The SER Africa Chapter was successfully launched on the 25th May 2021 which coincided with the celebration of Africa Day. Due to Covid-19, the launch was conducted in the form of an online webinar. The SER Africa Chapter currently has over 40 registered members who are also known as open door members. This is a membership for any individuals who would like to participate in the SER community but are unable to pay. This one-time membership requires approval from SER before benefits are activated. If you wish to join, please click on the link https://www.ser.org/page/Membership and follow the instructions.
The SER Africa Chapter is the 14th and newest chapter to join SER. The leadership of the SER Africa Chapter made a vow to all webinar attendees and SER Africa members to improve restoration delivery which is specific to African standards and practices. The online seminar was also attended by Karma Bouzza, Christo Marais, Andrew Whitley, Dhesigen Naidoo, Bonani Madikizela, Mamadou Diakhite, Sibongile Mavimbela and Stephanie Mansourian who were the keynote speakers on the day.

The keynote speakers made a few important notes, Sibongile Mavimbela spoke on the Great Green Wall which started 12 years ago and how they are planning to replicate this strategy in all the necessary locations across Africa. She mentioned how the Great Green Wall makes a vital contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s). Mamadou Diakhite secretary of AFR100 (the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative) spoke on the contribution the AFR100 has made by recovering hectares of land. To date, more than 5 million hectares have benefitted from this, increasing cereal production to feed people annually and reducing the average time it takes to collect firewood.

The third keynote speaker was Christo Marais from the Natural Resource Management Programmes at the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment, he spoke on strategizing restoration based on the biomes, types of degradation and desertification on the biome when restoring the land. Mr Marais encouraged all participants to watch Kiss the Ground on Netflix – programme highlighting how solutions like regenerative farming is an ethical practice designed to restore degraded lands and facilitate carbon drawdown. Lastly, Mr Marais mentioned that all companies must account for all restoration projects.
Bonani Madikizela Director of Water Research Commission and Andrew Whitley Director of WILDTRUST spoke about the upcoming AGM board meeting set to take place in the upcoming months of 2021.

SER, in conjunction with SER-Africa wishes to improve three of the following, land-use change, current habitat quality and climate change. SER Africa is restoring ecosystems large and small protects and improves the livelihoods of the people who depend on them.