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By Correspondent, Nairobi
BirdLife International today marked 15 years of its African Site Casework on Emerging Threats Taskforce (ASCET), a continent-wide initiative of BirdLife partner organizations that aims to save sites facing threats from damaging developments, including mining, agricultural expansion, mega dams, and other emerging threats.
The African Site Casework on Emerging Threats Taskforce (ASCET) has safeguarded 35 major sites from damaging developments since 2010.
Across Africa, key sites, including World Heritage Sites, Key Biodiversity Areas, Alliance for Zero Extinction Sites, and Ramsar sites, some of which are protected areas, face serious threats from damaging development. Between 2015 and 2025, the continent lost about 29.6 million hectares of forest, while over 30% of its grasslands face severe degradation. Further, according to the 2025 Global Wetlands Outlook Report, the world has lost about 22% of wetlands since the 1970s, with some of the steepest declines happening in Africa.
Since its establishment in 2010, ASCET has stopped or slowed down damaging threats at more than 35 sites in Africa, covering 79,889 km2, approximately the size of Sierra Leone. Some of these include:
- 2026: BirdLife Partner Nature Uganda’s advocacy against alarming degradation of Bugoma Central Forest Reserve resulted in a presidential directive and transfer of management of the site from the National Forest Authority to the Uganda Wildlife Authority to restore and protect this vital ecosystem following years of degradation.
- 2025: African Penguin habitat was saved through the establishment of 10-year no-fishing zones around six vital penguin breeding colonies following successful litigation by BirdLife South Africa and Partners against the Government of South Africa.
- 2025: Nature Kenya, a BirdLife partner, succeeded in securing the revocation of a title deed allocated to a private developer for 7,249 hectares of Yala Swamp, Kenya’s largest swamp.
- 2024: 3004 ha of Michiru Forest Reserve in Malawi was saved from human damage following a campaign led by the Wildlife and Environmental Society of Malawi (WESM), BirdLife’s partner in Malawi, with support from ASCET.
- 2023: After nearly 10 years of campaigning to stop copper mining at Lower Zambezi National Park, the Government of Zambia cancelled the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) license granted to Mwembeshi Resources Ltd.
- 2023: An oil and gas exploration proposal in the 219,600-ha Mana Pools National Park by Shalom Mining Corporation Ltd was shelved after protests from BirdLife Zimbabwe and BirdWatch Zambia, with support from ASCET.
Ken Mwathe, Policy, Climate, and Communications Coordinator, Africa, at BirdLife International, said:
Socio-economic development is an imperative for our people. However, development that threatens Africa’s iconic and natural places is inherently destructive and must be challenged. Over the past 15 years, BirdLife Africa Partners working through ASCET have harnessed the power of many to champion sustainable development: growth that balances human progress with the urgent need to protect Africa’s last wild places, which serve as crucial biodiversity refuges, water sources, and carbon sinks.
From Emergency Response to Early Warning
ASCET coordinates action by providing a platform for raising partner advocacy, information exchange, and flexible financial support for emergency site action. Over the past 15 years, the forum has evolved from a reactive site casework unit to an early warning unit that tackles threats. ASCET now provides flexible financial support for early-stage threat-based surveillance and rapid emergency site interventions. This has enhanced capability, enabling timely responses to emerging conservation threats, thus helping safeguard critical ecosystems and biodiversity before threats strike.
Additionally, ASCET has been instrumental in tracking the roll-out of KBAs and KBA-National Coordination Groups (NCGs) in Africa. NCGs enhance coordination of KBA conservation efforts at the national level by bringing together government and non-state actors. Currently, there are 15 NCGs established across the continent, including in Uganda, the Republic of Congo, Tanzania, South Africa, Nigeria, Malawi, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Ghana, Guinea, Gabon, Egypt, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Sierra Leone. Beyond this, ASCET has been instrumental in shaping policy by engaging with various Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) and regional, national, and subnational policy frameworks.
Communities at the Centre
Central to ASCET’s success has been engagement of local communities living alongside these protected and ecologically sensitive sites. Hundreds of stakeholders, including community members and local authorities’ officials in various countries, have been trained in advocacy efforts. Further, ASCET has raised awareness about its work through various platforms, with more than 10 million people reached through social media platforms, TV, radio shows, and on-the-ground advocacy initiatives.
Dr. Kariuki Ndang’ang’a, Regional Director for Africa, BirdLife International, said:
Protecting sites is not a one-time event. It takes deliberate planning and collaboration amongst partners, local communities, and government agencies. In 15 years, ASCET has demonstrated that consistency, focused leadership, and simplified workflows play a key role in achieving success.
As the number and nature of threats to Africa’s sites increase in the coming decade, ASCET’s role in protecting key African sites will be more important than ever.
