One billion people walk or cycle for almost an hour every day in Africa to access work, home, school and other essential services. The continent stands as the least safe place to walk and cycle in the world and the increased level of motorization is worsening air quality levels and increasing emissions.
Transitioning to zero or no emission mobility is critical in safeguarding the climate, improving air quality and improving accessibility and road safety. It is even more critical for vulnerable groups such as women, children, the elderly and persons with disabilities as their mobility needs are often not prioritized in predominantly car-orientated transport planning processes.
Investments in active mobility are essential to achieving economic and financial transformations, promoting social equity and addressing environmental objectives. Most importantly, it is an essential component in achieving a just transition in the transport sector.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and partners are leading the development of a Pan-African Action Plan for Active Mobility (PAAPAM), an action plan aimed at raising the profile and increasing investment for active mobility in Africa.
This initiative is part of the mandate of UNEP to develop policies and initiatives aimed at transforming the transport sector to improve public safety and health, to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, increase accessibility and protect the environment.
The PAAPAM will act as a comprehensive framework to guide governments and other stakeholders on the priority actions to be implemented over the next ten years to ensure healthy, safe, equitable and sustainable transport for the majority – people who walk and cycle.
PAAPAM objectives
- Define common priorities related to walking and cycling—a checklist for government prioritization and action at the national and local levels.
- Raise the profile of active mobility, highlighting the role of active mobility in addressing deteriorating air quality and the climate crisis while also supporting the COVID-19 recovery.
- Encourage walking and cycling investments by national and city governments and by bilateral and multilateral development banks, including mobilization of climate finance for active mobility improvements.
- Promote dialogue and knowledge sharing among governments across the Africa region. Identify key performance indicators to enable governments to track progress over time and to see where they stand compared to counterparts in the region.
- Identify key performance indicators to enable governments to track progress over time and to see where they stand compared to counterparts in the region.
Progress to date
UNEP has drafted the action plan, drawing on best practice from existing national and city active mobility policies through consultation with a wide range of stakeholders, including government officials, civil society, academia and financial institutions.
To date, UNEP has engaged more than 750 stakeholders in the PAAPAM development process. This includes the Africa Network for Walking and Cycling (ANWAC), bilateral discussions with UNHABITAT and World Health Organization (WHO) and two side events at Conference of Parties (COP) 27 in Egypt.
UNEP is committed to maintaining a consultative approach with senior government officials leading up to the planned launch in early 2024.
PAAPAM action areas
PAAPAM has 10 action areas including improving active mobility infrastructure, enhancing rural mobility and reducing carbon emissions from the transport sector.
