African Cities Embrace Nature-Based Solutions for Urban Resilience at AfDB Annual Meetings
As the African Development Bank (AfDB) Annual Meetings concluded in Abidjan, leading voices from across the continent and beyond called for a radical rethink of urban development—placing nature at the center of Africa’s rapid urban transformation.
At a high-level roundtable themed “Financing Nature to Catalyze Green & Prosperous African Cities”, co-hosted by AfDB, World Resources Institute (WRI) Africa, and the World Bank’s Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), participants emphasized that nature-based solutions (NbS) and Green-Grey Infrastructure (GGI) must be scaled to meet the mounting challenges facing African cities.
“With Africa’s population projected to grow by 900 million by 2050—700 million of whom will live in cities—urban planning must urgently shift to nature-smart models,” said Stefan Atchia, Manager of Urban Development at the AfDB. “Two out of three Africans will be city dwellers by mid-century.”
The session spotlighted two major publications. Africa’s Urbanisation Dynamics 2025—a joint effort by AfDB, OECD, and Cities Alliance—maps urban growth across 11,000 cities. Meanwhile, the Growing Resilience report by the World Bank, WRI, and AfDB examined nearly 300 climate resilience projects across Sub-Saharan Africa, identifying a growing demand for NbS but highlighting the need to diversify financing beyond grants.
“Multilateral development banks provide over 70% of NbS investments,” said Dr. Rebekah Shirley of WRI Africa. “But to achieve scale, we must blend finance tools and empower local governments.”
From urban wetlands to forest buffers, GGI combines engineered and natural systems to create cost-effective, inclusive, and resilient infrastructure. The roundtable also featured testimonies from grassroots organizations like Muungano wa Wanavijiji of Nairobi’s Mathare settlement, reinforcing the need for local leadership in climate adaptation projects.
“Through efforts like the Great Green Wall and our growing Green-Grey Infrastructure portfolio, the AfDB is committed to restoring degraded land, enhancing resilience, and creating green jobs,” noted Al Hamndou Dorsouma, Manager of Climate Change and Green Growth at AfDB.
Michel Matera of the World Bank closed the event with a call to action: “African cities are expanding fast. Let’s ensure they grow sustainably—with nature as our ally.”
