Africa’s natural wealth took centre stage as leaders called for a shift from accounting to action, urging governments to move beyond measuring natural capital and start using it to drive policy, finance and investment decisions.The call came at the third Africa Policy Forum on Natural Capital 2026, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from the 6th to the 8th of October, under the theme “From Accounts to Policy: Positioning Natural Capital Accounting for Africa’s Policy, Finance and Investment Transformation.” The forum brought together African policymakers, development financiers and business leaders to explore how natural capital accounting can inform national planning, budgeting, legislation and investment decisions.
The forum’s focus on moving Natural Capital Accounting (NCA) beyond the production of accounts and into practical use reflects a growing recognition that Africa’s natural wealth is a strategic asset for development and climate resilience. Natural capital accounting allows countries to reassess their economic value, potentially leading to greener and more inclusive GDP measures that can be the foundation for more sustainable economic policies.
The push builds on the Baku Declaration on the Green Wealth of Nations, in which African leaders agreed to mainstream the proper valuation of Africa’s natural capital in measuring GDP. The declaration called on the African Development Bank Group, other partners and governments to provide capacity building and support for national statistics bureaus to upgrade their Systems of National Accounts.
Africa’s natural capital wealth, including the Congo River Basin, Miombo woodlands, coral reefs, peatlands and mangroves, contributes to the reduction of global carbon emissions, and this value needs to be translated into monetary gain. The Africa Climate Summit recognised the need for a revaluation of Africa’s GDP through the proper valuation of its abundant natural capital and ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration.
The challenge is to translate these bold decisions into practical actions and solutions at national levels for the benefit of African populations. African governments must swiftly move from ‘business as usual’ to implementing existing mechanisms such as the Gaborone Declaration on Sustainability in Africa, and strengthening governance mechanisms to help value, account and manage natural capital.
The African Development Bank is leading efforts to facilitate this shift, including hosting the Secretariat of the Africa Natural Capital Accounting Community of Practice. The Bank is also championing biodiversity finance and nature-positive development, with a focus on advancing nature-based solutions, ecosystem restoration, natural capital accounting and innovative financing mechanisms.
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