Ecosystems around the world are being lost and degraded due to climate change and land transformation. To restore ecosystems worldwide, everyone can play their part and join #GenerationRestoration. But how can we empower local communities to lead ecosystem restoration and to ensure restoration programs are just and equitable?

Ecosystem restoration programs should not solely focus on restoring natural environments; they have to involve and empower the people who live in them. Ecosystem restoration can only be successful if local communities and smallholder farmers get to decide how they want to restore and sustainably manage the ecosystems they depend on for their income and livelihoods

“Successful projects are the ones that consider the needs of local communities. Local communities have learned to live and adapt to the changing environment. So, I know that many of us tend to think that if it's not written somewhere, you won't trust what you hear. But it's also good to recognize the local knowledge and the traditional indigenous knowledge – we've seen that it helps because these are the people at the end of the day that are going to stay in those places being managed or being restored. Not working with them or not tapping into their knowledge and capabilities is a waste of resources“, says Bernadette Arakwiye from Rwanda, who manages the contributions of the World Resources Institute (WRI) to the African Forests and Landscapes Restoration Initiative (AFR100). “We also hear about those top-down approaches. They just go on and they get the work done. And that's what leads to disasters. You know, expansion of plantations that are unplanned or like not asked for by local communities,“she adds.

Community-led restoration projects pave the way for lasting benefits for both, the people and the ecosystems that we all rely on. Having communities own and lead restoration projects that impact them is the only way we can make the UN Decade on ecosystem restoration a success.

Hear the voices of restoration experts from Kenya, Rwanda, and Malawi! Four participants of the Restoration Academy in East Africa share their experiences in community-led restoration.

The Restoration Academy is a workshop series designed to support local and national organizations to join forces for #GenerationRestoration, become part of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, and benefit from the UN Decade’s global partner network. It brings together experts from local non-governmental organizations, community-based organizations, research institutes, and governmental institutions to share experiences and ideas on how to effectively restore ecosystems and landscapes in a sustainable way.

It is funded through the German International Climate Initiative (IKI) and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV). If you would like to learn more about the Restoration Academy, please contact [email protected].

The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030, led by the United Nations Environment Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and its partners, covers terrestrial as well as coastal and marine ecosystems. As a global call to action, it will draw together political support, scientific research and financial muscle to massively scale up restoration. Find out how you can contribute to the UN Decade. Follow #GenerationRestoration.