South Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is one the most densely populated and poorest provinces in the country, with some 80% of the population living below the poverty line. Population pressures, together with poor land management practices including overgrazing and unsustainable timber and fuelwood harvesting, have resulted in significant forest and landscape degradation. 

Addressing this degradation is a priority for South Kivu, the project is supporting government and community partners in this effort in several ways including the development of a provincial-level strategy for forest landscape restoration (FLR) in the chiefdoms of Kabaré and Ngweshe.

Using the Restoration Opportunities Assessment Methodology (ROAM) approach– a flexible and cost-efficient framework developed by IUCN and the World Resources Institute (WRI) for stakeholders to quickly identify and assess FLR opportunities and priorities – the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and WRI have been supporting government partners in developing the foundation for a provincial FLR strategy for the South Kivu Province.