Beyond Borders: Uniting for Drought Resilience and Land Restoration in Africa an Open Letter to African Governments

By Tino Chikwanha, Sakhile Dube, Thomas Omusolo, Rachel Itenderezwe, Hadson Muwisa, Merab Dayo and Martin Kamlaike 

As a global community, on World Environment Day, we are reflecting on our planet's precious resources, and the need for land restoration, desertification, and drought resilience. This is a particularly critical issue currently gripping the African continent. Africa is a beautiful continent that is vast and diverse with many contexts that differ. However, drought, lack of access to clean water, and land degradation permeate across borders, affecting nations across the region. 

With this in mind, several young people from the African Climate Alliance network, from a number of different African countries, came together to pen this open letter with African governments in mind: 

Dear African Leaders, 

Despite mounting evidence and impassioned pleas from diverse stakeholders to address land degradation, desertification, and drought,  governmental responses as a whole are falling far short of the mark. The stark reality is that while you, as our leaders, are cognizant of the problems, there is a failure to implement effective solutions.

Take the case of South Africa, where water scarcity is exacerbated by the use of coal, climate change impacts, lack of infrastructure maintenance, and corruption. This disproportionately affects rural and poor communities, amplifying the existing disparity between the wealthy and the less affluent. An attempt to reduce water consumption through water-shedding initiatives may provide temporary reductions, but they are not sustainable solutions to the underlying issue of dwindling water sources and leave many people without water for days at a time.

Malawi presents a similar narrative, where access to clean and safe drinking water remains a distant dream for many. For the past four years, Malawi has also faced several climate change effects which have impacted negatively on the livelihood development of communities. The latest is the March 2023 Cyclone Feddy which affected thousands of households, destroying crop fields, and livestock and displacing people. In 2024, Malawi was faced with erratic rainfall in many parts of the country while other parts experienced flooding rendering displacement of people.

These heavy rains have also caused massive flooding incidents extending to Kenya and Tanzania, impacting many people, many of whom have lost their homes or lives. Despite years of advocacy, governments have turned a blind eye to the plight of rural communities, exacerbating the problem through corruption and mismanagement of resources. Boreholes, touted as a solution, often fall prey to corruption, leaving communities high and dry.

In Uganda, the destruction of wetlands further compounds the challenges posed by droughts and flooding. Dry seasons result in depleted wetlands, exacerbating water scarcity during periods of low rainfall. This destruction stems from a lack of consistent preservation efforts and a failure of policymakers to take decisive action.

Zimbabwe, one of the countries periodically affected by El Niño, recently declared a state of national disaster due to an El Niño-induced drought. Despite the unpredictability of El Niño events, their occurrence is inevitable. The most recent drought occurred five years ago, in 2019. The lack of proper preparedness in 2024, 2019, and preceding years, has had widespread implications. Besides water insecurity and food shortages, populations have faced increased cholera infections, gender inequity, and poverty. 

In Rwanda between 2023 and 2024, heavy rains triggered floods and landslides which caused severe damage and loss of life in different parts of Western, Northern, and Southern Provinces. More than 130 lives were lost, leaving thousands homeless while infrastructure and crops were severely damaged. 

These are only a few examples that represent some of the plight being faced by people across Africa when it comes to climate impacts. That is why it is high time for a transformative shift, one that places the utmost importance on ensuring access to clean water and safeguarding our invaluable water sources and land.  For this, we need comprehensive drought resilience and land restoration initiatives that put people before profit, are implementable, make use of indigenous knowledge systems, and rely on cross-border collaboration.

The solution lies in a concerted effort to change mindsets and prioritise climate finance towards biodiversity, a just transition away from fossil fuels, and other intersecting issues. While initiatives like the just transition are commendable, their success can only manifest through implementing a holistic and transparent approach that recognises the interconnectedness of various environmental systems.

For example, land restoration is equally imperative in mitigating the effects of drought and preserving water sources. Synthetic fertilisers and improper waste disposal practices must be addressed to prevent further contribution to soil degradation which currently renders vast swathes of land infertile and contributes to flooding impacts. It is not an easy task to do if efforts are not unified, so we urge you to double down on multi-sectoral and interdisciplinary partnerships with fairly distributed power.

We need proactive measures to safeguard vital ecosystems like wetlands. There are many experts with existing solutions that can and must be tapped into. After all, biodiversity forms the bedrock of our living world, and neglecting it only exacerbates existing anthropogenic and ecological challenges. Sensitising communities through environmental education is also crucial in fostering a collective understanding of the urgency of the situation. Education and awareness campaigns can empower citizens to take up ownership of sustainable development, and create their own solutions that speak to countries’ mitigation and adaptation needs that assist governments in their actions.

The case of Costa Rica has proven this to be true. In 2020, as the country prepared to enhance its Nationally Distributed Contribution (NDC) strategies to lower greenhouse gas emissions, it held future scenarios consultations with the general public to co-create effective strategies. As a result, it has rolled multi-sectoral projects like landfill gas capture that are contributing to low national greenhouse gas emissions. 

The need for drought resilience and land restoration transcends geographical boundaries and demands immediate action from governments across the African continent. Access to clean water and the preservation of vital ecosystems must be prioritised to mitigate the devastating effects of climate change and existing social inequalities.

As we commemorate World Environment Day, let us not only reflect on the challenges we face but also commit to tangible actions that will safeguard our planet for current and future generations. The time to act is now. Later will be too late.