Global Civil Society & the UN Sustainable Development Goals

Goal 15: Sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, halt biodiversity loss

Life on Land


Goal 15 is about conserving life on land. It is to protect and restore terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and stop biodiversity loss.

Earth’s ecosystems are vital for sustaining human life, they contribute to over half of global GDP and encompass diverse cultural, spiritual, and economic values.

However, the world is facing a triple crisis of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss.

Between 2015 and 2019, at least 100 million hectares of healthy and productive land were degraded every year, impacting the lives of 1.3 billion people.

Agricultural expansion is the direct driver of almost 90 per cent of deforestation. This is in direct relation to our food systems, and oil palm harvesting accounted for 7 per cent of global deforestation from 2000 to 2018.

Global and regional efforts to sustain forest ecosystems as well as their social, economic and environmental functions are essential, in particular for developing countries and the tropics.

We need to shift humanity’s relationship with nature to achieve Goal 15, and realise that nature is the root of our life of earth. The recently adopted Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework provides renewed impetus for Goal 15, outlining four outcome- oriented goals to be achieved by 2050 and 23 targets to be achieved by 2030.

Name Acronym Founded City HQ Country/Territory HQ Type I Type II

African Biodiversity Network

ABN 2002 Thika Kenya F

African Bird Club

ABC 1994 Cambridge UK F

African Centre for Aquatic Research and Education

ACARE 2017 Ann Arbor MI USA D

African Centre for Assistance and Protection of the Environment of the Sahel

Dakar Senegal G

African Centre for Biodiversity

ACB Johannesburg South Africa G

African Centre for Fertilizer Development

ACFD 1987 Harare Zimbabwe E g

African Coalition for Corporate Accountability

ACCA 2013 Pretoria South Africa D y

African Conservation Centre

ACC Nairobi Kenya G

African Conservation Foundation

ACF 1999 London UK G f

African Conservation Tillage Network

ACT 1999 Nairobi Kenya F

African Conservation Trust

ACT 2000 Pietermaritzburg South Africa G

African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources

1968 T g

African Development Aid Association

ADAA 1988 Addis Ababa Ethiopia G

African Forest Forum

AFF Nairobi Kenya F v

African Forestry and Wildlife Commission

AFWC 1959 Accra Ghana E g

African Forum for Agricultural Advisory Services

AFAAS 2005 Kampala Uganda F

African Geoparks Network

AGN 2009 El Jadida Morocco F

African Green Foundation International

AGFI 1995 Garki Nigeria J f

African Greens Federation

AGF 2010 Kigali Rwanda D

African Institute for Capacity Development

AICAD 2000 Nairobi Kenya G j

African Library and Information Associations and Institutions

AfLIA 2013 Accra Ghana D

African Life Cycle Assessment Network

ALCANET J

African Ministerial Conference on the Environment

AMCEN Nairobi Kenya F cg

African Model Forest Network

AMFN 2009 E

African Network for Environment and Economic Justice

ANEEJ 1995 Benin City Nigeria G

African Network for Geo-Education

ANGE El Jadida Morocco F v

African Office for Development and Cooperation

1976 Dakar Senegal G

African Organic Network

AfrONet 2012 Dar es Salaam Tanzania UR J

African Parks

AP 2000 Bryanston South Africa F

African Plant Nutrition Institute

APNI 2019 Ben Guerir Morocco D

African Primatological Society

APS 2016 J

African Rainforest Conservancy

ARC 1991 New York NY USA G

African Regional Institute for Geospatial Information Science and Technology

AFRIGIST 1972 Ile Ife Nigeria E g

African Women Leaders in Agriculture and the Environment

AWLAE 1990 Nairobi Kenya G

African World Heritage Fund

AWHF 2006 Midrand South Africa F g

African Youth Initiative on Climate Change

AYICC 2006 J

African-Asian Rural Development Organization

AARDO 1962 Delhi India C g

Africare

1970 Washington DC USA F

AfriMAB Network

1996 Paris France F

AfriOceans Conservation Alliance

AOCA 2003 Fish Hoek South Africa G

Afrique verte

Montreuil France G y

Afriterra Foundation

G f

Afro-Asian Peoples' Solidarity Organization

AAPSO 1957 Cairo Egypt C y

AFWC/EFC/NEFC Committee on Mediterranean Forestry Questions - Silva Mediterranea

1948 Rome Italy E g

Agence de l'eau Rhin-Meuse

1964 Moulins-lès-Metz France G g

Agence Panafricaine de la Grande Muraille Verte

APGMV 2010 Nouakchott Mauritania D g

Agence pour la Solidarité Internationale, la Culture, le Développement et l'Environnement

AMORCES Paris France G

AGRECOL Afrique: Networking and Information Centre for Sustainable Agriculture in Africa

2001 Thiès Senegal G

Agreed Measures for the Conservation of Antarctic Fauna and Flora

1964 T g

Agreement between the Central African States Concerning the Creation of a Special Fund for the Conservation of Wild Fauna

1983 T g

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