African Development Bank Pushes for Land Restoration Funding at COP17

For many African nations, environmental decay is a direct catalyst for displacement and resource-driven conflict. Al Hamndou Dorsouma, the bank’s Division Manager for Climate and Green Growth, emphasized that Sub-Saharan Africa hosts nearly half of the world’s fragile states. He argues that restoring degraded land serves as a primary tool for peace-building, offering a path to stabilize communities currently straining under the weight of climate shocks and economic instability.

To bridge the gap between international pledges and on-the-ground reality, the bank is advocating for a dedicated Fragility Financing Mechanism. Current funding models often struggle with the long-term, high-risk nature of these regions, where institutional weakness complicates standard investment. The bank cites its Transition Support Facility, which has operated since 2008, as a proven model. A notable example includes a $9.5 million initiative aimed at the Lake Chad basin, where environmental recovery is directly tied to the restoration of local livelihoods and the reduction of regional tensions. As negotiations continue in Ulaanbaatar, the focus remains on moving beyond policy rhetoric toward sustained, predictable capital for the most vulnerable landscapes.