Projects
Leaders in Action: Achieving Forest Landscape Restoration Through Online LearningBackgroundBetween May 2016 and March 2017, the Environmental Leadership and Training Initiative and IUCN conducted six online courses titled “Forest Landscape Restoration in the Tropics.” These courses were in response to the emerging trend of countries committed to restoring millions of hectares of land via the forest landscape restoration approach, which aims to achieve ecological, economic, and social benefits simultaneously. This paper highlights numerous success stories of individuals who participated in these courses. Open access copy available |
From Target to Implementation: Perspectives for the International Governance of Forest Landscape RestorationBackgroundThis article describes the international landscape of governance structures and institutions focused on promoting restoration. It aims to understand how the activities of these institutions with overlapping objectives can align and complement each other in order to create a more effective governance approach. Open access copy available |
Abreha Weatsbeha Community Ethiopia: Equator Initiative Case Studies. Sustainable Development Solutions for people, nature and resilient communitiesBackgroundThis report from UNDP is intended to "the the full story ofhow (innovative sustainable developments solutions) evolve,the breadth of their impacts (and) how they change over time" through the case study of Abreha we Atsbeha in Ethiopia. Out of 800 contestants, the community in Abreha we Atsbeha was awarded the Equator Prize in along with US$20,000 in 2012 in recognition of their tremendous work on the restoration of degraded land and subsequent increases in food security, nutrition, and local livelihoods. Open access copy available |
Case Study: Community Based Ecological Mangrove Rehabilitation (CBEMR) in IndonesiaBackgroundMangrove plantings in Indonesia have typically failed for a number of reasons including inappropriate site selection, inappropriate species selection, and/or conflict over land tenure. The authors discussed ecological mangrove rehabilitation (EMR) and its use in Indonesia, which required a more socio-cultural-political apprach as compared with EMR in the United States. Open access copy available |
Gender Inequality in Malidino Biodiversity Community-based Reserve, Senegal: Political Parties and the 'Village Approach'BackgroundThis research examines some of the less visible, and ongoing social dynamics in a World Bank-funded conservation site in central Senegal. The goal of the World Bank project was to create a decentralized and community-based participatory forest management program that would re-structure the political economy of the charcoal industry, give more rights and autonomy to the local community, emphasize improved gender equity, and provide technical assistance to NGOs and community-based organizations. Open access copy available |
Local ecological knowledge of trees on farms, constraints and opportunities for further integratino in Tigray Region, northern Ethiopia: A Case Study of smallholder farmers in Abreha Wa Atsbeha and Adi GudomBackgroundThe paper compared two Ethiopian sites with differing levels of on-farm tree adoption: Abreha we Atsbeha (high adoption) and Adi Gudom (low adoption). The author used a knowledge-based systems approach involving participatory rural appraisal, focus group discussions, and semi-structured interviews. In both sites, farmers planted trees on their holdings for income generation, user rights, and direct benefits, and they planted trees on communal lands to comply with government policies, improve soil fertility and water harvesting, improve land for redistribution, and improve aesthetics. Open access copy available |
Does tree planting change minds? Assessing the use of community participation in reforestation to address illegal logging in West KalimantanBackgroundIn this study, Pohnan et al. evaluated the social impacts of the local NGO Alam Sehat Lestari (ASRI) restoration program that took place in Gunung Palung National Park in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, an area that host numerous endangered species and that has been degraded by illegal logging for the past several decades. Open access copy available |
The effects of The International Smallgroup and Tree Planting Program on household income in Nyeri district, KenyaBackgroundThe aim of the study was to determine the effects of TIST program on household income, environmental services and to determine factors that influence participation. Available with subscription or purchase |
Evaluation of a rural development project in Southwest Cochabamba, Bolivia, and its agroforestry activities involving Polylepis besseri and other native species – a decade of lessons learnedBackgroundThis report evaluates the results of the PROSANA project (GTZ/Department of Cochabamba) that ran for a 10-year period until the early 2000’s, and its attempts to combat food insecurity and promote conservation of relic forests and the restoration of agroecosystem function by planting mixed forests including Polylepis besseri. Well-adapted socio-ecological systems started to degrade in the region centuries ago with forced relocation of populations to higher, steep slopes and the introduction of European sheep and goats. Presently, firewood collection and grazing prevent the recovery of ecosystems. Open access copy available |
What drives the success of reforestation projects in tropical developing countries? The case of the PhilippinesBackgroundThis study reviewed cases and literatures to assess drivers that ultimately lead restoration projects to have successful outcomes. The main 4 categories of drivers are: technical/biophysical drivers, socio-economic drivers, institutional, policy and management drivers, and reforestation project characteristics. The major indicator of success are fall into two categories: environmental indicators and socio-economic indicators. Available with subscription or purchase |

