Lusaka, Zambia — As climate finance opportunities grow across Africa, governments are stepping up efforts to ensure that the benefits of REDD+ reach the communities who protect and depend on forests in ways that are fair, transparent and trusted.

To support this momentum, the UN-REDD Programme, together with the African Forest Forum and the World Bank, convened a week-long regional learning lab on benefit-sharing in Zambia's capital, Lusaka, from 23–27 November 2025. The event brought together representatives and practitioners from 12 African countries to deepen understanding of benefit-sharing design and provide practical guidance on accessing results-based payments.

The event was inspired by lessons from the UN-REDD Global Exchange on benefit-sharing held earlier this year (March 2025) in Nairobi. This regional event moved beyond theory — its design reflected a clear demand from countries for practical guidance, high-engagement activities and space to work through real governance and implementation challenges together.

During the opening session, Steve Swan, UNEP UN-REDD Programme Management Lead, underscored the growing urgency to advance credible and inclusive benefit-sharing frameworks across the region. "Across Africa, countries are now moving from planning to implementation. That means benefit-sharing must be clear, credible, and community-centred from the start," said Swan.

Speaking also during the opening ceremony, Executive Secretary of the African Forest Forum (AFF) Prof. Labode Popoola emphasized the importance of African-led solutions and regional cooperation in shaping fair and effective benefit-sharing systems.

Senior representatives from UNEP, the World Bank, AFF, and Zambia's Ministry of Green Economy and Environment framed benefit-sharing not as an administrative afterthought, but as a national policy instrument with direct implications for access to climate finance, social legitimacy, and long-term forest outcomes.

These remarks set the tone for the week, which focused on practical tools, peer-to-peer learning, and aligning technical design with the realities and priorities of communities on the ground.

Learning from each other

Delegates from Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Guinea, the Republic of Congo, Uganda, and Zambia shared candid reflections on the realities of implementing REDD+ in their countries. Despite being at different stages of readiness, many identified similar challenges: aligning national policies with local realities, defining fair and transparent distribution criteria, and building long-term trust with communities.

Participants also highlighted the value of peer learning and the continuity between the Nairobi workshop and the Lusaka Learning Lab.

"The Nairobi workshop gave us the conceptual foundation, and Lusaka helped us turn those ideas into practical steps," said Guy Kajemba from the DRC. "Seeing examples from other countries motivates us and shows what's possible."

Trust and participation emerged repeatedly as core principles of effective benefit-sharing.

Putting communities at the center

Participants repeatedly emphasized that communities must be central to the design and implementation of benefit-sharing systems. In a participatory design session, Sarah Beard, UNEP UN-REDD Safeguards Specialist, reminded participants that communities are not just beneficiaries or passive recipients but effective delivery partners. Recognizing forest communities as active participants and rights-holders is central to demonstrating integrity, managing risk and sustaining equitable access to results-based finance.

Country representatives engaged in hands-on exercises, including stakeholder mapping, designing decision-making structures, and drafting benefit-distribution matrices that integrated both carbon and non-carbon benefits, such as livelihoods, capacity building, and strengthened local institutions.

Moving forward together

By the end of the week, participants moved from dialogue to delivery. Country representatives developed detailed action plans to strengthen or finalize their national benefit-sharing frameworks. Participants highlighted next steps, including advancing transparency and tracking tools, legal and policy reforms, and mechanisms to ensure that local voices meaningfully guide benefit distribution.

"Seeing the commitment from other countries motivates us to do better at home," said Techla Chumba, NACOFA Treasurer, Kenya. "We now have concrete ideas on how to make our benefit-sharing systems more equitable and community-driven."

The Learning Lab demonstrated that as climate finance expands, African countries are not only ready to access funds, but they are also committed to ensuring that benefits reach the communities who protect forests every day.