How world’s youngest continent is restoring its degraded landscapes

The Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) has released a new report that captures the experiences, challenges and solutions shared by young landscape practitioners and experts striving to restore African ecosystems.

Titled “Rooted in restoration: Youth-led transformative change for regreening Africa,” the report was launched at the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) COP16 that held from December 2 to 13, 2024, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

African landscapes are rapidly degrading, driven by expanding agriculture, market pressure, deforestation and the climate crisis. These landscapes must be urgently restored to safeguard the continent’s well-being, resilience and economy.

The report highlights how a sustainable greener future requires restoration frameworks designed and led by Africans, integrating the knowledge of local communities, including youth, Indigenous Peoples and other minorities. Takeaways stem from a consultation series led by the GLF Youth Team and the Youth in Landscapes Initiative (YIL) in collaboration with Regreening Africa.

According to the promoters, these efforts should aim to achieve long-lasting land restoration – not attention-grabbing numbers that undermine progress in the long run.

“Africa is the youngest continent. Through UNCCD Youth Caucus consultations, it became clear that young people prioritise bottom-up approaches. But how can they achieve meaningful change without access to funding? Youth are already achieving incredible progress in ecosystem restoration; we must provide the opportunities they need to continue,” said Nancy Barisoa, co-author of the report and part of the GLF Youth Team.

“It is very difficult to scale restoration and increase impact when foreign solutions or interventions are not in sync with local knowledge and values of the landscapes. Community and youth engagement should be seen as a resource, because it can be a risk if it is not well embedded in restoration approaches,” said Amos Amanubo, GLF Africa Regional Coordinator, at the launch of the report.

Key report takeaways: Opportunities for transformative change 

1. Funders, policymakers and organisations must actively collaborate with youth leaders and local communities to co-create flexible financing models and accessible resources that enable independent, community-led restoration efforts to support livelihoods and landscapes. 
2. Policymakers must commit to a paradigm shift for meaningful representation and participation of youth and other systematically excluded groups in decision and policymaking, ensuring that their needs, aspirations and expertise guide the design and implementation of restoration strategies.  
3. Governments must create policy mechanisms and financial incentives to link ecosystem restoration with livelihood opportunities for youth, especially for young women and those in rural and degraded landscapes and biodiversity hotspots. 
4. Environmental organisations and institutions must allocate resources to provide training for youth and restoration practitioners across Africa to implement or contribute to restoration projects. 
5. International environmental organisations and actors must use clear, culturally appropriate methods, language and platforms, to co-create, strengthen and communicate the narrative of bottom-up and landscape-rooted ecosystem restoration for Africa. 

The report: 

• Addresses gaps in policy, finance, capacity development and communication as well as solutions to scale up restoration and achieve long-term impact. 
• Shows why youth-led ecosystem restoration in Africa is crucial and presents examples of successful initiatives and leaders. 
• Addresses how young Africans can be supported as leaders of restoration and holistic sustainable development practices rooted in their own needs and vision for Africa. Explores opportunities for transformative change that can shape restoration work as a viable option for prosperous livelihoods and a green future for Africa’s landscapes and seascapes. 
• Emphasises how, despite initiatives such as the Restoration Stewards programme spotlighting a few exceptional young Africans internationally, questions remain about the systemic change needed to better facilitate youth leadership in regreening the continent. 
• Seeks to inspire, inform and ignite action for ecosystem restoration across Africa and beyond, addressing scientists, policymakers, community leaders, educators and practitioners. 
• Will be translated into action by Regreening Africa, which will initiate in-country dialogues across the programme’s landscapes based on the report’s insights to explore how youth can continue meaningfully shaping restoration efforts.  

“Some challenges in landscape restoration in Africa are lack of technical expertise and funding often limited to short periods. Therefore, mentorship programs and flexible funding are incredibly valuable. We also need to strengthen youth leadership, and better integrate scientific and traditional knowledge,” said Claudine Kamanzi, a 2024 Dryland Restoration Steward and Founder of Forest4Life.