Lomé, Togo – December 6, 2025
Biodiversity and climate experts from across West Africa convened in Lomé from December 3rd to 5th, 2025, for the CABES/RESPIN West Africa sub-Regional Workshop. The event, titled “Towards Integrated Policies: Leveraging IPBES & IPCC Outcomes to Align Biodiversity and Climate Actions,” brought together researchers, practitioners, Indigenous and Local Knowledge (ILK) holders, youth representatives, and policy experts associated with processes such as IPBES, CBD, and IPCC.
The core focus of the three-day workshop was to improve the understanding of the interwoven nature of biodiversity loss and climate change and to explore ways to strengthen alignment between these often-separate communities. Participants acknowledged a major challenge: the persistence of knowledge gaps and uneven awareness of the crucial biodiversity–climate linkages across different institutions and networks in the region. Furthermore, national strategies such as National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) frequently evolve in parallel, resulting in policy documents that remain fragmented.
Despite these challenges, attendees shared encouraging success stories, including restoration and land management initiatives that successfully enhance carbon storage while supporting ecological integrity and community livelihoods. Examples of increasingly coordinated national planning were also highlighted, such as technical teams jointly reviewing biodiversity and climate planning documents and developing ecosystem restoration targets alongside climate resilience objectives.
This workshop was the perfect example that joint learning spaces are crucial for building shared understanding. Participants underscored the need for collaborative efforts, including shared synthesis products, joint communication initiatives, and regular workshops to foster coherence in messaging between the biodiversity and climate fields. The workshop also reaffirmed that capacity development remains central to strengthening Africa’s contribution to global science–policy processes. Participants expressed strong interest in continuing collaboration through cross-country dialogues, peer learning, and organizing informal knowledge-sharing sessions around future IPBES, CBD, and IPCC milestones.
The workshop was convened by CABES (Capacity Development for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Experts In Africa) and the RESPIN project and supported by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection through the International Climate Initiative (IKI), and funded by the European Union.
