Forest and landscape restoration (FLR) involves a wide range of interventions and approaches, from assisted natural regeneration to conservation and protection of high-priority natural areas.

However, these FLR approaches and concepts are not well known or understood among many practitioners and stakeholders. The need to effectively build understanding and capacity on FLR has led to collaboration between The Restoration Initiative (TRI) programme and Yale University’s Environmental Leadership and Training Initiative (ELTI).  

A pioneer in developing and strengthening learning on environmental topics, ELTI supports practitioners and communities throughout the world in conserving, restoring, and better managing natural resources. As part of their collaboration for the TRI programme, partners had to develop a training programme in French and English and work in countries where the local environment and institutional and social context are quite different.

Thirty TRI programme stakeholder organizations enrolled in the six-week online course, which ran from September to November 2020. Participants came from the TRI African countries of Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Tanzania and Sao Tome and Principe. They included 11 representatives from national ministries and institutions and their decentralized services, 65 project management team members and four participants from local NGOs. The online course covered a wide range of modules relevant for the scaling-up of FLR:

•  introduction to ecology, disturbance, and regenerative potential;

•  socio-cultural and political aspects of restoration;

• FLR practices and strategies;

• integrating FLR and production activities;

• the Restoration Opportunity Assessment Methodology (ROAM) and monitoring and evaluation of restoration projects;

• financing for the scaling-up of FLR.

Each week participants had to complete assignments and at the end, they had to submit a final project to complete the course. A total of 19 restoration plans were developed by the participants as final projects, highlighting the ecological and socio-economic and political context, describing the potential FLR interventions and monitoring frameworks, and including considerations on the projects’ financing and upscaling potential.

All participants appreciated the detailed and hands-on content of the course, which was based on the actual implementation of FLR on the ground and real expertise, making it easier for them to make connections with their own experiences. They also expressed interest in participating in follow-up courses on specific topics, such as ROAM, financing for FLR and FLR monitoring and evaluation (through GIS and relevant tools). They felt that acquiring more in-depth knowledge of these topics would increase the benefits derived from FLR projects.

Moreover, this course showed that there is a need for developing practical videos and context-specific case studies on best practices and lessons learned, as this would help promote discussions and the dissemination of information gained through project implementation. This material could then be used in future practical FLR training courses, whether virtual or face-to-face.  

Looking forward, several participants mentioned that they were also interested in having additional examples and FLR case studies from Africa, including the regions where they were working. They suggested that the creation of a library of local examples of relevant research and FLR projects would be useful. This highlights the need for TRI to capture and document best practices and lessons learned and share them widely across stakeholders. The upcoming UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration could provide a good opportunity for this.  Participants will have access to the course material for one year to enable them to review case studies, and the presentations and videos of interest. FAO is currently exploring the opportunity to organize an online FLR course with ELTI in 2021, targeted towards young people in sub-Saharan Africa and their contribution and needs in supporting the restoration movement.

For more information contact us at: [email protected].

Benjamin De Ridder (FAO)