Nairobi, July 18, 2025
On 18 July 2025, during the 20th session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN), the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Sahara and Sahel Observatory (OSS), represented respectively by their Executive Secretaries, Ms. Astrid Schomaker and Mr. Nabil Ben Khatra, signed a host agreement for an African Technical and Scientific Cooperation Support Centre (TSCC).
This agreement represents a strategic milestone in advancing the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). It strengthens technical, scientific, and institutional support for African countries, with a focus on environmental data generation, capacity building, resource mobilization, and the integration of GBF targets into national public policies.
The TSCC hosted by OSS will serve eight countries — Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Sudan, and Tunisia — covering a broad geographical area spanning North Africa and the Horn of Africa. It is part of a global network of 18 centres established under the leadership of the CBD, including five based in Africa: at OSS, COMIFAC, CSE, RCMRD, and SANSI. Together, these centres reflect a growing continental and interregional momentum for South-South cooperation in support of biodiversity.
The signing ceremony brought together representatives from several countries in the region, demonstrating their shared commitment to deepening regional cooperation on biodiversity-related issues.
As a recognised regional institution, OSS plays a pivotal role through flagship programmes such as Copernicea and GMES & Africa, which offer tools for long-term environmental monitoring, thematic mapping, and ecosystem dynamics modelling. These tools provide decision-makers with sound scientific evidence to inform conservation, climate adaptation, and sustainable resource management policies.
Within the scope of the TSCC, OSS also intends to expand its interregional partnerships, notably with IUCN-Med, to promote knowledge sharing, co-development of tools, and coordination of action across different geographic scales.
“This agreement affirms OSS’s role as a catalyst for regional scientific cooperation. By hosting this Centre, we are reinforcing Africa’s commitment to implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework through shared, science-based, and context-appropriate solutions,” stated Mr. Nabil Ben Khatra at the close of the ceremony.