Notes from the Africa Climate Summit 2023

The Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi brought together policymakers, researchers, and practitioners working on climate solutions across the continent. As a landscape practice, our interest was specific: how cities plan and fund green infrastructure, and where landscape design fits in climate adaptation strategies.

Several themes stood out:

Urban greening is policy, not decoration. Multiple sessions addressed urban heat islands, stormwater management, and air quality — all areas where vegetation plays a measurable role. The conversation has shifted from "let's plant trees because they're nice" to "we need specific canopy cover targets tied to temperature reduction goals." This is the language that gets green infrastructure into city budgets.

Plant selection matters for climate resilience. Not all trees perform equally in urban environments. Species that tolerate drought, poor soil, pollution, and root-space constraints are more valuable in streetscapes than species that look beautiful in a nursery but fail within three years. This is where plant science — understanding species at the physiological level — becomes critical infrastructure knowledge, not just horticultural interest.

Maintenance is the missing piece. Multiple cities reported planting thousands of trees with high mortality rates because there was no maintenance plan or budget. A tree planting program without a watering and care program for the first two years is a waste of resources. This is something landscape practitioners can address directly — not just designing plantings, but specifying the maintenance protocols that keep them alive.

East Africa has specific challenges. Altitude variation (Nairobi at 1,700m vs Mombasa at sea level), seasonal rainfall patterns, and rapidly expanding urban areas create conditions that don't map neatly onto climate adaptation frameworks developed in other regions. Local knowledge — of soils, species, growing seasons, and water availability — is essential.

For our practice, the summit reinforced something we already believed: knowing your plants at the species level isn't academic — it's a professional requirement for anyone designing landscapes that need to perform in a changing climate. A Markhamia lutea street tree in Nairobi performs differently from a Terminalia mentalis in the same location. Choosing the right species for the right site is climate adaptation at the most practical level.