Q+A: No silver bullet for solving landscape restoration challenges in Africa, CIFOR director general says

Landscapes in Africa must be restored to ensure the natural resource needs of the continent’s rapidly expanding population can be met, but the challenge is complex, the head of a major international forestry research organization said on Tuesday in the lead up to a conference focused on restoration.

The upcoming Prospects and Opportunities for Restoration in Africa Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) at UN Environment headquarters in Nairobi Aug. 29-30 will highlight many current landscape restoration initiatives and help set the stage for many more.

“The reason GLF Nairobi is important and one reason the GLF itself was formed is because of the importance of Africa in terms of achieving sustainable development, but I’m afraid there’s no single solution and no silver bullet.” said Robert Nasi, director general of the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), which co-coordinates the GLF with the World Bank and UN Environment.