Enviro News Asia, Kenya — In northern Kenya, Elizabeth Inkiniwa has witnessed both the promise and the challenge of ecological restoration. Elephants roaming near her home, close to Mukogodo Forest, attract visitors to community-run ecotourism ventures. Yet the same animals can threaten crops, livestock, and lives.
“When the wildlife is far into the forest, it’s good for us,” Inkiniwa said. “But it’s a real challenge if it comes to our farms.”
Inkiniwa’s community lives in semi-arid rangelands stretching north from the foothills of Mount Kenya toward the borders of Ethiopia and Somalia. The region’s fragile ecosystems and pastoralist livelihoods are among those benefiting from The Restoration Initiative, a long-term effort to revive degraded landscapes across Africa and Asia.
In Kenya, the initiative has helped ease human–wildlife conflict while strengthening local systems for natural resource management. Communities have adopted rotational grazing, removed invasive cactus species, reseeded degraded lands, piped water to accessible points, and constructed swales to capture scarce rainfall. These measures have restored grazing areas, reduced pressure on forests, and created buffer zones between wildlife and livestock.
“The gains for people and nature are mutual,” said Jonathan Gheyssens of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). “By protecting their environment, these communities are strengthening their asset base and making their traditional way of life fit for the future.”
UNEP co-leads the initiative alongside the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
A Global Effort
Launched in 2018, The Restoration Initiative encompasses ten projects across nine countries. To date, it has brought more than 960,000 hectares under restoration or improved management and has prevented or captured greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to approximately 22 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. More than 810,000 people are expected to benefit.
The initiative has been recognized as a World Restoration Flagship under the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, a global movement to halt and reverse environmental degradation.
National projects are tailored to local contexts but share a common framework to overcome barriers to restoration. In China, new management approaches are being piloted for state-owned forest farms to reverse fragmentation and soil degradation. In Cameroon, fast-growing bamboo is restoring degraded hillsides while providing sustainable materials and fuel. In Sao Tome and Principe, a forest landscape restoration initiative spans one-third of the islands, including mangrove planting and agroforestry training. Meanwhile, in Tanzania, restoration efforts in the Great Ruaha and Lake Rukwa basins are strengthening ecological integrity and supporting sustainable livelihoods through community forests.
Building a Drought Buffer
Around Mukogodo Forest, recurring droughts have historically driven herders to bring cattle deep into forest areas in search of pasture and water, intensifying degradation. Through collaborative land-use planning with four local communities, livestock grazing inside the forest is now allowed only as a last resort, and charcoal production through tree felling is prohibited.
Community rangers patrol the area to enforce the management plan, guard against cattle rustling, and help steer dangerous wildlife away from settlements.
To diversify incomes, the project has supported honey production, tree nurseries supplying seedlings for restoration, and ecotourism ventures such as campsites and handicrafts. These activities strengthen household resilience while reinforcing the economic value of conservation.
For Inkiniwa and her neighbors, the forest represents more than an economic asset. It provides water, wood, shade, emergency fodder, and holds deep cultural significance.
“Mukogodo Forest entails everything that we need for our livelihood,” she said.
Eight years after its launch, The Restoration Initiative demonstrates that when ecosystems recover, communities can move from vulnerability toward resilience—proving that environmental restoration and human well-being are fundamentally interconnected. (*)
