A structured monitoring and reporting framework was established to track the progress of each restoration method and assess outcomes. This framework involved regular data collection and reporting by trained community members, who were assigned specific tasks to ensure that the project’s ecological and social goals were being met. By monitoring the effectiveness of each intervention (e.g., soil erosion control, vegetation growth), the project could adapt techniques as needed and document best practices for future expansion.
Community Training and Capacity Building: Training local residents in monitoring techniques empowered the community to take responsibility for the project’s success.
Regular Data Collection and Reporting: Consistent data collection provided real-time insights, allowing for timely adjustments to improve restoration outcomes.
Collaborative Evaluation Processes: Involving the community in evaluation built transparency, ensuring that monitoring results were shared and understood by all stakeholders.
Building Knowledge and capacities is key for understanding and ownership!
Raising Awareness on Restoration and Livelihood Opportunities for Maasai Women and Youth
JustDiggit in a training session with the community before digging the earth smiles in November 2023
WWF Kenya
The project incorporated awareness-raising campaigns to educate the Maasai community about sustainable land use practices and the importance of ecosystem restoration. Specific opportunities, such as grass seed banking, were introduced to provide economic benefits, particularly for women and youth. These campaigns aimed to shift perceptions of rangeland management from merely subsistence grazing to a multi-benefit approach, combining ecological health with economic empowerment for marginalized community members. The learning by doing by the community helped to foster restoration skills among the members, thus making the community restoration champions on their own land.
Culturally Sensitive Communication: Using respected community leaders and existing networks allowed the campaign to resonate with local values and traditions.
Direct Livelihood Benefits: Offering tangible economic incentives, such as grass seed banks, made the restoration efforts more appealing by showing immediate benefits.
Supportive Partnerships for Implementation: WWF, Big Life Foundation, Justdiggit and ALOCA’s presence in awareness-raising efforts lent credibility and technical expertise, facilitating widespread acceptance
Economic Incentives Encourage Participation: Providing livelihood opportunities (e.g., through grass seed banks) increases community engagement and shows that restoration has both ecological and economic value.
Awareness-Building is Essential for Behavioral Change: Restoration projects succeed when communities understand and value the benefits, highlighting the need for clear and consistent messaging.
Empowering Women and Youth Drives Wider Impact: Targeting marginalized groups like women and youth not only enhances inclusivity but also expands the project’s reach and sustainability through diverse engagement. 90% of the restoration work was undertaken by women and youth.
Agreement on Designating and Demarcating Restoration Sites
A village elder responds to questions from the trainer during the training that happened in ALOCA
WWF Kenya
To ensure effective restoration, project leaders worked with the community to designate and physically demarcate specific areas for intervention. This included mapping the landscape to identify priority areas for rangeland restoration, addressing concerns over land ownership, and ensuring community consensus on where boundaries would be drawn. The collaborative designation process allowed for clear agreements on how the land would be used, while physical markers helped prevent future conflicts over land use and maintain restoration areas.
Community-Driven site identification and Planning: Engaging the community in mapping exercises fostered a shared understanding of the landscape and prioritized areas needing urgent intervention.
Clear Boundary Markings: Physically marking boundaries (e.g., with fencing or natural markers) and border patrols by community scouts provided clear, visible indicators of designated restoration areas, reducing misunderstandings over land use.
Consensus-Building Processes: Reaching community-wide agreements on site designation increased local commitment to respecting and protecting these areas.
Clear Boundaries Prevent Conflict: Physically marked boundaries reduce potential disputes over land use, ensuring that restoration areas remain protected.
Local Input Enhances Relevance and Suitability: Community involvement in site selection increases relevance, as local knowledge helps identify areas that are both ecologically valuable and socially acceptable for restoration.
Ownership Through Shared Decision-Making: Engaging the community in boundary designation fosters a sense of ownership, increasing commitment to maintaining and protecting these restoration sites.
Organization of Community Meetings with Landowners (Local Barazas)
Community meetings, or barazas, served as the primary platform for engagement with landowners to discuss and align on proposed restoration interventions across 150 hectares of rangeland. These meetings were designed as participatory sessions where local Maasai landowners could voice their concerns, ask questions, and gain clarity on how the project would impact their land use. The barazas were instrumental in fostering transparent communication between project implementers and local stakeholders, allowing for an inclusive decision-making process that respected Maasai traditions and community dynamics.
Culturally Respectful Engagement Methods: Conducting barazas, a traditional community meeting format, allowed project leaders to approach discussions in a culturally appropriate manner.
Representation and Inclusion: Including landowners and community representatives ensured that diverse perspectives were heard and that decisions reflected the community's priorities.
Consistency and Follow-Up: Regular meetings provided a forum for ongoing dialogue and feedback, strengthening trust and adaptability to address any new concerns as the project progressed.
Transparency Builds Trust: Open and transparent discussions in barazas helped demystify the project’s goals, building trust and minimizing resistance among community members.
Community Ownership Leads to Better Alignment: When landowners are actively involved in the decision-making process, they are more likely to support and participate in the project, ensuring that interventions align with their land use priorities.
Iterative Feedback is Key: The regular nature of barazas provided continuous feedback, allowing the project to be responsive and adaptive to local needs and evolving challenges.
Identification of a Suitable Community-Based Organization (ALOCA)
The selection of a trusted community-based organization was vital for engaging local communities in rangeland restoration. ALOCA (Amboseli Land Owners Conservation Association) was selected due to its dual focus on protecting wildlife corridors and promoting Maasai cultural heritage. Since its inception in 2008, ALOCA has worked closely with Maasai communities in Amboseli, creating sustainable land management plans and implementing indigenous grazing practices that reflect the Maasai’s seasonal land use patterns. ALOCA’s experience and credibility with local landowners positioned it as an ideal partner to lead restoration efforts, bridge communication between stakeholders, and champion the sustainable use of rangelands. The area area is central to wildlife conservation being a wildlife corridor.
Community Trust and Established Presence: ALOCA’s is owned and management by the Maasai communities thus providing foundation of trust, making it easier to mobilize support for new restoration initiatives.
Stakeholder support: Initially supported by the African Wildlife Foundation and later backed by Big Life Foundation, ALOCA had stability and access to resources necessary for the project’s long-term success.
Governance and Structure: With a 27-member management board and regular meetings, ALOCA provided a structured approach to decision-making, enabling swift responses to challenges and maintaining accountability.
Value of Established Partnerships: Collaborating with a trusted, community-based organization speeds up the process of gaining local support and trust, which are critical for sustainable project implementation.
Community-Led Governance Enhances Project Ownership: Empowering local governance structures, such as ALOCA’s board, fosters a sense of community ownership, increasing the likelihood of project sustainability and willingness to scale up restoration efforts in the future.
Importance of Financial Backing for Longevity: Securing consistent financial support (e.g., conservancy leases covered by Big Life Foundation) is essential to maintain ongoing commitments and ensure that community-based organizations can sustain their efforts long-term.
Mise en place de conventions locales intégrant les forêts sacrées
Foret sacree
GIZ Cameroon
Comme mentionnée au-dessous (Block 1) la mise en place de conventions locales vise à formaliser la gestion durable des forêts sacrées tout en impliquant activement les communautés locales. Ces conventions suivent une approche participative et définissent des règles claires pour protéger les sites sacrés, y compris des dispositions sur les droits d’accès, les interdictions d’exploitation, et le cas échéant les sanctions en cas de non-respect. Ce processus intègre également les pratiques coutumières et activités et règlements définis par les chefferies et riverains eux-mêmes, toute en renforçant la gouvernance locale
Consultation des leaders traditionnels pour aligner les conventions avec les pratiques locales
Organisation d’ateliers communautaires pour la sensibilisation et la validation des règles
La participation des chefferies traditionnelles favorise l’adhésion communautaire.
Création de pépinières locales pour les espèces indigènes
Pépinière dans la FS de MEKOUP Commune de Batcham
GIZ Cameroon
Pépinière pour la FS Bamelo Commune de Babadjou
GIZ Cameroon
Les espèces indigènes sont rarement présentes dans les pépinières commerciales, ce qui complique le reboisement dans les FS. Pour cela on met en place des pépinières locales pour produire des plants d’espèces locales destinés à la restauration des FS. Trois pépinières ont été établies à Batcham, Fongo Tongo et Babadjou, chacune équipée de produire 2 000 plants. Ces pépinières ont permis de cultiver une dizaine des espèces indigènes.
Les volontaires locaux ont été formés pour la collecte et la mise en culture de semences et sauvageons. Les descentes régulières ont assuré le suivi des activités. A la fin 6413 plants d’une dizaine des espèces ont été produits et utilisés d’une part pour restaurer les parties dégradées des FS ou les pépinières étaient installées, et dans 3 autres FS dont les chefferies et voisins ont signalé leur intérêt.
Les mesures prises comprennent :
Choix des pépiniéristes et leur responsabilisation sous la tutelle de la chefferie
Equiper les pépinières avec matériels (sachets, pelles, machette etc.)
Former sur les méthodes de pépinière
Former sur la recherche des semences et sauvageons indigènes ainsi que leur mise en pépinière
Suivre ponctuellement les travaux des pépiniéristes en ce qui concerne la recherche des semences et sauvageons ainsi que l’entretient de la pépinière (arrosage, le désherbage)
Formation des volontaires locaux
Soutien matériel (outils, semences)
Engagement des chefferies traditionnelles et des partenaires institutionnels
Les graines de certaines espèces, comme le Garcinia cola (bitter cola), nécessitent une attention particulière en raison de leur faible taux de germination.
Seulement dans une des 3 pépinières lancées il y a suffisamment de motivation pour une perspective après projet. Mais pour cette pépinière il y en a déjà des commandes venant d’autres chefferies hors de la zone
Identification des forêts sacrées potentielles pour la restauration
Chefferie de Bangang
GIZ Cameroon
L’identification des forêts sacrées potentielles se fait avec les chefferies et populations locales. Il y en a deux types de forêts sacrées. Les forêts sacrées du quartier et des forêts sacrées des chefferies. Pour les derniers les règles sont plus strictes. Les surfaces restantes de ces forêts sacrées vont de moins d’un hectare jusqu’à plus de 40ha et leurs dégrées de dégénération sont très diverses.
Pour le choix des forêts sacrées à restaurer c’est surtout la volonté de la chefferie traditionnelle, mais aussi la volonté de la population locale qui sont crucial. L’idéale c’est de lancer une pépinière locale de concert ou après l’élaboration d’une Convention Locale (CL) de gestion de la forêts sacrées en question. En tout cas il faut les responsabilités claires qui s’occupera de la pépinière.
Dans le cadre du projet AREECA 3 forêts sacrées ont été identifié dont la chefferie s’intéressait de restaurer leur forêts sacrées. Pour la forêts sacrées de Mekoup, parallèlement à l’installation de la pépinière une CL a été développé, dont la pépinière fait partie intégrante dans son texte.
Les Conventions Locales sont des documents signés par la chefferie locale, Service Technique et la commune en question et des riverains des FS. Pour la méthodologie d’élaboration des Conventions locales voir en bas Block 3 et surtout le Panorama spécifique « Développement de conventions locales pour la Gestion des Ressources Naturelles, Cameroun »
Volonté nette et claire des chefferies traditionnelles de restaurer les forêts sacrées
Chefferie et traditionnelles encore respectée
Minimum des espèces locales encore disponible pour multiplication rn pépinière
Ne pas lancer une pépinière en cas de doute sur l’engagement volontaire ou des conflits dans la communauté.
