The vital role of African savanna landscapes in global climate action
The African savanna, a diverse and complex ecosystem, plays a critical role in the global carbon cycle and harbors an immense biocultural heritage.
As one of the most effective terrestrial ecosystems at sequestering and storing carbon, tropical forests are known for their high biomass and carbon storage capacity, primarily in their dense vegetation and soils.
While there is wide awareness of the emission reduction potential of forests and the need to conserve them to mitigate climate change, other ecosystems with a comparatively lower biomass also play a critical role in the global carbon cycle.
Among those important ecosystems figures the African savanna biome, which includes bushlands, woodlands, scattered trees, and shrubs that thrive in a climate with distinct wet and dry seasons. Understanding the intricate ecological processes and dynamics of African savannas is essential for sustainable management efforts. Savannas store carbon in their vegetation and soils and act as a carbon sink when well-managed. Locally adapted management practices, such as sustainable land management, climate smart agriculture, agroforestry practices with dryland tree species, habitat restoration, fire management, and the conservation of the many forest reserves dotted across them, can additionally enhance their carbon sequestration potential.
African savannas are found in various regions across the continent, from the tropical to subtropical zones.
The main biomes in Africa. Author: Vegetation.png / Ville Koistinen
The main biomes in Africa. Author: Vegetation.png / Ville Koistinen
Photo by deshawn wilson on Unsplash
Photo by deshawn wilson on Unsplash
The Miombo Woodlands is a vast and distinctive ecosystem found in southern Africa, covering parts of several countries including Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is one of the largest savanna ecosystems in the world and is characterized by a vast array of biodiversity including large herbivores such as elephants, buffaloes, giraffe, and various antelope species, along with predators like lions, leopards, and wild dogs. These landscapes feature distinct climate patterns and harbor various vegetation types, ranging from open grasslands to patches of woodland and gallery forests along watercourses.
The forest transition zone in Ghana is an ecologically and biogeographically significant region as it connects the high forest zones southern of Ghana with the more open savanna landscapes to the north. In fact, Ghana's REDD+ Strategy includes the transition zone, and The Northern Savannah Zone, home of the shea parklands, as two of the five biomes where a broad set of actions will tackle deforestation and forest degradation at the landscape level. In Ghana, UNDP is supporting the Ghana Shea Landscape Emissions Reduction Project, which seeks to restore 500,000 hectares of savanna lands and degraded shea parklands, and to establish 25,500 hectares of forest plantations in severely degraded forest reserves.
In Kenya, dry forests and savannahs are home to spectacular species of wildlife from the mighty ant to the magnificent elephant. Go up close to a whistling thorn and witness acrobat ants defend the tree against browsers and insect predators by biting them and spraying them with formic acid. These ants are just as well adapted to the sprawling plains as the peoples of the savanna, such as the Maasai, who are faced as other communities are, with the changes to their livelihoods due to climate change. Preserving and restoring these unique ecosystems is key: The Forest and Land Restoration Action for Kenya (FLaRAK) programme implemented by UNDP Kenya has therefore set to produce 400,000 tree seedlings in selected schools annually in three ecosystems, including Suswa-Magadi rangeland ecosystem in Narok/Kajiado.
Photo by Polina Koroleva on Unsplash
Photo by Polina Koroleva on Unsplash
Photo by sutirta budiman on Unsplash
Photo by sutirta budiman on Unsplash
Photo by Rémy Venturini on Unsplash
Photo by Rémy Venturini on Unsplash
Photo by MARIOLA GROBELSKA on Unsplash
Photo by MARIOLA GROBELSKA on Unsplash
Photo by MARIOLA GROBELSKA on Unsplash
Photo by MARIOLA GROBELSKA on Unsplash
Photo by Avel Chuklanov on Unsplash
Photo by Avel Chuklanov on Unsplash
African savannas are remarkable and vital carbon sinks, and store on average more carbon belowground compared to forests. This highlights the importance of comprehensive investments in preserving and sustainably managing natural savannas and dry forests, through a mix of agriculture, livestock, land and wildlife management planning and policy measures, to address the complex social, economic, and ecological challenges faced in the fight against climate change. In Southern African countries such as Tanzania and Zambia, these areas are crucial for livelihoods but are also recognized for the nature-based climate solutions that can help achieve these countries' NDCs.
Harboring the biocultural heritage of a diverse and vast region, the African savannah holds significant cultural importance for the Indigenous and local communities that have traditionally lived in these unique landscapes. Indigenous leaders from the region therefore argue that the preservation of their ancestral knowledge and sustainable use practices, alongside with substantial investments in communities and local conservation and restoration solutions, are essential for maintaining the savanna’s ecological and climate services. As African countries strive to tap into the opportunities for climate finance, landscape and large-scale mitigation programmes involving dry forests and woodland savannah areas are increasingly becoming part of the solution.
Learn more how UNDP Climate and Forests work areas, supports projects and programs in African savanna countries:
Ghana: The Ghana Shea Landscape Emissions Reductions Project
Kenya: Kenya Achieves Important Milestones for Results-Based Payments for REDD+
Cote D'Ivoire: Cote d’Ivoire Explores Carbon Markets as Potential Source of Climate Finance
Democratic Republic of Congo: Under the REDD+ Investment Programme in the Oriental Province in DRC, UNDP supports the conservation of 30.000 ha of savanna landscape from a community-based approach working with Local Development Committee (CLD).
UNDP Climate and Forests assists different countries and stakeholders in the implementation of the Paris Agreement by reducing deforestation, forest degradation and promoting sustainable development pathways. Through the UN-REDD Programme and the Climate Promise, UNDP Climate & Forests is providing technical assistance to Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Republic of the Congo, and Uganda to implement forest-based solutions to the climate crisis.
Article by Wahida Patwa Shah & Roxana Auhagen
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