Image Source: Facebook / TICAD8
On 21 August 2025, leaders, experts, and partners will gather in Yokohama, Japan, and online for the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9) to explore how collaboration across sectors is shaping Africa’s response to one of its most pressing challenges—deforestation and forest degradation.
Africa’s forests are among the most diverse and vital ecosystems on earth, stretching from the Congo Basin to the Upper Guinea forests and the highlands of East Africa. They provide food, income, biodiversity, and climate regulation for millions of people. Yet, Africa faces the fastest deforestation rate in the world, a reality that threatens food security, sustainable development, and the future of rural livelihoods.
Against this backdrop, the African Forest Forum (AFF), in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), will co-organize a high-level side event at TICAD 9. Represented by its Executive Secretary, Prof. Labode Popoola, AFF will participate in the panel discussion, “Realizing Forest Solutions – A Future with Reduced Deforestation through Sustainable Agriculture.”
As part of the event, AFF will also deliver a dedicated presentation titled “Halting Deforestation for Africa’s Sustainable Development and Food Security Goals: AFF’s Contribution,” underscoring the organization’s thought leadership in linking forest conservation with food security and climate resilience.
Through its ongoing collaboration with UN-REDD, AFF is working to strengthen REDD+ implementation in Africa, drawing on lessons learned to inform more resilient and context-specific strategies. AFF’s participation highlights its role as a convener and knowledge broker, ensuring that African perspectives and priorities are embedded in international action.
Showcasing solutions
This session situates itself within broader commitments—the African Union’s Agenda 2063, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework—and will present evidence-based solutions for forest conservation through sustainable agricultural practices. Highlights include:
- The FAO “Solutions-tree” tool, developed with support from the Government of Japan and UN-REDD, piloted in Benin and Guinea, which helps countries identify solutions to underlying drivers of deforestation.
- Ghana’s perspectives on cost-effective interventions to inform economically viable and impactful strategies.
- ITTO’s support to countries like Côte d’Ivoire and Togo, promoting agroforestry systems and rehabilitating degraded forests to strengthen food security.
AFF’s presence at TICAD 9 will underscore a vital message: halting deforestation is not just an environmental imperative—it is central to achieving Africa’s food security, sustainable development, and climate goals.
Join AFF, FAO and partners in Yokohama to co-create solutions for Africa’s forests.
Date & Time: 21 August 2025 | 17:00–18:00 (Japan) | 10:00–11:00 (CEST)
Location: Pacifico Yokohama, Exhibition Hall D (Room S-08) & Webinar
Registration: Register here
Event Website: FAO REDD+ – TICAD9
Languages: English & Japanese
For more information, go to: https://www.fao.org/redd/information-resources/webinars/ticad9