Sustainable Land Management

Integrated Approach Pilot (IAP) programmes were conceived as part of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) 2020 Strategy to test the delivery of integrated approaches that address discrete, timebound, complex, global environmental challenges. In its Sixth Replenishment Cycle (GEF6), three IAPs were funded: Sustainable Cities, Taking Deforestation out of Commodity Supply Chains, and Fostering Sustainability and Resilience for Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa, also known as the Resilient Food Systems (RFS) programme.

The RFS programme serves as an outstanding example of different partners and countries with distinct mandates joining forces to pursue a shared objective, leveraging their respective strengths to transform food systems in Africa. It highlights the significance of clearly articulating the programme’s vision, establishing a well-defined division of labour, and delineating roles and responsibilities from the outset, forming the foundation for an accountability framework. Moreover, the RFS underscores the importance of adopting a nexus approach that integrates food security, agriculture, environment, socio-economic, and climate considerations.

This holistic approach recognizes the interconnectedness of these sectors and the need for holistic solutions. The RFS’s systems-based approach brings together multiple partners at different levels and fosters information flows in both directions, supporting collaboration and knowledge sharing.

This publication presents some of the main lessons learned from the RFS programme, which lasted for six years between 2017 and 2023. It provides a reflection on the implementation, lessons learned, and observations around the key components of the RFS. The programmatic value-add of the RFS and the manner with which it was harnessed during implementation is conveyed through case studies drawn from the experience of the country projects across these components.

This report explores the impact of changing land use on ecosystem services and productive landscapes in Africa. It has been developed under the Resilient Food Systems programme, one of three pilot programmes that form part of the Global Environment Facility’s sixth replenishment cycle (GEF-6). The Resilient Food Systems programme targets agroecological systems in the drylands of sub-Saharan Africa, where the need to enhance food security is directly linked to opportunities for generating local and global environmental benefits. Sub-Saharan African countries are seriously affected by environmental degradation and loss of ecosystems, resulting in persistently low crop and livestock productivity, as well as increased food insecurity for millions of smallholder farmers, with preponderant impacts on vulnerable groups such as women and youth.   

This policy brief explores the nexus between agriculture and biodiversity within the broader context of land use change in Africa. It highlights key challenges for the continent as it seeks to ensure food and nutrition security and develop agro-industries, while at the same time protecting and restoring the region’s natural capital, including its biodiversity. The brief argues for closer collaboration between environmental and agriculture stakeholders in support of sustainable solutions to Africa’s challenges related to development, food security and nutrition, and biodiversity.