Hundreds of experts, policymakers and community leaders will gather in Nairobi this week for a major summit aimed at reshaping how Africa’s vast rangelands are understood, governed and financed. The two-day hybrid event, GLF Africa 2026: Stewarding Our Rangelands, comes amid growing recognition of the ecological and economic weight of these landscapes, which account for roughly 43% of the continent’s land area and contribute nearly 40% of its agricultural GDP.
Hosted by the Global Landscapes Forum, the conference will convene participants from across sectors—ranging from Indigenous pastoralists to investors and government officials—alongside a global online audience. Organisers say the objective is to move beyond what they describe as outdated narratives that frame rangelands as marginal or degraded, and instead position them as central to climate resilience, biodiversity conservation and food systems.
More than 40 sessions are scheduled, blending in-person and virtual formats. Discussions will span pastoralist mobility in East Africa, the integration of digital tools such as remote sensing into grazing systems, and the role of women’s leadership in securing land rights and sustainable livelihoods. Other sessions will focus on unlocking finance for pastoral economies and aligning regional priorities ahead of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification’s COP17.
The agenda also foregrounds cultural and knowledge dimensions. Interactive sessions will feature pastoralists sharing lived experiences, while a parallel film programme highlights stories from rangeland communities across the continent.
High-level speakers include Kenyan conservation leader Dickson Kaelo, technology and innovation specialist Ida Nganga, and Germany’s Parliamentary State Secretary Johann Saathoff. They will be joined by nearly 100 experts exploring how Africa can position itself as a global leader in managing shared natural resources.
The event is led by the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry, alongside international partners including UNEP and the World Bank. Its closing plenary will examine how governance models emerging from Africa’s rangelands could inform global approaches to managing the commons.
For journalists, the gathering offers a timely lens into the intersection of climate policy, land use and rural economies, as pressure mounts on governments and institutions to deliver scalable solutions for ecosystems that sustain hundreds of millions of people worldwide.
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