What we do

Protect ecosystems

Protecting fields, forests, grazing lands and water resources secures a more sustainable future for the people who rely on them locally and for the planet we all share.

The problem

Soil erosion, deforestation and destruction of grazing lands are damaging ecosystems across eastern Africa.

Widespread land degradation and disruptions to water flow are driving wildlife populations into decline and threatening the livelihoods of rural communities.

degraded grassland at Abijatta Shalla Lakes National Park when Mansa cooperative gained management rights

Up to 65%

of once productive land in Africa is degraded.

3.9 million

Africa had the largest annual rate of net forest loss in 2010–2020, at 3.9 million hectares per year.

underweight cattle in dry lands Ethiopia

Climate change is making the situation worse, as increased temperatures, reduced rainfall and extreme weather events contribute to land degradation and cause crop failures and livestock losses.

Rural communities lack access to the expertise, materials, finance and markets they need to adapt.

Close up of two handfuls of very dry, poor quality soil Photo credit: Tara Carey

Climate change is likely to become the dominant cause of biodiversity loss in the coming decades.

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The opportunity

Finding ways to make conservation activities profitable helps rural people protect and restore land, forests and water systems while improving their livelihoods at the same time.

Implementing practices that protect ecosystems can enhance soil health and water conservation and reduce dependency on chemical inputs, leading to more sustainable and productive agriculture.

waterfall in Ethiopia

Mountain ecosystems are the source of 60 to 80 per cent of the world’s freshwater.

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Soil is the second largest carbon sink after the oceans, and is recognised by the UN as a key tool for mitigating climate change.

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Planting trees that bear high-value crops like fruit and coffee can increase incomes and also reduce soil erosion by as much as 100 times on steep slopes.

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The outcome

Restoring ecosystems in partnership with local communities breaks the cycle of destruction. This approach creates new income-generating opportunities for local communities, such as through ecotourism or sustainable harvesting of non-timber forest products.

Sustainable livelihood opportunities nurture ecosystems. Farms become more productive, water supplies more stable, forests more biodiverse, grazing lands more fertile and wildlife more abundant.

That increases resilience to climate change, not just for people living locally, but for the planet we all share.

Mansa coop members walking across grassland restored under their management Photo: Medhanit Gebremichael

How we protect ecosystems

Farm Africa works in partnership with local people to protect ecosystems by:

  • Helping communities develop landscape-scale management plans, so that improvements in one area don’t have negative impacts elsewhere.
  • Establishing community-led cooperatives to manage local forests and rangelands, with bylaws to back them up.
  • Helping people who protect local ecosystems, such as by planting trees on their farms, tap into schemes like carbon credits, so they can earn income from their efforts.
  • Developing enterprises for natural products like forest coffee, spices and honey to give an economic incentive to protect nature.
  • Providing training on climate-smart agriculture so farmers can earn more while increasing their resilience to erosion, drought and flooding.
  • Supporting farmers to boost productivity of their crops and herds of livestock, rather than clearing forests for agricultural expansion and grazing.
  • Promoting beekeeping to encourage the planting and protection of trees and help reverse the decline in the number of bees, which play a crucial role in pollination and maintaining biodiversity.
  • Supporting people to explore sustainable alternatives to forest-sourced fuelwood and timber.

''Farm Africa have also taught me how to incorporate climate-smart soil and water conservation techniques into my farming practice, which I have been able to teach others too. Whatever the season, I always have food on my farm, which makes me different from other farmers around here.''

Justus Njeru

smallholder farmer, Embu, Kenya

“We have made sure that the community is now benefitting from the park and the results achieved are tremendous. The lake, which was almost dry, has now recovered; fishes that had disappeared for 30 years are now back. To our surprise, bird species have returned. These birds had been gone for many years.”

Ato Aschalew Tsegaye

Chief Warden of Abijatta-Shalla Lakes National Park, Ethiopia

“Beekeeping is great because it conserves the environment and it increases my income. Before I was a beekeeper we struggled to pay school costs and my children used to miss school, but now that is behind me, I have forgotten what that feels like.”

Lucia Chami

beekeeper, Babati District of Tanzania

The latest on protecting ecosystems

Related resources

Reviving nature’s symphony: the triumph of participatory rangeland management in transforming a degraded landscape

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A greener future on a grand scale: a summary of the Bale Eco-region Phase II project

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Nature-based Solutions factsheet

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Eco-tourism opportunity in Ilu Ababor Ethiopia

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Landscape management in the Central Rift Valley

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Farm Africa response to the Core Carbon Principles proposed by the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM)

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