of the coalition, during the One Forest Summit in Libreville, Gabon, in order to establish its roadmap. The coalition then actively participated in several international events to present its work and carry out advocacy actions on ecological connectivity. During COP28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, it organized two side events, one dedicated to the issue of ecological connectivity and the convergence of climate-biodiversity agendas, in partnership with the Secretariat of the Species Convention Migrantes (CEM) and the Center for Large Landscape Conservation (CLLC), the other, dedicated to emerging initiatives on the subject of ecological connectivity in West Africa (including the “Biodiversity Corridors in Guinea” demonstrator project). She also organized events during the Three Basins Summit in the Republic of Congo, in partnership with Comifac, Conservation International and IFDD; during the Future Fabrics in London, in partnership with LVMH or even during the European Energy Transition Conference, in France.

2024 is a decisive year of deployment for the Coalition, linked to major “climate-biodiversity” events. In February 2024, the Coalition formalized its membership in the Global Partnership for Ecological Connectivity during COP14 of the Convention on Migratory Species (CEM), in Samarkand (Uzbekistan). This major initiative under the auspices of the United Nations, led by the CEM, aims to identify, protect, connect and effectively manage sites important for migratory species. The partnership includes a large number of international conservation organizations (Center for Large Landscape Conservation, Convention on Biological Diversity, Convention on Wetlands, International Union for Conservation of Nature, International Council for local ecological initiatives, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, the World Conservation Monitoring Center of the United Nations Environment Program, and the World Wide Fund for Nature).

Also on the agenda in 2024 are numerous advocacy events, including COP16 of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Cali, Colombia.

• CMS (Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals)/WWF/UICN/OneEarth: “Major New Global Initiative to Protect and Connect Natural Areas Launched at UN Wildlife Meeting” (14/02/2024)
• Beauval Nature: Reconnecter les espaces naturels sur le continent africain (in French only)
• Conservation corridor, the IUCN Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group’s blog:  “Connectivity for climate resilience at UNFCCC / COP28” ( 18/12/2023)
• Afrik21: “One Forest Summit: don’t stop there…” (29/03/2023)
• Science Nigeria:”International Coalition On Biodiversity Corridors In Africa To Be Launched At COP15″ (14/12/2022)
• VivAfrik: “COP15 : La Coalition internationale corridors de biodiversité en Afrique sera lancée à Montréal”, Canada (14/12/2022, in French only)
• Afrik: “Climate Chance : lancement de la Coalition internationale corridors de biodiversité en Afrique” (13/12/2022, in French only)