We rely on healthy ecosystems not only for their ability to provide freshwater, food, shelter, energy, medicine and regulate the climate, but also for the global economy. This year we conducted more pioneering research on the role of tree and forest landscapes in global solutions and championed tree genetic resources to restore what has been lost, cultivate sustainable forest practices, and nurture our vital soil and land.
“A resounding success story” for Regreening Africa
Regreening Africa, Phase I (2017–2023), released its final report heralding what one stakeholder called “a resounding success story.” Over seven years, the programme restored landscapes on nearly one million hectares of land across eight countries and supported more than 600,000 households in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa. In 2023, the programme also published a series of reports to share land-restoration insights on key topics, such as engaging faith-based institutions and gender and youth inclusion.
Sowing seeds of change in Ethiopia
Members of the Ethiopian Parliament recognized CIFOR-ICRAF’s active role in the country’s sustainable forestry transformation – providing high-quality seeds for forest restoration and agroforestry through the second phase of the Provision of Adequate Tree Seed Portfolio in Ethiopia (PATSPO) project. Notably, PATSPO II also helped re-open seed centres in post-war Tigray, conducted staff trainings and gender-awareness workshops, and started working more closely with private seed dealers.
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PATSPO supports farmers
Sustainable wildlife management begins with communities
“Can we sustainably use wild meat and wildlife resources in tropical forests?” asked scientists during a session of the GLF Nairobi 2023 conference. For the Sustainable Wildlife Management (SWM) Programme, part of the answer lies in grassroots partnerships. Last year, SWM partnered with Visit Rupununi (VR) — Guyana’s first regional tourism management organization — to provide ecotourism trainings for women entrepreneurs and published the results of the first biodiversity assessment for the Karaawaimin Taawa mountain range, an Indigenous-led initiative to showcase the richness of their traditional lands and the important role of community management in their continued conservation.
Securing a future for rural livelihoods in Zambia
When the invasive pest fall armyworm first arrived in sub-Saharan Africa in 2016, regional governments spent millions on pesticides, fearful of its impact on maize and other cereals. But our research has shown that the pest has many natural enemies and usually causes little damage. To raise awareness of much safer and effective agroecological alternatives to pesticides, we held several workshops and events, and published a guide and videos on smallholder strategies for fall armyworm management in southern Africa. We are currently working with the Zambian Government and partners to develop a national strategy for fall armyworm management. We also launched the Zambia for Agroforestry, Biodiversity and Climate (Z4ABC) project to help smallholder farmers and rural entrepreneurs secure their livelihoods against the threats of climate change while also increasing their productivity and improving gender equality. Finally, our work through the Collaborating to Operationalise Landscape Approaches for Nature, Development and Sustainability (COLANDS) initiative revealed why successful environmental governance hinges on understanding hidden forms of power.
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Rhett Harrison
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How to manage fall armyworm
Key highlights from our landscapes
A series of workshops across Africa and Asia brought people together to talk landscape restoration – from fire and haze management in Indonesia to dryland restoration policy in Ethiopia and gender-inclusion trainings in Kenya. The Gergera Integrated Watershed project published its restoration success story, showcasing over 20 years of learning and implementation in Ethiopia. And the Landscapes For Our Future programme brought representatives from 18 of their 22 projects together for an innovative Global Summit in Nairobi. Niclas Gottmann, Policy Officer for Land and Environment at the European Commission, said: “The structure of the LFF Global Summit was daring, but exceeded expectations in terms of the quality of knowledge exchange that was catalysed. It is rare that such a trusted space is successfully created.”
“The structure of the LFF Global Summit was daring, but exceeded expectations in terms of the quality of knowledge exchange that was catalysed. It is rare that such a trusted space is successfully created.”
Niclas Gottmann
Policy Officer for Land and Environment at the European Commission
Across our landscapes, our research on women’s land and resource rights has shown the challenges and potential of gender-transformative approaches to bring about long-term change. Our gender experts shared why research needs to start with women and communities, and we developed a gender equity and social inclusion module for the Land Finance Hub’s training to help turn micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises into champions of responsible business. And findings from our research into land tenure showed that, for many Indigenous communities, land titles aren’t the same as tenure security.
Restoring the Brazilian Amazon
Our work in Brazil is expanding rapidly, with 7 projects and 26 staff in country. In 2023, the State of Pará launched a plan for the recovery of native vegetation that was directly informed by our research, and we played a key role in the Alliance for the Restoration of the Amazon. We also extended our work on nutrition and restoration with the support of Salesforce. And our work with Amazon.com and The Nature Conservancy on voluntary carbon through restoration with agroforestry saw the finalization of a carbon agreement with farmers. Finally, we launched a new project on regenerative agriculture and nature-based solutions for conservation of the Amazon through a multi-stakeholder landscape approach.
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Andrew Miccolis on 2023 highlights in Brazil
Mangrove ecotourism gains national recognition
The coastal community of Sungsang IV Village in South Sumatra was awarded the title of ‘Best Tourism Village’ in the province, receiving a visit from the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Uno. In partnership with Sriwijaya University and the South Sumatra Watershed Forum, CIFOR-ICRAF is conducting participatory action research in the village to develop ecologically feasible, locally appropriate, and community-based business models for mangrove restoration.
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Visit from the Minister of Tourism
A meeting for the mountains
Scientific exploration, ecological restoration, Indigenous wisdom, and future living were on the agenda at the Third Mountain Futures Conference, which took place in April 2023 in Kunming, China. Participants explored pathways to the implementation of innovative actions for biodiversity conservation and rural revitalization in mountain communities under the new Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
