Africa must place nature at the centre of its development agenda if it is to achieve climate resilience, jobs and shared prosperity, the Regional Director of the International Union for Conservation of Nature West and Central Africa Programme (IUCN PACO), Balla Moussa Sidibé, has said.
Addressing a public lecture at the observance of the Day of Scientific Renaissance of Africa organised by the Research and Innovation Directorate (RID) of the University of Ghana (UG) in Accra, Mr Sidibé said the continent stood at a historic crossroads as it grappled with climate change and a rapid population surge.
“Africa’s future depends on choosing a development pathway that works with nature rather than against it. Nature-based solutions provide an integrated approach to addressing climate change, biodiversity loss, unemployment, and inequality while strengthening resilience and sustainable growth,” he stated.
Population pressure, climate risk
Citing United Nations projections, Mr Sidibé said Africa’s population would reach about 2.5 billion by 2050, with one in every four people on Earth being African.
He said climate change was no longer just an environmental issue but a development crisis affecting food security, water, livelihoods and economic growth.
He pointed to Ghana’s recent floods as an example of how degraded wetlands, weakened watersheds and unplanned development had worsened climate risks.
Nature as infrastructure
The IUCN official argued that forests, wetlands, mangroves and healthy soils should be treated as “critical infrastructure” and “natural capital” rather than obstacles to growth.
Using the Congo Basin as a case study, he said the rainforest stored billions of tonnes of carbon, influenced rainfall across Africa, supported biodiversity and sustained millions of livelihoods.
“The health of our economies is inseparable from the health of our ecosystems. Protecting nature is not a barrier to development. It is an investment in prosperity, resilience, and stability,” he stressed.
Green jobs for youth
Mr Sidibé said Nature-based solutions could drive green growth by creating jobs for Africa’s youth in ecosystem restoration, sustainable agriculture, ecotourism, fisheries, renewable energy and the bioeconomy.
He added that such solutions must be inclusive, empowering women and youth, strengthening local governance and ensuring fair benefit-sharing.
He called for increased public and private investment and stronger policies to scale up Nature-based solutions.
“The choices made today will determine the continent’s prosperity for generations to come,” he said.
The Vice-Chancellor (VC) of UG, Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo said the university is focusing on interdisciplinary research that delivers practical solutions to society’s most pressing challenges.
“UG is committed to impactful interdisciplinary research. Our strategy emphasises knowledge democratisation, open science, strong partnerships, and research that is both globally excellent and locally relevant,” she stated.
Prof. Amfo said recent floods in Accra and other parts of the country showed that climate resilience, urban planning, environmental governance and public policy could not be pursued in isolation.
“They require the collective efforts of scientists, engineers, economists, social scientists, humanists, health professionals, policy makers, and communities themselves,” she noted.
She welcomed the operationalisation of the Ghana National Research Fund, describing it as an important step towards strengthening research as a strategic national investment.
The event also marked 15 years of organised research management at UG. Prof. Amfo said what began as the Office of Research, Innovation, and Development had grown into today’s Research and Innovation Directorate (RID).
Over the period, she said RID had strengthened research governance, expanded grant support, enhanced ethics administration, and deepened international partnerships.
