MyFarmTrees is a science-based digital platform incentivising farmer- and community-led restoration of degraded landscapes. Funded by the Global Environment Facility and executed by Alliance Bioversity-CIAT in partnership with IUCN, it combines mobile technology, blockchain and digital payments to trace every step from seed collection to tree growth. Seed collection, nursery work and tree establishment are tracked using geolocation, QR codes and photo evidence. Digital monitoring, reporting and verification (dMRV) is linked to payments for ecosystem services, rewarding species that support biodiversity, food systems and livelihoods. Farmers, communities, authorities and ministries co-govern restoration, receive mobile-money rewards for verified performance and access real-time data for reporting through frameworks such as the Restoration Barometer. Piloted in Kenya and Cameroon, MyFarmTrees has reached 6,000+ beneficiaries, planted 350,000 trees across 2,000+ ha and delivered over USD 500,000 in ecosystem-service payments.
As part of the Forests4Future project in Togo, which aims to rehabilitate degraded terrestrial ecosystems, an initiative was launched to raise awareness among schoolchildren about the importance of trees, environmental protection, and land restoration. Called “Environmental Education in Schools,” this initiative has led to the creation of nurseries managed by members of “Environmental Clubs.” The species planted are chosen based on each school’s environmental projects, such as green fences and arboretums. The pilot phase is taking place in 10 schools in Tchamba—5 elementary and 5 secondary schools—selected according to criteria established in consultation with all stakeholders. Each environmental club, composed of 20 students, maintains gender parity between boys and girls.
Wetlands in Sichuan Province face mounting pressures from infrastructure, tourism, invasive species, and reduced community engagement following resettlement. In response, the UNDP‑GEF Sichuan Wetland Conservation Project (2022–2027) developed an integrated model combining stronger policies, improved protected‑area management, community co‑management, sustainable livelihoods, and nature education. To date, the project has achieved notable ecological recovery: wetland conditions have improved, water quality has risen to cleaner levels, and declining species such as Ottelia acuminata, Eurasian otters, and Oriental storks have been recorded again. On the social side, participating households have seen a 10% income increase, with over 3,600 direct beneficiaries, more than half being women. The project has also cut carbon emissions by over 71,674 tCO₂e and engaged > 5.24 million people through World Wetlands Day outreach in 2025–2026. This framework now serves as a reference for wetland conservation across the Yangtze River Basen.
The Latin American Model Forest Youth Network (RLJBM) is a voluntary organisation that brings together young people from Latin America and the Caribbean to strengthen their participation in environmental governance. It was created in response to the lack of youth inclusion in decision making and seeks to promote intergenerational knowledge exchange on landscape management. In 2022, the Youth Network was formed through workshops and processes to identify young leaders, and in 2023, it was formalised as an autonomous network. In 2024, RLJBM was consolidated through mentoring from the Chocó Andino Model Forest and held its first face-to-face meeting in Costa Rica, where thematic priorities and a horizontal governance structure were defined. RLJBM currently has a Central Committee representing several countries and promoting conservation, environmental education, inclusion, and regional coordination activities.
Through the “From Field to Plate” and “REDD Landscape” projects of the German Development Cooperation (GIZ), measures to promote biodiversity and other policy initiatives were implemented to specifically strengthen the structure of the Azua Biological Corridor. Stakeholders from various sectors within the Corridor expressed interest in establishing and formalizing a management structure.
During an exchange of experiences, an opportunity was identified for a tripartite collaboration involving the private initiative of banana producers in the Province of Azua, where Costa Rica shares the institutional experience of its National Biological Corridors Program with the Dominican Republic, as well as its experience with participatory landscape management models under the framework of biological corridors through local platforms.
Based on this knowledge transfer, the Dominican Republic is developing its policy and regulatory framework for biological corridors and is launching a pilot project—in partnership with the private sector and NGOs—for its first corridor.
Northern Ghana’s savannah woodlands are being degraded by illegal logging, charcoal production and other unsustainable land uses, while many planted seedlings fail to survive. The ABBAT project combined community-based restoration with the RANAS approach to systematic behaviour change. Mixed-methods research identified the factors influencing tree planting, nurturing and protection; these findings shaped campaigns using hands-on demonstrations, public commitments, positive emotions, role models, peer support and barrier planning. Across three districts around Mole National Park, 1,544 farmers planted more than 62,000 seedlings. RANAS campaign communities achieved observed seedling survival rates of 72-74%, compared with 54% under standard training, despite prolonged drought. A community-led RANAS model performed as well as organisation-led delivery, showing that the approach can strengthen local ownership while offering a scalable model for restoration and climate resilience
Cameroon, home to nearly 20 million hectares of forest, is increasingly affected by forest and land degradation driven by bushfires, uncontrolled grazing, and unsustainable agricultural practices. To address these challenges, the global project Forests4Future, implemented by GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit) in partnership with local councils and MINEPDED (Ministry of Environment, Nature Protection and Sustainable Development), introduced Assisted Natural Regeneration (ANR) in the Yoko and Nanga-Eboko landscapes. ANR is a low-cost, nature-based restoration approach that supports the natural recovery of degraded ecosystems through targeted human interventions rather than tree planting. The approach combines community sensitization, participatory site identification and mapping, site protection, and collaborative management agreements with local communities.
Lesotho is a small, landlocked mountain kingdom entirely surrounded by South Africa. More than 80% of its land lies above 1,800 metres, making it the ‘Water Tower’ of Southern Africa and a vital source of freshwater for the region. Despite this, Lesotho’s water resources are under threat from soil erosion, overgrazing, and climate change. ReNOKA (“We are a river”) is Lesotho’s national programme and citizen movement for addressing these challenges and sustainably managing the country’s water and land resources. It supports local communities in restoring degraded catchments through a pioneering climate finance mechanism. The approach empowers community councils to implement their own nature-based solutions, including stone bunds, wetland fencing, and tree planting. These actions reduce erosion, improve water retention, and restored vegetation across degraded landscapes.
Embedded in national systems, ReNOKA connects policy, people, and finance — securing Lesotho’s water and land resources for future generations.
Cette note d’information a pour objet d’aider les pays à reconnaître et à soutenir les territoires et les aires du patrimoine conservés par les peuples autochtones et les communautés locales (APAC), en restant sensibles et respectueux des nombreuses questions en cause. Elle contient des éléments de base sur les APAC ainsi qu’un condensé de leçons apprises, et des recommandations pour les gouvernements qui mettent en oeuvre le Programme de travail de la CDB sur les Aires protégées (PoWPA).
Se espera que la presente Nota Informativa los oriente de manera sensible y respetuosa teniendo en cuento los muchos temas involucrados. Contiene hechos fundamentales acerca de las ICCA, sintetiza lecciones aprendidas, y ofrece recomendaciones para los gobiernos qui implementan el Programa de Trabajo sobre Áreas Protegidas del CDB (PoWPA). La Nota ofrece también consejos sintéticos sobre qué hacer y qué no hacer dirigidos a los gobiernos y la sociedad civil qui están comprometarget_idos en mantener los immensos beneficios de las ICCA en términos de conservación y sustento a los medios de vida.
Yaghnob National Nature Park was established in a remote mountainous region home to the Yaghnobi people, a community with ancestral ties to the area. The park creation shifted local land governance. Previously, pasture use was shaped by traditional ownership rights, long-term arrangements, and locally negotiated community practices.
Subsequently, park authorities control and allocate grazing areas through rentals, upending access for local, outside, and transiting herders. These changes fuel friction over access, trust, and decision-making. Community members are concerned grazing allocations lack environmental assessments or equitable access, while park staff must implement ambitious management plans in difficult terrain with limited experience.
In response, TNF supports a community-led advisory board. This voluntary, collaborative body connects locals, pastoralists, park staff, government authorities, and scientists to improve communication, strengthen coordination, resolve conflicts, and share conservation responsibilities.
In Ethiopia’s Rift Valley, Lake Hawassa faces accelerating degradation from deforestation, pollution, erosion and rapid urbanisation – pressures no single actor can address alone. This solution establishes an inclusive multi-stakeholder partnership uniting public authorities, private companies and civil society to protect the lake through coordinated catchment stewardship.
Guided by the Natural Resources Risk and Action Framework (NRAF) developed between 2015 and 2020, partners jointly assessed risks, planned actions and implemented nature-based solutions (NbS).
Key building blocks included:
The partnership is now fully government-managed, and the approach upscaled to federal guidelines for restoring, rehabilitating and protecting surface water bodies all over the country.
