Africa needs green cities or face a climate crisis, warn researchers 🚀

African cities are facing a green crisis. As urban populations boom and a climate crisis looms, researchers are sounding the alarm: African urban areas must urgently adopt nature-based solutions for green cities.

The alternative? Risk severe environmental and social consequences.

Climate crisis in Africa

A new study, led by Razak Kiribou, a PhD Candidate at Haramaya University, revealed a stark lack of nature-based solutions in African urban planning.

These findings highlight a critical gap in Africa’s climate resilience strategy.

Nature-based solutions, which use natural processes to address environmental challenges, have been widely adopted in developed countries since 2015.

However, Africa is lagging behind.

Sintayehu W. Dejene, Research Project Manager at the Alliance Bioversity and International Center for Tropical Agriculture says they found that only 15 African countries – a mere 27.7% – have implemented nature-based solutions.

Neglected cities

What’s more concerning is that these projects are mainly in rural areas, neglecting the rapidly growing urban centres.

“Just 119 projects have been set up in Africa to adapt to climate change in water, agriculture, forests and woodlands, coastal and marine areas, grasslands, and mountain habitats – and these are mainly in rural areas”, says Dejene.

The urgency of this issue can’t be overstated.

By 2050, African cities are expected to house an additional 950 million people.

This rapid urbanisation threatens to accelerate deforestation and land degradation, creating a vicious cycle of environmental degradation and increased vulnerability to a climate crisis.

WATCH: Creating sustainable green cities

The researchers analysed the climate action plans of all 54 African countries, known as Nationally Determined Contributions, as well as Geographic Information Systems data on African cities.

Their findings paint a worrying picture:

Urban planning largely ignores nature-based solutions.
Governments aren’t funding these projects or seeking private sector support.
There’s a lack of evidence-based strategies for implementing these solutions in African cities.

This is particularly alarming given that about 70% of African cities are at risk of flooding, urban heat waves, drought, and storms.

Nature-based solutions for green cities

Dejene and Kiribou explain that nature-based solutions have proven effective in developed countries.

“For instance, green roofs in Basel, Switzerland and Hamburg, Germany have resulted in connected green areas and increased these cities’ resilience to climate heatwaves and floods by cooling the cities down and absorbing water”.

These solutions can take various forms in urban areas.

Green infrastructure, such as plant-covered buildings and small urban forests, can cool cities and improve air quality. Sustainable drainage systems can manage flood risks, while urban agriculture can enhance food security.

Green cities in Africa

Some African cities are leading the way.

Lagos, Johannesburg, Cairo, Nairobi, Accra, and Addis Ababa have implemented nature-based solutions like green road pavements and urban agriculture.

However, these efforts are not yet widespread enough to make a significant impact.

The researchers emphasise that urgent action is needed.

They recommend:

Training city officials in implementing nature-based solutions.
Improving urban governance to integrate these solutions into green city planning.
Fostering collaboration between African cities to share successful strategies.

Kiribou stresses that African governments must create national frameworks that foster urban climate resilience. It’s vital that governments “monitor whether urban transformation is truly green and sustainable.”