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The Regional Centre of Excellence for Biodiversity, Forests, and Seascape Ecosystems Management in Eastern and Southern Africa (RCOE-ESA) has launched a groundbreaking conservation tool to support data-driven land-use planning across the region.
Known as the RCOE-ESA Map Book, the new resource provides high-quality, comprehensive maps highlighting critical biodiversity hotspots, protected areas, and transboundary conservation networks across 24 countries in Eastern and Southern Africa.
The Map Book also reveals key gaps in conservation coverage, making it a valuable resource for policymakers, researchers, conservationists, and development partners.
Hosted by the Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD), the initiative aims to guide conservation priorities and inform policy amid growing threats such as climate change, habitat loss, and unsustainable land use.
“As pressures like climate change and unsustainable land practices intensify, the need for informed, data-driven interventions has never been greater,” RCMRD said in a statement on Tuesday.
It stated thus: “The Map Book is not merely a reference document — it is a call to action for all stakeholders invested in the region’s ecological future.”
RCMRD Director General, Emmanuel Nkurunziza, described the Map Book as a strategic tool for sustainable development.
“Geospatial science is an immensely powerful resource for conservation. Through data-driven planning and ecosystem mapping, we can work toward restoring biodiversity-rich forests, wetlands, seascapes, and other critical ecosystems,” he said.
“This Map Book is a testament to five decades of advancing geospatial excellence for sustainable development.”
Beyond mapping biodiversity assets, the Map Book tracks regional progress toward Target 3 of the Global Biodiversity Framework, which aims to conserve at least 30 percent of the planet’s land and sea through protected areas (PAs) and Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECMs).
The Map Book was officially launched by Malawi’s Minister of Lands, Deus Gumba, during the RCMRD@50 Golden Jubilee held on June 16, 2025.
The event drew several dignitaries, including Kenya’s Permanent Secretary for Lands, Nixon Korir, RCMRD Governing Council Chairperson and Zambia’s Permanent Secretary for Lands and Natural Resources, Patrick Mucheleka, and RCMRD’s Director General Nkurunziza.
The Jubilee celebrated 50 years of RCMRD’s leadership in geospatial science, earth observation, and capacity development, now serving over 500 million people across Eastern and Southern Africa through the support of its 20 member states and development partners.
The launch also coincided with the Integrated Management Effectiveness Tool (IMET) Sensitization Training Workshop, hosted at RCMRD.
IMET is a digital platform designed to enhance the planning, monitoring, and evaluation of protected and conserved areas, aiming to strengthen ecosystem management and sustainability.
The workshop equipped stakeholders with essential skills to assess and improve conservation area management, supporting the sustained delivery of ecosystem services to communities across the region.
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