Eastern, Southern Africa fall behind on biodiversity goals

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) parties have been reminded to demonstrate full commitment to the treaty to advance the implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework.

The Regional Centre of Excellence for Biodiversity, Forests, and Seascape Ecosystems Management in Eastern and Southern Africa (RCoE-ESA), hosted by the Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD), early in the week launched their publication that highlights spatial data and insights on biodiversity, protected areas, and conservation efforts across 24 countries, revealing some worrying status of commitments to forests and biodiversity restoration agenda.

As at 2025, the Map book reveals that in Eastern and Southern Africa region, only two countries - Uganda and Tanzania - have so far complied in alignment with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework on submission of the National Biodiversity Strategic Action Plans (NBSAPs).

This coming several months after the biodiversity COP16 in 2024, and ahead of the February 2026 submission deadline before the next biodiversity COP17 scheduled to be held later the same year in Yerevan, Armenia.

Across Eastern and Southern Africa, 22 nations are still in the process of preparing or have not yet submitted their reports.

The map serves as a call to action for countries yet to meet their obligations, emphasizing the urgency of timely submissions ahead of the deadline.

Timely and inclusive NBSAP submissions are critical to ensuring regional and global progress toward halting biodiversity loss.

Speaking during the Map Book launch, Dr. Emmanuel Nkurunziza, Director General, RCMRD, emphasized that Geospatial science is a powerful tool for conservation and sustainable development.

“Through data-driven planning and ecosystem mapping, we can restore biodiversity-rich forests, seascapes, wetlands, and other vital ecosystems. This Map Book is a call to action and a key tool for strategic planning across our region,” he added.

The RCoE-ESA Map Book also shows how the 24 countries including Kenya are progressing toward Target 3 of the Global Biodiversity Framework, which calls for 30% of the earth’s land and sea to be conserved.

The map also displays Kenya’s statistics on protected and conserved areas, revealing 41 areas, covering 82,185 square kilometers, equivalent to 13.97% of the country’s terrestrial area and 0.59% marine coverage.

The 41 protected areas have undergone Management Effectiveness Assessments, revealing that a total of 11.63% of Kenya’s land area has been conserved and to meet Target 3 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), which calls for 30% protection, Kenya therefore still needs to cover an additional 18.37% of its territory. The concern remains how to arrive there.

Notwithstanding the data, as pressures such as climate change, habitat degradation, and unsustainable land use intensify, stakeholders maintain that the need for informed, data-driven policy interventions has never been greater. The Map book is a new tool that is expected to guide conservation priorities, policy formulation, and sustainable land and sea use planning.