450,000 trees planted and 1,125 hectares of degraded land restored: driven by the leadership of Indigenous women and girls, the project closes a defining chapter for the Ruzizi Plain in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The National Alliance for the Adaptation of Indigenous Women to Climate Change (ANAFAC) has completed the decisive phase of its forest landscape restoration project in the Ruzizi Plain, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Designed and implemented by ANAFAC, the project was carried out with the technical and financial support of Climate Change Africa Opportunities (CCAO) and the G20 Global Land Initiative.

A landscape under pressure

The Ruzizi Plain is facing advanced degradation of its land and vegetation cover. The phenomenon has been compounded by a combination of factors: demographic pressure, firewood cutting, overgrazing and the effects of climate change.

This gradual erosion of natural resources directly undermines the livelihoods of local communities — and first among them those of Indigenous women, whose daily activities depend closely on the availability of wood, soil fertility and land productivity.

Results at the close of the project

At the close of the project, the results achieved reflect the scale of community mobilisation:

• 450,000 trees planted across the Ruzizi Plain
• 1,125 hectares of degraded land restored

Consolidated results of the Ruzizi Plain forest landscape restoration project.

Restoration was carried out using three categories of species, selected for their ecological and economic complementarity:

• Traditional Indigenous species, adapted to local conditions and carrying cultural value for the communities.
• Soil-fertility species, which support the regeneration of soils and the return of their agricultural productivity.
• Income-generating fruit trees, which anchor restoration in a logic of lasting economic benefits for households.

The leadership of Indigenous women and girls at the centre

The project was implemented through an approach centred on the leadership of Indigenous women and girls. They were both the primary beneficiaries and the actors on the ground, leading nursery production, planting and the monitoring of restored sites.

This positioning reflects a conviction that ANAFAC has defended since its creation: Indigenous women, often the most exposed to the effects of climate change, are also best placed to lead adaptation responses in their own territories.

Lasting ecological, economic and social benefits

The project has generated benefits that extend well beyond the environmental dimension. Ecologically, the restoration of vegetation cover contributes to soil recovery and to the resilience of the landscape. Economically, fruit trees open income prospects for participating households. Socially, the approach has strengthened the place of Indigenous women and girls in the governance of the plain’s natural resources.

A partnership serving African landscapes

The technical and financial support of Climate Change Africa Opportunities (CCAO) and the G20 Global Land Initiative made it possible to bring the project to this scale. The partnership illustrates how targeted accompaniment can multiply the capacity for action of a community organisation rooted in its own territory.

The completion of this decisive phase now paves the way for consolidating the gains achieved and sustaining the restored sites of the Ruzizi Plain.