Words often fail to tell the whole story. To complement the text, this song, ‘Kiragala’ – which means ‘green’ in the Luganda language – is a testament to the power of climate justice in Africa.
Sitting under a tent on a hot July day, a group of people restoring land across Africa listened intently to the story of those safeguarding the forests of Kijabe in central Kenya.
In the 1990s, people in Kijabe saw the Kikuyu Escarpment Forest being destroyed. Trees were being cut down and the land was being degraded.
A few university students took it upon themselves to combat this degradation. Together, they formed a volunteer group – Kijabe Environment Volunteers (KENVO) – to teach people about the value of the forest and how their livelihoods and futures ultimately depended on it.
Their story was an inspiring example for many participants on that field visit to the Lari landscape, which formed part of the week-long GLF Africa Community and Action Assembly 2025, gathering over 100 landscape leaders from across Africa for a series of workshops, interactive activities and discussions.
Collectively, they envisioned how landscapes across Africa could best nourish its people and ecosystems.
Futurism in this context isn’t abstract or wishful thinking, but rather navigating uncertainty with agency and creativity and building from the incredible work already being done at the grassroots level, from Kenya’s drylands to the forests of Ghana and the coastal lowlands of Mozambique.
We spoke to a few of the landscape leaders who attended the assembly to hear their future visions for Africa’s diverse landscapes.
Their responses reflect nuanced local realities and, together, form a powerful statement based in solidarity, radical imagination, climate justice and prosperity for people and the planet.
They reject colonial narratives and extractivism – reminding us all that Africa’s people hold all the abundant resources, knowledge and innovation needed for their continent to prosper.
“Restored landscapes will be the foundation of Africa’s food security, climate resilience and economic independence,” says Sultani Mtinda.
“Africa’s landscapes are not only our heritage; they are our future. Investing in their restoration means investing in humanity.”
This is a co-authored collection of visions for African landscapes – by Africans, for Africans. Wherever in the world you’re reading this from, we hope you can be inspired and learn from them as we build more beautiful futures where people and nature thrive together.
Traditional ecological knowledge kept entire ecosystems, cultures and food systems alive well before the concept of ‘sustainability’ became popularized. Today, however, it’s often viewed as optional or complementary to how we steward land.
Narratives surrounding African land and development have often been written by outsiders, even though Africa’s landscapes have long been sustainably governed by the people who live with the land and nurture it.
Land is identity and heritage. Communities ensure their cultural traditions and agricultural knowledge are passed down through generations through intergenerational dialogues with elders.
There are countless examples of youth, women, Indigenous Peoples and local communities across Africa who are stewarding their land, reclaiming harmony in spaces that were once dominated by colonial powers.
Many are guided by Indigenous and women’s ecological knowledge, particularly in soil regeneration, water conservation and seed preservation.
These traditions, blended with scientific approaches, offer practical, culturally rooted and sustainable solutions for climate adaptation and ecosystem restoration.
“Knowledge must meet in a circle, not a pyramid,” says Maimuna Jawara. “Indigenous knowledge for its relational depth, lived knowledge for resilience and scientific knowledge for precision. No hierarchy.”
This blended and locally-led approach to knowledge sharing and land stewardship ensures that diverse sovereign knowledge systems are recognized and valued.
Many told us that they want to see their Indigenous knowledge be heard, preserved, resourced and credited – not only within their tribes and communities, but also reaching a wider audience through university curricula and online.
A future powered by AI is fast approaching, and with it are new African-based platforms like Vambo AI, a writing and translation tool for Indigenous languages, and Amini AI, which helps organizations in the Global South use environmental and geospatial data.
While digital tools can help preserve and showcase Indigenous and scientific knowledge, they are just one piece of the puzzle. To truly hand over the reins to communities to govern their own land, they must be at the center of policy and governance.
“A thriving Africa is one where Indigenous knowledge, youth innovation and community-led solutions shape policy – not the other way around,” says Lut Wanjiru. “It’s a continent where women and marginalized groups not only have a seat at the table but are building the table themselves.”
Furthermore, a thriving future is one where these historically marginalized groups have the critical tools they need across finance and policy to build these new tables.
Caring for one another – by sharing seeds, stories and resources – is at the heart of many African cultures.
“Our communities have always been our first economy,” says Jawara.
Many Africans are calling for a shift from linear value chains to value webs that capture the fullness of the continent’s nature economy.
“For me, a just future in Africa is one where women and youth own land, practice sustainable agriculture and generate income through restored ecosystems,” says Balbina Andrews.
“It is a future where Africa feeds itself and the world while regenerating biodiversity and a true nature economy. I see this already taking root in agroforestry and community-led climate-smart projects.”
This means investing in youth- and women-led projects to bolster food security and local economies. It also means embracing rights-based approaches to conserving ecosystems by embracing a nature economy rooted in well-being.
“Young people are strategically positioning themselves in micro-, small and medium enterprises to turn landscape challenges into opportunities for livelihoods, income, food, employment and ecological sustainability,” says Amos Amanubo.
“This is not only a story of redefining abundance but also solid resilience – rising against the prevailing odds of unemployment and the degradation of landscapes and natural resources.”
To truly embrace a nature economy, those at the Community and Action Assembly highlighted the need to embrace more community-led agency and capitalize on Africa’s natural resources, such as minerals and arable land, in sustainable and ethical ways, rather than relying on foreign aid and agendas.
A thriving future for people and nature means land work in rural areas must be abundant – and appreciated – so that younger generations feel they can continue to steward land, giving back to the communities that raised them, rather than migrating to cities.
“My understanding of justice expanded as I realized even more deeply how restoration, justice and economic opportunity are inseparable,” says Andrews. “Sustainable land use must serve both people and nature.”
Communities must lead and design restoration work. While NGOs, governments, university researchers and activists can complement and scale this work, they should never overshadow local voices and needs.
There are many powerful examples of community-led restoration work from across the continent.
In the Miombo woodlands of Mozambique, many native trees have been cut down for unsustainable agriculture and illegal logging.
However, young people are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of respecting traditional knowledge while embracing agroforestry efforts. Community leaders and families have banded together to build community forest nurseries and implement agroforestry solutions.
“A just and thriving future in Africa is one where we divert from the extractivist route and instead choose one where people and planet are put first, working on a collaborative pathway instead of having to prioritize one over the other,” says Célio Monteiro José.
“It is an Africa where development is not measured by GDP but through a much more environmentally aware measurement.”
On the Ruzizi plain in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), youth and intergenerational voices are reclaiming narratives and showing that resilience isn’t just about surviving conflicts or wars but also reimagining abundance through land and community.
“Young people are showcasing new farming techniques and driving positive agricultural changes, while elders share ancestral knowledge of soil, forests and healing plants,” says Esther Nyalundja. “Together, they are shaping a future that values both innovation and tradition.”
“Elders share ancestral wisdom of land and traditions, while youth bring innovation and energy, creating a bridge between generations,” says Freddy Bisetsa.
“Together, they are not only restoring degraded landscapes but also redefining justice by raising awareness of fundamental land rights.”
Land rights are crucial to this progress, enabling communities to manage their resources sustainably. The power of gathering, as experienced at assemblies such as this Community and Action Assembly, expands the understanding of care and justice – revealing that true restoration encompasses dignity, equity and recognition for those most affected.
In Tamale, Ghana, young people are forming nature-based clubs in schools to teach about land degradation and its impact on biodiversity and the climate crisis, molding students into changemakers from a young age.
The GLFx Tamale chapter is also integrating these efforts in various levels of local and regional governance.
“We have further established working relations with the Ghana Education Service at the local level to incorporate climate change awareness and mitigation actions into their curriculum to enable learners to serve as ambassadors at the school and community level,” says Alhassan Abubakari.
Communities across Africa are restoring and reimagining landscapes to ensure that future generations will have access to land, nutrition and systems of care.
This vision embraces the understanding that individuals belong not only to themselves but also to others and to future generations, fostering a spirit of collective self-determination.
It means embracing Ubuntu – a philosophy in many African cultures that emphasizes our interconnectedness with each other, as well as the traditional Ghanaian concept of sankofa: looking back to find the wisdom to build the future you want.
Africa’s pre-colonial history is one of sovereignty. Traditional communities have worked and lived alongside the land for thousands of years, preserving and sharing seeds, creating systems of reciprocity and passing down wisdom through stories. Many communities still practice these resilient practices today.
In Kaani, Kenya, for example, women are preserving and using Indigenous foods to maintain food diversity and be self-reliant by creating seed banks.
Survival and sovereignty are inextricably linked to the health of the land and to collective responsibility. The health of soil and well-being are deeply intertwined.
“Africa is not waiting to be saved,” says Wanjiru. “We are imagining, building and defending futures rooted in justice and community. Don’t just watch – stand with us, listen deeply and learn from our resilience.”
By embracing narratives of abundance, sovereignty and healing, Africans can keep harnessing their strong sense of community and vast resources to pave a path of restoration and just governance.
“Don’t write Africa’s story without us,” says Victoria Wanjoni. “The solutions you seek are here, rooted in our communities and landscapes.”
“We need more youth-friendly policies – more seats at the table for local communities to control their land tenure and dictate the use of their local resources,” adds Amanubo.
Africa’s modern political borders were drawn and imposed by European colonizers without any African involvement or consent.
But despite these boundaries, cross-border social networks and exchanges have persisted, both in trade and economics and also through ethnic and kinship ties. These informal networks are critical for sharing resources like seeds, food and knowledge.
It is important to create cross-border partnerships for research, trade and building resilience and align with and shape regional and global goals such as the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the Great Green Wall Initiative without impeding on already thriving informal networks of exchange.
Local communities must lead decisions on land use, tenure and resource governance, and their needs must be prioritized over broad governmental economic agendas.
“Africa’s restoration agenda is not charity,” says Sydner Kemunto. “We are already demonstrating that community-led approaches are delivering measurable outcomes in climate resilience and land regeneration, and the world needs to recognize these efforts as models for global sustainability.”
It’s vital to strengthen youth networks advocating for land rights, environmental justice and inclusive policies, and advancing grassroots projects to create radical change and reprioritize care.
“We want a continent where every community has access to clean water, nutritious food, quality education and equitable opportunities,” says Charles Mwenda.
“We want circular, sustainable economies driven by innovation, green energy and regenerative agriculture. We want more youth leading in governance, climate action and social transformation and for green jobs to be accessible and abundant.
“We want our traditions – our cultural heritage – celebrated while also embracing modern technology to solve challenges.”
This future isn’t far-fetched. We’re already seeing innovative projects in renewable energy and climate-smart farming initiatives all over the continent.
Youth and elders, rural communities and urban dwellers are finding more ways to meaningfully share knowledge and create policies that honor Indigenous knowledge and community-led work – which is critically needed to sustain circular economies and knowledge systems.
“At the heart of this transformation are Africa’s young people, whose leadership is shaping the continent’s restoration future,” says Mtinda.
The future of African landscapes is one of self-determination, ecological harmony and economic prosperity. It’s a plurality of visions rooted in hope and collective agency, and it’s a future already underway.
This story, produced by the GLF editorial team, represents the work and aspirations of 12 African leaders who attended the GLF Africa Community and Action Assembly 2025 in Nairobi, Kenya:
Alhassan Abubakari, project coordinator, RAINS (Ghana)
Amos Amanubo, GLF Africa regional coordinator (Uganda)
Balbina Andrew, executive director, NourishAfrica, and coordinator, GLFx Mwanza (Tanzania)
Freddy Bisetsa, co-founder and director of Women Concern, and coordinator, GLFx Kivu (DR Congo)
Maimuna Jawara, coordinator, GLFx Banjul (Gambia)
Célio Monteiro José, founder, EcoHope (Mozambique)
Sydner Kemunto, 2025 GLF Dryland Restoration Steward (Kenya)
Charles Mwenda, representative, YILAA (Kenya)
Sultani Mtinda, project lead, Tanzania Biodiversity Organization, and outreach coordinator, YPARD (Tanzania)
Esther Nyalundja, 2025 GLFx Africa Hub Intern (DR Congo)
Lut Wanjiru, Africa digital campaigns manager, 350.org (Kenya)
Victoria Wanjohi, founder and executive director, Biophilic Conversations (Kenya)
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