Grant call 1: inspiring locally led restoration

Advancing recognition and implementation of Indigenous Peoples’ rights to improve land and resource governance and reverse environmental degradation in Congo and DRC

In aiming to strengthen legal frameworks in the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and empower Indigenous Peoples to protect and manage their forest landscapes, this project assesses legal gaps and supports Indigenous Peoples to document customary land use, strengthen community governance and advocate for reforms in land, resource, climate and biodiversity policy.

Female youth leadership in climate change mitigation among Indigenous Peoples in West Kalimantan, Indonesia

This project supports Indigenous young women in West Kalimantan to become leaders in environmental stewardship. Through leadership training, community-based environmental projects and an emphasis on traditional knowledge, they are enhancing gender equality and climate and ecological resilience in three regions where young women are often underrepresented.

Community-based ecological restoration of degraded grasslands, dry and wet forests in partnership with Indigenous People of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, Western Ghats: a global biodiversity hotspot in India

Indigenous Peoples are gaining more control over their ecosystems, helping to restore ecological and cultural services in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, Western Ghats. This community-based ecological restoration project provides communities with support and scientific tools for mapping and removing invasive species, and planting native ones.

NATURE FUNDI: Nature and Agriculture Transformation by Unlocking Resources to Ensure Funding for Unbanked and Deepening Inclusion

To address environmental degradation in Tanzania, this initiative is implementing a locally-led credit-based mechanism which creates an incentive for smallholder farmers to develop agrobiodiversity. Local stakeholders lead the way in action research that is designing and testing this credit system for sustainable resource use with agricultural productivity.

Climate impacted dwellers-led agroecological stewardship for restoring wetlands (Re-WET)

Agroecological practices and Indigenous knowledge are being brought to the fore in a wetland stewardship programme that addresses biodiversity loss in the Gulshan-Baridhara Lake urban area in Bangladesh. The project aims to help achieve this locally-led stewardship through participatory wetland assessments, co-creation of restoration and management tools, and the development of green entrepreneurship.

Understanding the dynamics of wildlife populations in hyper-arid north-west Namibia for improved post-drought recovery whilst maximising livelihood benefits

Extended periods of drought in northwest Namibia have caused substantial declines in wildlife and livestock, threatening local livelihoods. This project focuses on local knowledge and spatial data to help understand factors affecting wildlife populations. The results will inform strategies aimed at helping wildlife and livelihoods recover after droughts, which can be supported by the Legacy Landscape Fund and others.

Strengthening systems: analysing policy implementation and building local capacity to reverse environmental degradation in Rwanda’s Southern province

Community-led research in the Huye and Gisagara districts of Rwanda is evaluating the effectiveness of country-wide climate strategies and policies. The findings from this work are being used by smallholder communities in their development of agroforestry and natural regeneration and in their approaches to policy engagement for locally-led action to reverse environmental degradation.t

Promoting ecologically sound and socially just forest landscape restoration through co-production of knowledge and local capacity building

In some places in the Nepalese Himalayas, forest degradation and biodiversity loss persist because of restoration policies and carbon management practices that prioritise monocrops. This project combines ecological data and traditional knowledge to help co-develop ecologically sound and inclusive strategies for restoration while strengthening the capacities and decision-making power of local people working on restoration.

LONG FALLOWS: Lengthening Of swidden Natural-forest re-Growth cycles through Farmer Action, Learning and Leadership Opportunities for Well-being and Social-inclusion

The decline of traditional agricultural practices has contributed to the degradation of Tanzania's coastal forests. This project combines farmer-led research and institutional and local government capacity building to research and implement sustainable land management options that support forest ecosystem restoration.

Local-level land degradation assessment towards sustainable land management for improved livelihood in the Ethiopian Rift Valley (REDAA-SMILE)

Community-based action plans and sustainable land management interventions are co-developed to address land degradation and improve livelihoods in the Ethiopian Rift Valley. This includes land degradation assessments, locally-led participatory approaches, gender-sensitive and low-cost site-specific business models, and local capacity strengthening.

Change beyond supply chains, driving positive landscape transformation through inclusive business models

This project addresses unsustainable agriculture practices that lead to environmental degradation and biodiversity loss in Myanmar and Viet Nam. Through a research-to-action approach, stakeholders are exploring the drivers of degradation, engaging in transparent policy dialogues, and developing inclusive diversified crop enterprises and restoration practices in forest-farm landscapes.

Sustain Indigenous knowledge on customary land and natural resource use and management to regenerate local environment

Indigenous Peoples' organisations are supporting communities to strengthen their traditional knowledge and natural resource management and achieve inclusive local governance. Action research is generating evidence that can influence policymakers about the value of Indigenous knowledge in developing alternative approaches to environmental management, local livelihoods and climate action.

Community-led research incentivises actions to enhance climate resilience in Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady Delta

Responding to mangrove deforestation in Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Delta, this project focuses on community-led research to explore and implement ways to protect and govern mangroves better, leading to improved climate resilience and increased economic opportunities.

Supporting forest restoration in Quang Ninh district, Viet Nam

Forest owners and nearby communities in Viet Nam’s natural forest environments, are developing innovative and evidence-based sustainable forest management methods. This project focuses on support for community researchers in their use of bioacoustics and local leadership for enhancing livelihoods while conserving and restoring natural forests.

Engaging Indigenous Peoples and local communities in ensuring environmental and social safeguards for the Aklan River Watershed Forest Reserve

In the Aklan River Watershed Forest Reserve in the Philippines, conflicting development plans and unsustainable practices threaten ecological integrity. In this project, local citizen science will address these threats by establishing safeguards for watershed conservation, inclusive governance of protected areas, and community-led nature-based solutions.

CLEAR: Community-Led Environmental and Agricultural Restoration - strengthening locally-led restoration capacity among farmer and pastoralist communities in the Southern Highlands and Northern (semi-) Arid areas of Tanzania

Tanzania's Southern Highlands and Northern Arid regions are facing threats from unsustainable use of the land. This initiative is supporting local farmer and pastoralist organisations to lead research, employ restorative practices, and overcome implementation barriers to environmental sustainability and increased productivity.

Restoring degraded land and building climate resilience in the Northern mountains of Viet Nam through co-created sustainable livelihood-enhancing agroforestry and improved value chains

Smallholder farmers in the Bac Ha district of northern Vietnam are reversing the degradation of their land and improving their livelihoods. This project is supporting agroforestry practices to improve the soil and control erosion and developing new income sources for farmers, thereby reducing pressures on natural resources and promoting climate change resilience.

Scaling up forest landscape restoration in Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh

This project is increasing tree cover and biodiversity in the degraded forest landscapes of the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. The aim is to restore forests, make local communities' livelihoods climate-resilient, reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and slash-and-burn agriculture and increase carbon sequestration.

Community-led adaptation of 'Farming with Alternative Pollinators’ as an approach for ecosystem restoration, improved household nutrition outcomes and climate resilience

Communities in Zimbabwe are exploring the benefits of an innovative approach called "Farming with Alternative Pollinators". The project supports smallholder farmers to bring back greater diversity and increased population of pollinators in their farms with proven benefits for crop productivity and resilience while promoting ecosystem restoration.

Restoring degraded environments for improved livelihoods in refugee settlements and host communities in Uganda

Rising refugee numbers in Uganda has contributed to land and vegetation degradation, loss of livelihoods and health challenges, which exacerbate climate change impacts. In this project, refugee and host communities adopt a research-to-action approach to design, pilot and promote solutions for biodiversity conservation, enhanced food security, inclusivity, and improved livelihoods.

The Southern Kenya-Northern Tanzania transboundary landscape is experiencing rapid environmental degradation from unsustainable food production, overgrazing and climate change. This project supports evidence-based, inclusive communications that promote sustainable land management practices, environmental restoration and climate change resilience.

The Southern Kenya-Northern Tanzania transboundary landscape is experiencing rapid environmental degradation from unsustainable food production, overgrazing and climate change. This project supports evidence-based, inclusive communications that promote sustainable land management practices, environmental restoration and climate change resilience.

Rapid environmental degradation threatens globally significant biodiversity 

The Southern Kenya-Northern Tanzania transboundary landscape is experiencing rapid environmental degradation. This landscape is globally significant for biodiversity and includes crucial wildlife movement corridors that connect the Mara, Amboseli (Kenya) and Kilimanjaro ecosystems (Tanzania) and provide important habitats for wildlife, including elephants, African wild dogs, lions, leopards and more.

The traditional semi-nomadic, communal land use patterns of Maasai pastoralists are increasingly under pressure due to changing land tenure systems, unsustainable food production practices, overgrazing, climate change, and weak local governance are leading to conflict over resources, ecosystem degradation, biodiversity loss and food insecurity. 

Local communities could play an essential role in reversing degradation, but poor access to information and marginalisation reduce their ability to influence land governance decisions and take action.  

Local radio stations could play a key role, but they need capacity. Journalists lacked sufficient knowledge, skills, and resources to engage with communities and local leaders about these issues.

Evidence-based communications to promote sustainable land management

This project is supporting evidence-based, inclusive communications and multistakeholder platforms that promote sustainable land management practices, resulting in more sustainable food-systems, restoration of habitats and increased climate change resilience across the Mara-Amboseli-Kilimanjaro landscape.

The project will support 100 media practitioners in learning about the effectiveness of different radio formats for behaviour change and action around food systems, environmental degradation and climate change adaptation and for wider application.

Four community radio stations will produce weekly content using different radio formats informed by research, offering diverse audiences content about issues that affect them; to spark discussion, challenge norms, and share practical, expert advice for solutions on sustainable food systems, environmental health and adaptation to a changing climate. The aim is to encourage listener groups to adopt new behaviours that support more sustainable and climate-resilient land management practices.

The inclusion of marginalised voices (women, young people and people with disabilities) in the program will support their greater participation in practical, replicable local solutions.

The radio stations are committed to producing content after the project ends.

Connect

WWF Tanzania