Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda and Zambia win nature grants at COP17
Each gets $50,000 to help protect 30% of land and sea by 2030, from wetlands in Zambia to community-run reserves in Rwanda.
Yerevan — Four African countries are among seven to win $50,000 seed grants from the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People, awarded at the UN biodiversity summit, CBD COP17, in Armenia. The money helps countries move towards the "30x30" goal: protecting at least 30% of land and sea by 2030.
The African projects
- Nigeria: linking habitats, recognising new land and marine conservation areas and checking how well protected areas are run, led by the Nigerian Conservation Foundation.
- Zambia: an inventory and management review of the Busanga Swamps.
- Rwanda: community-run conservation areas and wildlife corridors on land.
- Kenya: community-led marine conservation using indigenous and local knowledge.
The other winners were Costa Rica, Mexico and Nepal.
Nigeria's focal point to the convention, Sikeade Egbuwalo, said the grant will help tackle fragmented habitat, a big issue in Nigeria. NCF director-general Joseph Onoja called it a milestone and said the project will map priority sites and build a national framework for judging how well protected areas work.
Source: Premium Times, 25 October 2026.
