Second Africa Natural Capital Accounting Policy Forum convenes in Nairobi

The second Africa Natural Capital Accounting (NCA) Policy Forum took place in Nairobi, Kenya on 6 and 7 September 2023.  The Forum was organized by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), the World Bank’s Global Program on Sustainability (GPS) and United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), as an activity of the Africa NCA Community of Practice.

The theme of the Forum, which was held alongside the Africa Climate Summit, was 'Using Natural Capital Accounting (NCA) And Analysis to Inform Policies for Development, Climate Change and Nature Protection.'

This Forum served as a pivotal platform for addressing critical issues related to natural capital and sustainable development, including the systematic measurement and valuation of natural assets through natural capital accounting.

The Forum aimed to provide participants with a focused platform to discuss the use of natural capital accounting, in particular the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA), and the challenges and opportunities in using natural capital data, tools and analysis to inform and support policies in African countries. It also aimed to foster dialogue and facilitate sharing of experiences on using NCA and analysis to address policy issues on climate change, biodiversity, and nature protection. 

 The Forum was attended by over 120 representatives from 30 countries, from a diverse set of agencies, including national statistical offices, ministries of environment, finance and planning, and environmental protection agencies.

Rich presentations and insightful discussions led to the development of the Nairobi Declaration Statement and Call to Action recognizing that natural capital is instrumental in addressing Africa’s development aspirations and critical in addressing the triple planetary crisis (climate change, nature loss, and pollution), the main development challenges of our time.

The declaration encourages African countries  to join the Africa NCA Community of Practice (CoP) and adopt Natural Capital Accounting (NCA) in line with international standards like the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA).

It also calls on Governments, the African Union (AU), Africa Development Bank (AfDB), other regional bodies, including the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), technical experts, business and finance sector, donors, and decision-makers to collaborate and support the Africa NCA Community of Practice in protecting and harnessing Africa's vast natural capital for sustainable development and climate resilience.

Presentations and more information on the forum can be found here.