Regions & Countries

As part of the WOCAT 2020+ strategy, a decentralization process is ongoing with the aim to set up several Regional Clusters, anchoring WOCAT in different regions around the globe.

The WOCAT Regional Clusters are official representatives of WOCAT, defend its interests and promote its messages, visibility and acceptance in the regions. They act as catalysts for mainstreaming SLM  and LDN in strategic agendas and for enhancing capacities, through South-South Cooperation (SSC) with other Clusters and partners, in implementing and scaling up SLM.

South-South Cooperation (SSC) has vast untapped potential for knowledge exchange. There is a pool of relevant knowledge and experience about SLM and restoration that can, and should, be shared between countries – and between regions. This can help stimulate action and innovative problem solving.

About AfriOCAT

WOCAT in collaboration with the African Union Development Agency-New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD) have initiated the establishment of a Regional Cluster in Africa, in short, AfriOCAT, based on demand from its partner network to enhance its regional impact, foster localized leadership and promote South-South knowledge sharing and innovative problem-solving. AfriOCAT serves as official representative of WOCAT in Africa, offering capacity development on SLM and LDN using the WOCAT toolbox, promoting exchange and joint learning from SLM implementation and advocacy, and catalyzing the integration of SLM and LDN into regional strategic agendas.

AfrioCAT Launching Workshop

Day 1

The AfriOCAT workshop wrap-up in the morning was all about learning, sharing, and scaling up Sustainable Land Management (SLM)! The afternoon was all about getting hands-on with the tools needed to track Land Degradation (LD), monitor SLM, and ultimately achieve Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN). A Key question was: "𝗛𝗼𝘄 can the 𝗪𝗢𝗖𝗔𝗧 𝗦𝗟𝗠 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲 best 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗟𝗠 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀?" Main insights included that SLM success highly depends on inclusive processes, country ownership is essential, data must speak to people to enable use, partnerships matter, and digital tools can transform monitoring and land management in Africa.

Day 2

The morning was about building ownership! We explored how Africa’s land restoration journey connects to both global and continental frameworks; from the UNCCD’s Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) to Agenda 2063, AFR100, and the Kampala Declaration. What stood out is the importance of africanizing tools: Making global approaches work for African realities, languages, and communities; owning data & knowledge: The continent doesn’t lack expertise; it needs stronger coordination, data sharing, and trust; and from projects to systems: Integrating Sustainable Land Management (SLM) into national policies, education, and community action. The highlight of the afternoon was our field trip! People were excited to witness SLM practices applied and linked to the unique culture and history of Addis Ababa. This local relevance is key!

Day 3

Participants came together in good energy for a series of focused strategy workshops. Representatives from Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) & Private Sector, Government, Research & Science, and 16 Intergovernmental Organizations were working hard within their specialized fields to collectively 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶O𝗖𝗔𝗧’𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆. The power of this diverse representation ensures a robust, equitable, and comprehensive strategy. The hard work paid off! We collectively defined AfriOCAT’s three main objectives: Document & build capacities, accelerate uptake, and influence policies.

𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟰
We were honored to host a high-level event on Day 4 of the Launching Workshop, marking the official start of AfriOCAT! We are grateful for this high-level support and look forward to scaling up sustainable land management across Africa.

About AUDA-NEPAD

The mandate of AUDA-NEPAD is to: a) Coordinate and Execute priority regional and continental projects to promote regional integration towards the accelerated realisation of Agenda 2063; and b) Strengthen capacity of African Union Member States and regional bodies, advance knowledge-based advisory support, undertake the full range of resource mobilisation and serve as the continent’s technical interface with all Africa’s development stakeholders and development partners.

The lead of the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) Regional Cluster is still to be defined.

A South-South survey (see on the right hand side) has been realized in 2022 with over 40 institutions in LAC participating. Expertise and demand is being mapped in order to establish a roadmap for the LAC Regional Cluster.

In November 2022, a first LAC regional exchange workshop on LDN was organized in collaboration with the governments of Ecuador, Panama and Argentina. The three countries presented their strategies for the UNCCD PRAIS4 reporting process and participants from more than 10 countries exchanged knowledge to capitalize on lessons learned and good practices regarding the development of the PRAIS4 report.

The Near East and North Africa (NENA) and Central Asia (CA) Regional Clusters will be lead by WOCAT Consortium Partner ICARDA.

A South-South survey (see on the right hand side) has been realized in 2022 with over 50 institutions in NENA and over 20 institutions in CA participating. Expertise and demand is being mapped in order to establish a roadmap for the NENA and CA Regional Clusters.

The Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) Regional Cluster will be lead by WOCAT Consortium Partner ICIMOD. It will be based on the already existing HIMCAT initiative.