As national and international programs on sustainable land and water management, climate-smart agriculture and land restoration grow, it is critical to empower and ensure the participation of African landscape leaders in the decision-making and execution of these initiatives. A focus has to be put on sustainable and inclusive development at the local landscape level, integrating across agricultural production, environment and social development sectors. This will require sustained investment in the capacity of African landscape leaders.
Therefore, next week (November 12th to 15th), over 150 participants from 16 different African countries will meet in Arusha, Tanzania for four days of discussions, presentations, knowledge sharing, and planning the way forward. All with one goal: to strengthen grassroots capacity for locally-led, landscape-level sustainable rural development in Africa.
During the Dialogue, the participants will engage in sessions on (locally-led) landscapes initiatives and parallel sessions on landscape convening and governance; wildlife and biodiversity in landscape management; climate-smart landscape planning and policy; business engagement, employment and entrepreneurship; property rights and land use planning; and landscape finance and investment
The sessions will be enriched by an Integrated Landscape Management Tool Marketplace, with the goal to have participants share and learn information about tools related to integrated landscape management; as well as country and sub-regional discussion groups. Furthermore, all participants will engage in a field trip to visit integrated landscape initiatives in the Mt Kilimanjaro area.
The event will close with key Messages and Recommendations to update the African Landscapes Action Plan.