In February 2025, a meeting in Kigali was organized by our research group to share diverse insights on social-ecological restoration among a range of different organizations representing both research and practice. The meeting resulted in seven concrete recommendations for improved restoration practice in Rwanda. These recommendations have been shared with policymakers in the position paper attached to this blog post.

Briefly, the seven recommendations are:

Recommendation 1: Efforts to use native species in restoration must be greatly increased

Recommendation 2: Homegardens must be included in restoration strategies because they are pivotal for both nutrition and biodiversity

Recommendation 3: Science can help to guide the development of a sustainable corridor from Nyungwe NP to Gishwati-Mukura NP and Volcanoes NP

Recommendation 4: Short-term and long-term considerations are needed to enhance livelihoods and nutrition

Recommendation 5: Genuine community involvement is important at all stages of restoration, from planning to monitoring

Recommendation 6: The best available science must be used to evaluate restoration policy and practice

Recommendation 7: A shift in mindsets is required to move away from simple metrics of ‘trees planted’ to a culture of collectively growing ecosystems that will benefit people and biodiversity

Some of these recommendations will not come as a surprise to those who have been engaged in restoration science and practice for many years. However, even these ‘obvious’ aspects of good restoration practice are not always adhered to when various real-world constraints shape and limit what happens on the ground. In other words: even (and especially!) the obvious recommendations deserve attention because despite them being widely known, they still are not always implemented on the ground.

Other recommendations are far less obvious: for example, the potential importance of homegardens for biodiversity conservation and restoration remains relatively little appreciated by many people who are active in restoration.

We share our position paper and its seven recommendations in a spirit of fostering constructive dialogue on how to further improve restoration outcomes for both people and biodiversity in Rwanda. A big thank you to all the organizations who were involved in putting this together!

Read the full article

Following the Rwanda Restore project kick-off in Kigali in January 2024, and a restoration stakeholder conference held in Kigali from February 19 to 21, 2025, the “living lab for social-ecological restoration in western Rwanda” sub-project of the “A Social-Ecological Systems Approach to Inform Ecosystem Restoration in Rural Africa” DFG Research Unit, Kicked-off the Living Lab in Rutsiro District, western Rwanda on February 25th, 2025. 42 participants attended the workshops from academia (Center of Excellence in Biodiversity and Natural Resource Management of the University of Rwanda and the Rwanda Polytechnic-Kitabi College), various governmental (Rwanda Water Resources Board, Rwanda Forestry Authority, Rwanda Agriculture Board and Rutsiro District), and non-governmental institutions (IMBARAGA Farmer Association, Forest of Hope Association, ARECO Rwandanziza, World Resource Institute -Rwanda, World Vision, Rwanda Organic Agriculture Movement, Albertine Rift Conservation Society, One Acre Fund, SNV-Rwanda, Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry-Rwanda) and local communities (Rutsiro Tea Growers Cooperative, farmer cooperatives, community farmer groups, traditional healers, beekeepers, model farmers in horticulture). The workshops aimed to establish a Living Lab Roundtable and define two governance models for the Living Lab, along with its code of conduct and communication strategy. Also, the workshop discusses opportunities and challenges for the current, mid-term and long-term future of restoration in Rutsiro, using a Three Horizons Approach, for restoration strategic planning in Rutsiro.

Organized into small group discussions, participants defined the code of conduct, communication principles and strategy and the three horizons for the restoration in the area

Governance model 1: Community-driven
Governance model 2: Actor-driven

At the end of the workshop, participants visited Living Lab sites in Gihango Sector. During the visit, the research team hiked through the hilly landscape to observe various land uses and assess the potential for restoration interventions. They were accompanied and guided by local field assistants and farmer group members, who provided valuable insights (see photo reference).

Stakeholders visits in Teba
 
 
Project team visit in Rutsiro

A community workshop was organized in two cells of the Gihango District: Teba and Shyembe. The field trip brought together representatives of farmers groups and cooperatives, carpenters, traditional healers, beekeepers, and farm owners of plots where the Living Lab sites sit.

Local community site visit in Shyembe Cell
 
 
Local community site visit in Teba Cell

Individual visits were also arranged to meet model farmers who have enhanced their nutrition by integrating food plants such as Chayote, Passion fruit, Avocado, Pineapple and Cucumber into agroforestry systems, particularly within their home gardens, for their consumption or the market. In some cases, farmers combine a variety of fruit plants and legumes within the same plot. The photos below capture the illustration very well.

NEXT STEPS!

The study selection and the social network analysis to identify haVE been completed in year 2024. The roundtable has also now been set up, the ongoing process before the end of this  year will cover the co-design of field trials, definition of impact areas, delineation and registration of demonstration sites, including the signing of sustainability agreement with farm owners within the sites where the Living Lab will operate. The Living Lab roundtable of stakeholders will also develop the indicators of success…

Author: William Apollinaire

Following the workshop and conference in Kigali from February 19 to 21, 2025, Dr. Dula Wakassa Duguma and Susanne Vögele visited three pre-selected living lab sites in one of the two designated cells in Rutsiro district. These sites were presented on February 24 by SP7 team member Dr. Apollinaire William, who leads the planning and implementation of the Living Lab sub-project. The visit aimed to deepen the research unit’s understanding of the intervention sites for the co-created Living Labs, which are set to be launched in the coming months in Rutsiro District.

During the visit, the research team hiked through the hilly landscape to observe various land uses and assess the potential for restoration interventions. They were accompanied and guided by local field assistants and farmer group members, who provided valuable insights (see photo reference).

Dula Wakassa Duguma, Esperance Yamfashije (field assistant), William Apollinaire, Jean Baptiste Tegamaso (head of farmers’ group) and Susanne Vögele in Teba cell, Rutsiro district.

The visited sites are approximately a one-and-a-half-hour walk from the starting point, which is located near the main road. These sites are surrounded by various restoration activities, as well as cropland and pastureland, emphasizing the potential for integrating restoration efforts into agricultural landscapes. The area explored in the Teba cell includes three distinct sites, beginning with a restored reference site by the Albertine Rift Conservation Society (ARCOS), which features radical terracing, agroforestry efforts, and woodlot patches (see picture below).

ARCOS reference restoration site (left picture) and newly established tree nursery (right picture ) in Tuba cell, Rutsiro district.

At the hilltop of the adjoining reference site, there is another location designated for modification and improvement of restoration activities. A third site is situated on the opposite hillside, where restoration efforts will begin from scratch. These three sites represent different stages of restoration, providing a solid foundation for comparison and analysis of their outcomes in the coming years.

In the neighboring Shyembe cell, two additional sites have been identified—one for modification and another for restoration from the ground up.

Site to be modified (left) and site to be started from scratch (right) in Tuba cell, Rutsiro district

The Living Lab concept and implementation plan were presented during stakeholder workshops and conferences. The latest workshop, conducted by William Apollinaire on February 25 and 26, brought together stakeholders from government institutions, NGOs, research and educational organizations, and local farmer communities. The goal was to foster transdisciplinary collaboration from the outset, ensuring that all parties were involved in identifying the socioeconomic and ecological preferences and expectations surrounding restoration in a collective roundtable format.

During this roundtable, two groups were formed, each representing a different governance model. These groups consist of community members (mostly farmers) and representatives from government and other institutions and organizations.

In the coming months and years, regular visits by stakeholders and the research unit will be conducted to monitor progress around the Living Labs and to study the effectiveness of integrating science and practice in an experimental, real-world setting.

Header Picture : Dula Wakassa Duguma, Susanne Vögele and William Apollinaire.

Author: Susanne Vögele

Our DFG research unit on social-ecological restoration, in collaboration with the University of Rwanda and its Center of Excellence in Biodiversity and Natural Resource Management (CoEB), held a mini-conference on February 21, 2025, in Kigali, Rwanda. The yearly event brought together stakeholders actively engaged in ecosystem restoration science and practice, providing a platform to share insights, discuss research findings, and explore key concepts in social-ecological restoration for the second time after the kick-off event one year ago. The discussions aimed to review the past, present, and future of restoration science and practice, with a particular emphasis on how ecosystem restoration in Western Rwanda can be shaped to enhance both human well-being and ecological integrity in the long term.

Over the past year, the research team has undertaken a range of activities, including stakeholder workshops, household interviews to collect data on livelihoods and food security, and woody species assessments. Additionally, the team has conducted numerous research initiatives in close collaboration with Rwandan colleagues. While many of the datasets are still undergoing processing and analysis, preliminary scientific outcomes were shared during the conference to provide participants with an overview of the team’s ongoing work.

During the conference, Verene Nyiramvuyekure, Ping Sun, Susanne Vögele and William Apollinaire presented their current subprojects’ research efforts in Western Rwanda, while stakeholders from various institutions showcased their restoration initiatives across Rwanda. Among the external speakers were representatives of CoEB, ICRAF, One Acre Fund and RWCA (Rwanda Wildlife Conservation Association). The discussions covered three main themes: (1) Biodiversity and landscape connectivity for ecosystem restoration, (2) Food security, nutrition, and livelihoods in restoration landscapes, and (3) Community participation in ecosystem restoration.

Each set of presentations was followed by a panel discussion, where participants engaged in critical reflections and provided suggestions and recommendations. One of the key outcomes of the conference was the decision to draft a position paper summarizing the key points discussed and recommendations made. This document will synthesize the collective insights of the stakeholders who were present, and will be distributed to government ministries and other key actors across Rwanda.

Author: Verene Nyiramvuyekure

A year ago a consortium of German universities, in collaboration with the University of Rwanda and its Center of Exellence in Biodiversity and Natural Resource Management, started ecosystem restoration research in Western Rwanda. Over the past year the team has been actively engaged in stakeholder workshops, household interviews, tree population assessments and a range of other research activities aimed at understanding and supporting restoration efforts. 

To further enhance the engagement on ecosystem restoration and enhance capacity building for students and researchers, the consortium organized a two- day academic event at the University of Rwanda in Kigali. The event featured a one- day lecture series on sustainability science ( February 19, 2025), followed by a hands-on workshop on social-ecological research methods (February 20, 2025) 

Day 1: Advancing Ecosystem Restoration through Sustainability Science

The first day lecture  series kicked off with a seeing on social-ecological systems thinking, delivered by Prof. Jörn Fischer from Leuphana University Lüneburg. This was followed by a research presentation on food security and livelihoods in restoration landscapes, presented by Ms. Susanne Vögele (PhD student) on behalf of Prof. Meike Wollny from the University of Göttingen. The day concluded with Dr. William Apollinaire from the Leibniz Center of Agriculture Landscapes, who shared insights on stakeholder engagement through a “Living Lab” approach to ecosystem restoration in western Rwanda 

Day 2: Hands-On Learning in Social-Ecological Research

The second day featured a social-ecological research methods workshop, beginning with an introductory talk by Dr. Marina Frietsch on ecosystem restoration and the ongoing research activities of the DFG research unit. This was followed by interactive breakout sessions where students and researchers engaged with various research methods commonly applied in social-ecological systems science. These included: economic experiments Q- method (used for studying people’s perspectives), photovoice (a participatory visual research method), causal loop diagrams (for understanding systems dynamics ), different methods for assessing ecosystem multifunctionality  and techniques for writing a journal article. The event provided and opportunity for students and researchers to deepen their understanding of sustainability science while gaining practical experience with key research methodologies 

Day 1 : Prof Jörn Fischer and Dr. Venuste Nsengimana (Director of Center of Excellence in Biodiversity and Natural Resource Management) , students and researchers at the University of Rwanda, Ms Susanne Vögele and Dr. William Apollinaire 

Day 2 :  Dr. Marina Frietsch, interactive breakout sessions 

Looking Ahead

This initiative marks just the beginning of a long term commitment to ecosystem restoration in Rwanda. By fostering collaboration between international researchers and local stakeholders the project aims to generate actionable insights that contribute to both academic knowledge and real-world impact. 

Stay tuned for more updated as the research progresses! 

Author: Ping Sun