Cities in Africa are population hubs and engines of economic growth. They host more than half of the population (54% in 2020) and contribute on average 30% of GDP (up to 60% in some countries such as Côte d’Ivoire). Unfortunately, rapid urban expansion and the accompanying economic development have made African cities the epicenters of the triple environmental crisis—biodiversity loss, pollution, and climate change—while simultaneously amplifying social inequalities. Urban expansion is characterized by spatial sprawl and profound spatial transformations and reconfigurations, significantly altering, and in some cases irreversibly degrading, natural ecosystems. The conversion of natural areas into built-up zones and the artificialization of soils accelerate the decline of nature and biodiversity loss. The concentration of economic activities increases air, water, and soil pollution, while massively contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. African cities are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, facing rising occurrences of floods, heatwaves, and sea-level rise. These environmental crises disproportionately affect the most vulnerable populations, often located in underserved neighborhoods.
By 2050, Africa’s urban population will double, exacerbating the environmental crises described above as well as existing inequalities. This inevitable urban transformation makes African cities critical spaces for both conservation and human well-being. It raises major challenges for urban planning and, more fundamentally, for ways of life and development models. In response to these challenges, the African Center for Equitable Development (ACED) is working to promote ecological civilization in its countries of intervention.
Ecological civilization is a societal model in which human development is organized in harmony with nature. The economy, culture, technologies, agriculture, and lifestyles are designed to protect the environment, preserve natural resources, and maintain ecological balance over the long term. This concept proposes moving beyond the current model based on economic growth at all costs and building a sustainable, equitable, and nature-respecting society. It is a model that reconciles the instrumental, relational, and intrinsic views of nature within development approaches.
Ecological civilization is a way of life and development with nature and as part of nature, as opposed to a way of life at the expense of nature.
This civilizational shift requires interventions at three levels: research and innovation, public policy, and practices:
- Research and Innovation
Research and innovation are fundamental pillars of the transition to ecological civilization. Research generates knowledge on the magnitude of the situation and the cost of inaction, helping to persuade stakeholders of the risks, opportunities, and urgency of responding. Innovation proposes new, context-adapted and tested solutions, and facilitates their diffusion. Without research and innovation, it is difficult to understand the limits of the current model or the opportunities and options for transitioning toward ecological civilization.
- Public Policies
Public policy is the second pillar of the transition. It marks a shift—a deliberate choice—and defines the rules, incentives, and collective frameworks needed to guide individual and economic behavior, as well as public and private investments. Policies also shape education, research, and innovation, helping transform mindsets. They ensure that the transition is equitable and inclusive, benefiting all segments of society. Without political will and coherent public strategies aligned with ecological civilization, market forces and private interests will continue to drive rapid natural resource exploitation at the expense of ecological preservation.
- Practices
The practices of donors, technical and financial partners, the private sector, and households form the third pillar of the transition. These practices translate research, innovation, and policy into concrete change. Donors and financial partners orient investment flows (e.g., by conditioning financing on ecological criteria). The private sector, as a major economic engine, plays a key role by adopting responsible practices in production, energy consumption, and resource management. Households, through daily choices (mobility, food, energy consumption, etc.), directly influence demand for more sustainable lifestyles. When all these actors change their behaviors in alignment with ecological civilization principles, the transition becomes not only possible but sustainable and inclusive.
ACED supports and catalyzes change at these three levels through a knowledge-engineering approach known as Evidence-Policy-Action (EPA), which acts across three dimensions:
- Relevance of knowledge
We support partner countries in developing a consensual research agenda based on knowledge needs related to ecological civilization and help facilitate its implementation to generate expected evidence. We experiment and test real-world models of nature-based solutions in cities and their management mechanisms to ensure proposed solutions are contextualized and realistic.
- Accessibility of knowledge
We ensure that existing or newly generated knowledge is made available to policymakers and practitioners in the right format, language, timing, and delivered to the right people.
- Use of knowledge
We support partner countries in understanding the political vision and its link to their sectoral work, identifying opportunities for action, and integrating the relevant knowledge into their interventions and practices.
Ecological civilization represents an evolution of development models. It is not merely an option—it is the only pathway that can effectively address the challenges of urbanization and the triple environmental crisis facing African cities, and the world at large.
