Africa to restore millions of hectares 0f land
PARIS, 6 Dec - (ANA) - Ten African countries have committed to restore 31 million hectares of degraded and deforested land, under a new push to make 100 million hectares productive again by 2030.
The AFR100 scheme, launched on Sunday in Paris, will be backed by $1 billion from the World Bank and additional funds from Germany, as well as $545 million in private-sector investment.
"Restoring our landscapes brings prosperity, security and opportunity," said Rwanda's Minister of Natural Resources Vincent Biruta.
"With forest landscape restoration, we've seen agricultural yields rise and farmers in our rural communities diversify their livelihoods and improve their well-being," he added in a statement.
The countries taking part so far are Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Rwanda, Togo and Uganda.
"If the Congo Basin is not well managed, the land will become degraded and turn into grassland, and then the desert will take over the whole of Africa," Henry Djombo, Republic of Congo's forest economy minister, told the launch of the initiative in Paris.
The new land restoration programme builds on national commitments made by African countries for a U.N. deal to tackle climate change, due to be agreed in the French capital next week.
So far, 13 of the climate action plans submitted by African governments include restoration, conservation of standing forests or agriculture that adapts to climate shifts and limits greenhouse gas emissions. (ANA)

FA/ANA/6 December 2015----------