A participatory evaluation of a large-scale landscape restoration project in steep-slope areas of Central Africa

Landscape restoration projects are among the most extensive conservation actions at the global level that have been promoted in the last three decades. Such projects, however, cannot exclusively be based on the restoration of natural and semi-natural ecosystems but should be based on a cultural landscape approach balancing environmental and socio-economic needs. One of the largest restoration projects realized in the last five years was the World Bank’s Burundi Landscape Restoration and Resilience Project (PRRPB). PRRPB utilized an integrated approach to restore the social-ecological systems in the target steep-slope areas of intervention, adopting a mix of landscape restoration solutions (slow-forming terraces, reforestation, etc.) and socio-economic measures. With a large-sample questionnaire, realized on the field with the local population, the following work aimed at assessing the impact at the local level of one of the largest landscape restoration projects carried out in a developing country. The most perceived vulnerabilities in the study areas were “Soil erosion and degradation” followed by "Reduction of agricultural production and/or food security”. Most of the interviewed perceived that the project was successful in combating soil erosion, and around 60% perceived an improvement in socioeconomic conditions. These and other insights will be informative for similar projects in the region.