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By Correspondent
Regional leaders and experts have urged countries to accelerate efforts to restore degraded ecosystems, noting that restoration commitments must be matched by strong monitoring, reporting, and data-driven action. Nairobi, Kenya, 27 January 2026.
This call was made during a subregional workshop on biodiversity monitoring and reporting in relation to Target 2 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
The meeting was convened by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD), and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
Speaking during the opening session, Cabinet Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, and Forestry of Kenya, Dr. Deborah Mulongo Barasa, underscored the importance of translating restoration commitments into tangible, measurable outcomes. She noted that ecosystem restoration is central to addressing biodiversity loss, climate change, and sustainable development but warned that progress cannot be demonstrated without credible monitoring and reporting systems.
“Restoration is about giving nature a chance to recover and, in doing so, protecting livelihoods, securing water, supporting food production, and building resilience to climate change. But restoring ecosystems is not enough. We also need to be able to explain what we are doing, show what is working, and learn from what is not. The next few years will determine whether restoration commitments become reality or remain promises on paper,” said Dr. Barasa.
Echoing these sentiments, Chairperson of the RCMRD Governing Council and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Zambia, Patrick Mucheleka highlighted the value of subregional cooperation in delivering global biodiversity commitments. He observed that while countries face different ecological and socio-economic contexts, they often share common challenges related to data availability, technical capacity, and reporting requirements.
“Across our region, we all face similar challenges: land under pressure, ecosystems that are stretched, and communities that depend directly on nature for their livelihoods. We also share the same responsibility: to turn our restoration commitments into real action,” explained Mucheleka.
The Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Astrid Schomaker, in a video message, emphasized the critical role partnership plays in addressing the multi-faceted planetary crisis of biodiversity loss and land degradation, climate change, pollution, and waste.
“We need all hands on deck. The world needs a whole-of-government and whole-of-society acceleration in the implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework,” said Schomaker.
The workshop brings together policymakers and technical experts from 11 countries in Eastern and Southern Africa to accelerate the implementation of Target 2 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, ensuring that, by 2030, at least 30 percent of degraded areas of terrestrial, inland water, and coastal and marine ecosystems are under effective restoration. The countries include Comoros, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, and Zambia.
The workshop also marked the official launch of the Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development’s role as a Subregional and Technical Scientific Cooperation Support Centre, alongside the establishment of its Steering Committee. In this role, RCMRD will support countries in Eastern and Southern Africa to accelerate implementation of the KMGBF by providing coordinated scientific, technical, and data-driven support.
“With its new role as a Subregional Technical and Scientific Cooperation Support Centre, RCMRD is ready to support countries with the data, tools, and coordination needed to deliver on Target 2,” said Dr. Emmanuel Nkurunziza, RCMRD’s Director General.
The workshop also brought together participants from the other four Subregional TSC Support Centres in Africa, including the Central African Forest Commission (COMIFAC), the Ecological Monitoring Centre (CSE), the Sahara and Sahel Observatory (OSS), and the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI).
