With Restore Local fuelling change, Rwanda is turning degraded landscapes into engines of resilience, prosperity, and dignity for its people. On November 5, in Rwanda’s Western Province, the phrase “Tree is life” was repeated across Shyira Sector in Nyabihu District as volunteers pressed thousands of seedlings into freshly prepared soil. By the day’s end, 4,000 native trees stood where bare earth once slid downhill during heavy rains. Just two years earlier, this same landscape had turned deadly. In 2023, torrential rainfall and severe soil erosion triggered landslides across the region, killing at least 109 people and destroying homes, farms, and roads. The tragedy underscored a reality long visible to farmers here: land degradation is not an abstract environmental concern. It is a matter of safety, survival, and economic stability. For decades, the landscape of Lake Kivu and the Rusizi River Basin has told a familiar African story. That of reduced forests, poor soils, and erratic rainfall as a result of intensive farming. Now, another story is emerging. One led by local communities restoring degraded landscapes as a foundation for resilience and a new kind of rural economy. ALSO READ: Report shows effects of 10 major disasters in 2024 Across Africa, local communities are breathing life back into degraded landscapes. From Ghana’s Cocoa Belt to the Greater Rift Valley of Kenya, and now in the Lake Kivu and Rusizi River Basin—straddling the borders of Burundi, DR Congo, and Rwanda—locally driven landscape restoration is no longer just an idea; it is a living, thriving practice that is transforming livelihoods, strengthening food systems, and building climate resilience. To support restoration initiatives at these vital landscapes, countries across Africa have committed to restoring 100 million hectares of degraded land by 2030. In Rwanda, that ambition aligns with the National Strategy for Transformation (NST2), which sets a target of planting 300 million trees as part of the country’s broader climate and development agenda. ALSO READ: Green finance and ESG-linked investments: Catalyzing East Africa’s economic transformation Much of the work in the Lake Kivu and Rusizi Basin is being driven by locally led initiatives supported through Restore Local, a World Resources Institute (WRI) –led programme designed to shift restoration power and financing to local communities themselves. Together, the three countries aim to restore about 12 million hectares of land. “Restoration isn’t just a concept; it’s a living practice. It thrives on courage, commitment, and the power of community. And here at WRI Rwanda, we are proud to bring that practice to life every day in close partnership with local communities,” said Eric Ruzigamanzi, Country Representative for WRI in Rwanda. He pointed out at a partnership and learning event organised by Restore Local that brought together government officials, development partners, donors, restoration champions, and cultural figures for two days of activities. The event, held from December 5 to 6, highlighted successful community-led restoration and discussed how strategic financing can scale results across the region. Governor of the Western Province, Jean-Bosco Ntibitura, captured the essence of this movement: “Our landscapes are a living bank: Every restored slope, every agroforestry tree, and every protected water source is an investment in resilience, prosperity, and dignity for our people,” he said. ALSO READ: Wetlands restoration drive turns flood zones into eco parks In Rwanda, Restore Local has partnered and supported 25 locally led projects, planted over 4.3 million trees, and mobilized $4.7 million ( approx. Rwf 6.8 billion) in investment. Across Lake Kivu and the Rusizi River Basin, 45 projects are restoring thousands of hectares, supporting farmers, and strengthening biodiversity. Wanjira Mathai, Managing Director for Africa and Global Partnerships at WRI, emphasised the importance of partnership, saying it is the only way restoration projects can succeed. “When you want to go fast, you go alone. But to go far, we must go together.” One of those partners is Serge Shema, a conservationist and leader at Wildlife Conservation Initiative (WCI), a project funded through Restore Local. He works in Nyabihu District along wetlands near the Mukungwa River areas, historically prone to erosion, flooding, and loss of life. “We’re restoring riverbanks along Mukungwa, Giciye, and Nyamutera,” Shema said. “With WRI’s support, our goal was to plant 7,000 trees and restore about 104 hectares of land.” The planting phase, he explained, is only the beginning. ALSO READ: Five things to know about Rwanda’s $12bn climate action plan WRI’s Director for the Global Restoration Initiative, Sean DeWitt, challenged partners to think of restoration as more than planting trees and reimagine it as a way of growing the economy. “Are we being imaginative enough? We must be able to truly see that a new economic paradigm is possible. One of the most risky things we could do is to continue with business as usual.” This new paradigm is what DeWitt calls a “restoration economy” where ecology and economy grow together. Rwanda is showing the world that this is possible. “Rwanda is where things get done, where people do what they say. We want to build off Rwanda's momentum to build a new restoration economy,” he said. Restore Local plans to scale further over the next three years, expanding its reach and deepening its impact. The stakes are larger than Rwanda alone. A report by the FAO indicates that more than 60 percent of Africa’s land is managed by communities and smallholder farmers, placing them at the front lines of climate change. “Landscape Restoration not only delivers benefits, but it is also the nourishment for the social fabric of our communities. Restoration is a way of life that goes across generations. That’s the power of restoration- healing the land and healing ourselves. It’s unstoppable,” said Mathai She concluded that the time to act is now. Every hectare restored is a hedge against climate shocks, a boost to rural incomes, and a step toward a thriving Africa. Let’s scale what works. Let’s build a restoration economy that heals our land and our lives.
