Africa is at heart of rising global ecosystem restoration wave

Across Africa, thousands of community efforts are healing degraded soil. [Courtesy]

Where there’s a tree, there’s hope. That is the philosophy of the Forest of Hope Association (FHA), a small local organisation in northern Rwanda that demonstrates what community-driven restoration looks like. After decades of uncontrolled farming and grazing, the Gishwati landscape had shrunk to just 2 per cent of its original size and was considered lost. But local conservationists refused to give up. They sold their own assets, mobilised neighbours, and began restoring the land, one tree at a time. 

Today, Gishwati-Mukura National Park is a thriving landscape. Forest cover has more than doubled, from 680 to 1,570 hectares; chimpanzee numbers have increased from 17 to nearly 40; and wildlife such as golden monkeys, birds, and rare amphibians have returned. FHA’s model is simple, but powerful: deep community ownership, long-term care, and the belief that restoration begins with one tree, one person, one act. 

And theirs is just one of many stories. Africa is at the centre of a global restoration movement, one aligned with the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, AFR100’s 100-million-hectare goal, and a worldwide shift toward nature-based climate solutions. But the real momentum is coming from local communities themselves. 

Across the continent, a surge of energy, innovation, and determination is fueling a movement of locally-rooted organisations. In Madagascar’s dry forests, Association Tsimoka has reduced forest loss by 90 per cent in its community sites through agroforestry-based restoration, regenerating 1,648 hectares and reviving lemur and other wildlife populations, while also increasing household incomes. Locally-led Environmental and Rural Solutions has restored 7,000 hectares of montane grasslands in South Africa’s Eastern Cape through communal grazing agreements. Their work has strengthened water security for the Umzimvubu River system and helped local farmers earn $2.2 million through mobile livestock auctions. In the West, Herp Conservation Ghana revived 5,270 hectares of endangered habitat for the Togo Slippery Frog, working with local communities to restore the forest and generate ecotourism income. 

These organisations, and many others, are showing that Africa’s restoration revolution is already here, driven from the ground up by people who know their landscapes best. 

Despite their impact, most local African organisations are overlooked as key players in global solutions. Unfortunately, that means they remain chronically underfunded and undersupported. Our 2024 report, From Pledges to Practice, found that 73 per cent struggle with funding constraints, often competing with larger international NGOs for resources that rarely reach them directly. 

But all hope is not lost. There is increased recognition about the role and power of local solutions. We are beginning to see new models that channel financial resources and long-term support directly to local leaders – unlocking climate, biodiversity and livelihood outcomes at scale. 

For example, the Bezos Earth Fund and the World Resources Institute are pioneering one of the most promising new models. Through Restore Local and TerraFund, they are channeling resources to more than 200 local restoration champions while also investing in their leadership, governance and organisational resilience. 

In East Africa – Kenya’s Great Rift Valley and Rwanda’s Lake Kivu-Rusizi Basin – this model is already accelerating community-led transformation. They are supporting local organisations with proven track records and others with massive potential. The Green Belt Movement, founded by the late Prof Wangari Maathai, has planted over 50 million trees, engaging its network of 4,000 community groups (mostly women) to protect watersheds, increase food security through agroforestry, and build climate resilience. The Ogiek Peoples’ Development Programme advocates for Indigenous land rights and is restoring sections of their ancestral Mau Forest. Rural Environment and Development Organisation has planted 232,000 agroforestry trees and restored 700 hectares of the Ibanda-Makera Forest, improving both soil health and economic opportunities for farmers. Nature Rwanda has restored the habitat of the endangered Hooded Vulture while providing tangible benefits to 320 households. 

Another powerful example comes from Commonland, which operates in over 20 countries worldwide. Their 4 Returns Framework – restoration designed around Inspiration, Social Capital, Natural Capital and Financial Return – has proven outcomes for long-term, community-centred restoration. In South Africa’s Baviaanskloof, their model has supported farmers in restoring more than 13,200 hectares of degraded land since 2014, reversing decades of overgrasing and the encroachment of invasive species. Regenerative business models like essential oils and sustainable grazing have created more than 150 jobs and engaged 75,000 local people in restoration work. 

These models illustrate the power of enabling local organisations to design and lead restoration efforts. The results point to benefits for the climate, healthier ecosystems and more resilient communities. 

Restoration is like a forest – a complex, living system strengthened by many layers working together. Across Africa, thousands of community efforts are rising like a growing canopy: Farmers healing degraded soil like roots anchoring the land, local organisations acting as shrubs and understory plants stabilising the ecosystem, innovators spreading new ideas like climbing vines, and governments and partners forming the protective upper branches that shape the light.

Each initiative may seem small when viewed alone, but together they create an ecosystem of protection, regeneration, and species recovery. The momentum is real and rising. And just as a forest does not restore itself by being watched but by growing, Africa’s restoration movement needs steady energy, attention, and resources reaching every layer. When they do, the collective impact becomes transformative, reshaping landscapes and securing resilience for generations.

There has been an ongoing global discourse about nature-based solutions. But these solutions are not theoretical. They already exist. They are already working.

What’s new is the moment we’re in. For the first time, the global restoration agenda and the lived experience of local organisations are aligned. The science is clear, the policy frameworks are aligned and the world is recognising that restoration is a central pillar of climate action, biodiversity recovery, water security, livelihoods and the emerging regenerative economy.

Mr Akshay is the Executive Director of PILAE. Ms. Nganwa is East Africa Portfolio Manager at Maliasili