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Cross-Sectoral Exchange For Improved Management Of Natural Resources In Rwanda
The Cross-Sector Taskforce (CSTF) was established in 2015 to coordinate Rwanda’s response to the Bonn Challenge and enhance Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) efforts. Comprising 35 member organizations, including government bodies, NGOs, private sector actors, and research institutions, the CSTF fosters collaboration, shares technical knowledge, and harmonizes FLR monitoring systems. It provides a platform for addressing deforestation, land degradation, and biodiversity loss while aligning restoration efforts with national and international strategies like the Green Growth and Climate Resilience Strategy (GGCRS), AFR100, and the Paris Agreement. Recent meetings have focused on integrating FLR with sustainable food systems, improving monitoring tools, and incentivizing local farmers. By facilitating knowledge exchange and improving governance, the CSTF enhances restoration efforts and strengthens Rwanda’s ability to meet its target of restoring 2 million hectares of land by 2030.
Guidelines for rewilding
These guidelines offer both a call for change and general guidance for users. The following five guidelines, adapted from the ten guiding principles for rewilding (Carver et al., 2021), provide a foundation for understanding and taking action to prevent further losses in nature, promote the recovery of biodiversity, and support the restoration of ecological integrity.
Embedding Integrated Water Resources Management in Rwanda’s Sebeya Catchment
The Sebeya catchment in Western Rwanda, once prone to recurrent flooding, erosion, and landslides, was transformed through the “Embedding Integrated Water Resources Management in Rwanda (EWMR)” project. Led by Rwanda Water Resources Board and partners, the project applied Nature-based Solutions (NbS) to restore 7,700 hectares using terraces, trenches, riverbank protections, and afforestation. The approach combined land rehabilitation with innovative financing, value chains, and inclusive planning. Over 35,000 green jobs were created, alongside improved soil health, aquifer recharge, agricultural productivity, and livelihoods. By integrating community-driven land use planning into district-level governance, the project laid the foundation for long-term resilience and scalability.
Jabal Shada Protected Area – Where Nature and Communities Thrive Together
Jabal Shada is an isolated twin-mountain granite massif with spectacular scenery characterized by jagged spires, pinnacles, and traditional agricultural terraces. Located in the Al-Baha region in southwestern Saudi Arabia, it supports exceptionally rich floral diversity (nearly 493 recorded plant species) and traditionally important highland crops notably Shadawi coffee. The mountain is both an ecologically isolated element and a cultural landscape. It was declared as a protected area in year 2002 to secure unique biodiversity while supporting local livelihoods and providing nature-based tourism opportunities. Recent management planning emphasizes biodiversity monitoring, community partnerships (including agricultural support and farm-experience tourism), and identification of hiking/ecotourism trails to deliver conservation and socio-economic benefits.
The Green Project Model: Regreening Rwanda Bugesera for People and Nature
The Green Project in Gashora Sector, Bugesera District, Eastern Rwanda, transformed the country’s driest agro-ecological zone through regenerative, farmer-led land restoration. Facing severe land degradation, poor soil fertility, and widespread poverty, the project implemented agroforestry-based conservation agriculture using shrub-tree hedgerows, rotation cropping, and organic mulching. Designed as a low-cost, inclusive and replicable model, the project improved soil health, enhanced biodiversity, increased yields, and diversified household incomes. Starting with just six farmers, it now engages over 1,000. The intervention shows how Nature-based Solutions (NbS) tailored to local conditions can reverse degradation, boost resilience, and uplift rural livelihoods.
Community-Based Bat Conservation and Ecotourism Development at the Three Sisters Giant Caves, Fikirini Village (Kwale, Kenya)
The Three Sisters Giant Caves are located in Fikirini Village, near Shimoni in Kenya’s coastal Kwale County, within a 10-hectare Kaya Forest of both ecological and cultural importance. Three caves serve as vital roosting sites for several bat species, including the Endangered Hildegarde’s tomb bat (Taphozous hildegardeae), while a fourth cave is reserved for community spiritual practices. Degradation from deforestation, fires, and unsustainable guano harvesting has threatened the site’s integrity. In response, the Tswaka Three Sisters Giant Caves Community-Based Organization (CBO), supported by Bat Conservation International (BCI) and local partners, initiated a community-led effort to restore habitats, enhance protection, and develop eco-tourism as an alternative livelihood pathway that links biodiversity conservation with local economic and cultural resilience. This activity was financed under the GIZ-led IKI Kwale – Tanga Transboundary protection and sustainable management of the marine and coastal regions project.
Community of women committed to preserving the Nosy Hara marine protected area
Nosy Hara National Park is part of Madagascar’s network of protected areas. A genetic reservoir of marine biodiversity, it is a sustainable fishing site par excellence, for the fishing community living around the park. Mangrove crabs, octopus and reef fish are the most commonly caught species. The Park is renowned for the production of octopus, fish for local, regional and even national consumption.
Overfishing in accessible areas by small-scale fishermen, the failure of nomadic fishermen to comply with fishing closures, and the lack of park staff for surveillance are among the daily challenges faced by park managers.
Co-management through the effective involvement of the local community in the preservation of the park is an approach adopted, particularly by the women’s community of the village of Ankingameloka, who actively participate in the co-monitoring of mangroves, the restoration of the ecosystem and the monitoring of fishermen’s daily catches.
Kelp Blue
Kelp Blue is a commecial entitiy founded by Daniel Hooft in February 2020. Its business headquarters are in Zeist, The Netherlands. It has a subsidiary in Namibia with operational headquarters in Luderitz, Nambibia. At the moment it employs 12 full time employees, 5 part-time employees and 4 interns. The gender balance is 50% female, 50% male. Its mission is “to rewild the oceans by cultivating giant kelp forests”
Kelp Blue focused first on its MISSION. Next we needed to find FUNDING. We obtained in-pinciple funding from Climate Investor Two and Eos Capital for USD $60million.
At the same time we have built a strong competent multi-disciplinary TEAM with deep experience in multiple industries. Each of us brings our own learnings and unique skills to the table; this means we can take advantage of different perspectives and best practices as we look to grow Kelp Blue.
Always focus on your mission – it will dictate all of the decisions you from whom you employ, the selection of suppliers and even your processing techniques.
Having stong funding partners with the same vision is key.
Don’t underestimate the time and energy fundraising takes, start at least 6 months before you really need the funds.
Réhabilitation des terres par le reboisement – le pouvoir des droits de propriété dans la chaîne de valeur du bois-énergie vert
Répondre à la demande croissante en bois-énergie est un défi et un facteur de déforestation et de dégradation des forêts. La Restauration des Paysages Forestiers (RPF) et les engagements des pays envers l’AFR100 s’adressent ainsi à la production durable de bois-énergie afin de répondre aux réalités sociales et économiques.
La chaîne de valeur bois-énergie, en s’adressant à toutes les parties prenantes, encourage les petits entrepreneurs. L’approche combine des éléments juridiques, de gouvernance, économiques et techniques depuis les transferts des titres fonciers et des plans de reforestation individuels sur des terres dégradées au niveau villageois jusqu’à la récolte, traitement, transformation, distribution et commercialisation par les consommateurs finaux de bois-énergie ainsi que les technologies de combustion associées (foyers améliorés).
Elle modernise la chaîne de valeur du bois-énergie et génère des bénéfices pour les intervenants. Leurs revenus annuels ont doublé en moyenne.
Gestion artificielle d’espèces végétales pionnières en contexte forestier : aux antipodes de la dynamique naturelle.
La réserve biologique dirigée (RBD) du Hochfeld a pour enjeu principal la conservation d’une exceptionnelle population de lycopodes (6 taxons). Au sein d’une forêt dense de hêtre, un aménagement réalisé dans les années 1960 a occasionné un déboisement et même un décapage du sol. Cette atteinte à la forêt a été suivie de la reconstitution spontanée d’une lande pionnière à éricacées très rase, qui a permis l’apparition des lycopodes. Les conditions n’auraient pas pu être aussi favorables dans le cas d’une coupe forestière, moins traumatisante pour le milieu et qui aurait été suivie d’une reconstitution rapide du peuplement, sans véritable interruption de la végétation forestière.
Il n’y a pas d’historique pastoral dans la RBD du Hochfeld, et le bétail risquerait de toute façon d’occasionner trop de dégâts aux lycopodes. On se trouve dans une situation où l’entretien de la lande se fait donc nécessairement par la combinaison de la mécanisation et d’interventions manuelles.
Des engagements internationaux à la mise en œuvre locale – la restauration des paysages forestiers à Madagascar
Le bien-être des habitants de Madagascar dépend de ses ressources naturelles et de ses services, tels que le bois de feu, la nourriture et l’eau. De nombreuses zones sont dégradées dues à l’utilisation non durable des terres. Les aléas climatiques ajoutent plus de risques pour les personnes, la nature et l’économie. La restauration des paysages forestiers (RPF) est une priorité clé de l’AFR100 pour assurer un développement durable. Les écosystèmes résilients améliorant l’économie, la sécurité alimentaire et l’approvisionnement en eau, la conservation et la séquestration du carbone en sont les piliers. Cette solution couvre la mise en place de plateformes multiséctorielles , les mesures de renforcement des capacités des acteurs, le développement d’une stratégie nationale RPF et la priorisation des payasages à restaurer basées sur une évaluation multicritère. Les prochaines étapes consisteront à identifier des sites pour piloter des activités de restauration dans la région Boeny.
Restauration des Paysages Forestiers et mise en valeur du terroir villageois de Mogazang au Cameroun
La désertification et ses conséquences menacent le bien-être de la population du nord du Cameroun, en particulier des ménages ruraux. Le manque de feu de bois et bois de construction, et l’extrême pauvreté sont des défis majeurs pour la population de Mogazang. Les aléas climatiques comme la modification des régimes de précipitations exacerbent aussi risques pour la population. L’élaboration d’une carte par les membres de la communauté a permis la démarcation d’un terrain dégradé (10,74 ha) à restaurer. En adoptant une approche «d’apprentissage par la pratique», différentes techniques de restauration de la fertilité des sols ont été testées. En attendant que la parcelle soit productive, les femmes ont été formées à des activités alternatives génératrices de revenus et à la construction de foyers améliorés. L’initiative contribue ainsi aux objectifs de l’AFR100 par la restauration des terres dégradées, la réduction de la pression sur les ressources naturelles et la génération de revenus.
