The Centre of Excellence for Biodiversity and Climate opens its doors in Nairobi, Kenya, with the mission of providing data to 24 countries in Eastern and Southern Africa where ecosystems are vulnerable.
Kenya is taking all kinds of action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. The Centre of Excellence for Biodiversity and Climate has just been inaugurated in the capital Nairobi. This complex, which is one of the first of its kind to be built on the African continent, will combine people and resources to explore new technological and leadership approaches to the ecological transition.
The research and development work carried out there will provide 24 countries in southern and eastern Africa with the “most up-to-date” data for protecting their forests and marine ecosystems. The new institution has been launched with the support of the Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development, based in the Kenyan capital.
A response to environmental issues
The new centre of excellence in Nairobi will also benefit from documentary and “IT” support from the Centre for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (Cifor-Icraf), which has been working on the preservation of ecosystems for decades. “The aim is to meet the challenges posed by the loss of biodiversity and heat waves, and to promote the sustainable use of natural resources”, explains its Africa Director, Peter Minang.
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Earlier, in 2022, Kenya launched its first satellite, Taifa-1, using the technical resources of the American company SpaceX. These various initiatives (along with the new centre of excellence) should provide an effective response to prolonged drought. This phenomenon is particularly hard on local livelihoods and the survival of the wildlife in Amboseli National Park. At least 205 elephants died in 2022 in this reserve south of Nairobi.
Benoit-Ivan Wansi
