Revive & Rewild: Community-Led Frankincense Woodland Restoration in Puntland, Somalia

The Revive & Rewild Initiative, led by the Somali Relief and Development Organization (SORDO), is a community-driven and youth-powered restoration model that protects and regenerates critically endangered Boswellia carteri frankincense woodlands across the Uur-Caleed corridor and Golis Mountains in Puntland, Somalia. The project restores degraded dryland ecosystems, strengthens climate resilience, and enhances sustainable livelihoods by integrating ecological restoration, community stewardship, rotational grazing governance, and youth eco-guardianship.

Through restoring 14 hectares of frankincense woodland (within an 800-hectare landscape of ongoing restoration), clearing invasive Prosopis juliflora, planting 2,000 native seedlings, establishing community conservation areas, and empowering 40 eco-guardians, the initiative demonstrates an effective, low-cost, and replicable model for dryland biodiversity recovery.