Reversing environmental degradation: lessons from African communities

In rural Africa, where livelihoods are often directly linked to the land, environmental degradation poses a serious threat to both ecosystems and human well-being. A new study co-authored by researchers from Stanford University and the French Center for Agricultural Research for International Development (CIRAD) analyzes how various African communities have tried to reverse this trend and offers valuable insight into what is working. The study, published October 30 in the journal Sustainability Science, emphasizes that long-term coalitions between local communities, governments and organizations are necessary to facilitate the transition to sustainable development.

“Every place is different and a one-size-fits-all approach to environmental policy should be avoided, but we must also learn from past experience to identify the conditions that lead to success in preventing environmental degradation,” said study co-author Eric Lambin. , the George and Setsuko Ishiyama Professor at Stanford’s Dorr School of Sustainability and a senior fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment.

Reversing degradation

For decades, many African communities have faced the dual challenge of addressing environmental degradation while simultaneously improving people’s living conditions. As the land becomes less productive due to low levels of soil fertilization, deforestation or climate change, the pressure on these communities increases. Lambin and study co-author Camille Jael from CIRAD note that in many cases this situation is inextricably linked to the history of colonialism, when authorities denied people’s rights to natural resources and conveyed ideas of overexploitation of natural resources. According to researchers, this has led to top-down restoration attempts, often with limited success.

More recently, new efforts have been made in many areas to reverse these negative trends, often with the support of governments, NGOs or international organizations. However, the results were mixed: some initiatives led to significant improvements, while others fell short of expectations.

Studying 17 cases representing various initiatives to reverse land degradation in 13 African countries, the researchers found that successful interventions tend to have several key characteristics. First of all, they often involve strong social arrangements between participants, supported by well-functioning institutions. In cases such as the Shinyanga region of Tanzania, where 90% of the population participated in reforestation, the results were impressive. The region has restored between 300,000 and 500,000 hectares, or approximately 1,100 to 1,900 square miles, of forests, improving livelihoods by providing resources such as wood for fuel.

Another important factor is the alignment of incentives with environmental goals. For example, in Burkina Faso, farmers began planting cashew trees, motivated by the opportunity to sell their products on international markets. Not only did this provide a new source of income, but it also helped combat desertification as more trees were planted. These cases highlight the importance of ensuring that environmental restoration efforts also take into account the economic and social needs of communities.

“The incentives were mainly economic in nature, but some also related to security of access to land or improved provision of ecosystem services after restoration of natural resources,” said Jahel, a researcher at CIRAD. Jahel was funded by the Stanford French-Stanford Center for Interdisciplinary Studies for a joint research project with the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment during the conduct of the study.

Recovery support

In addition to local coalitions, the study highlights the importance of external support, especially in the form of resources and technical assistance. In many successful cases, such as in Niger and Burkina Faso, NGOs and government agencies provided the necessary tools, knowledge and financial support to get projects off the ground. This external support was often vital in the early stages of the intervention, reducing the risk associated with introducing new practices in the face of resource constraints and climate variability.

However, the study also warns that external support needs to be carefully managed. In some cases, top-down approaches that did not fully engage local communities resulted in limited success or even failure. For example, in the Kafue Plains of Zambia, interventions aimed at restoring wildlife populations ultimately failed, in part because new management structures imposed by external actors were not accepted by the local community. This highlights the need for external agencies to work closely with local stakeholders and respect existing social and governance systems.

Lambin and Jahel emphasize the need to maintain momentum over the long term. Some of the interventions they studied showed initial positive results but then declined as external funding dried up or local interest waned. The researchers emphasize the importance of ensuring the long-term sustainability of these projects, ensuring that local communities can continue to manage and maintain improvements without ongoing external support. In Namibia, for example, some community-based wildlife conservation organizations, known as conservancies, are now generating sufficient profits to sustain their activities for a long time.

By providing general lessons learned from past experiences in Africa, this study can help improve the design, management and monitoring of projects aimed at reversing land degradation and implementing sustainable land management practices.

“It is possible to turn the tide on environmental degradation,” Lambin said. “The key is to create long-term responses that are locally driven (and) integrate poverty-related issues, are supported by strong governance structures and are based on coalitions of actors.”