The 13th Pan-African ABS and Biotrade Workshop took place in February 2025 in Saly, Senegal. This five-day, bilingual (EN-FR) event was the largest and one of the most successful of its kind – and probably the most complex. With up to 200 participants from 22 African countries and around the world, it was organised in partnership with several organisations and donors, and a joint day was held with attendees of the African Baobab Alliance’s (ABA) annual conference. Highlights included a field trip to a baobab conservation area and Baobab des Saveurs, a leading local producer of natural ingredients.

GeoMedia played a pivotal role in conceptualising, organising, programming and facilitating the event, including partner and on-site co-ordination.

A key objective of the workshop was to support public and business partners in developing national and regional approaches to effectively implement Goal C of the Global Biodiversity Framework, based on a whole-of-government, whole-of-society approach. In addition to expert inputs and presentations, panel and table group discussions were used to maximise participant involvement.

The workshop was organised by the multi-donor ABS Capacity Development Initiative and the BMZ-funded project BioInnovation Africa. Co-funders and implementation partners were the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Secretariat of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA), the African Union Commission (AUC), and the Senegalese Ministry of Environment and Ecological Transition (METE).

Below are some impressions from the event. The full report can be downloaded here (PDF, English, 2.4 MB).