Learning from agrarian dynamics to tailor community-led forest restoration in the Tshopo province, Democratic Republic of the Congo

The strategies and efficacy of forest restoration initiatives in Central Africa are poorly documented. To this end, we examined the usefulness of a holistic methodology (combining agricultural diagnosis with forestry measurement) to explain the results of a forest restoration project in Tshopo Province in the DRC. To do this, an initial analysis based on the agrarian diagnostic structure was carried out and linked to project monitoring data ‐ interviews with all beneficiaries who had planted trees (n=89) and measurements in their fields (planting sites, species planted and mortality rates 12 months after planting). The study shows that the uptake and results of the forest restoration initiative can be largely explained by the diversity of farming systems. Finally, our diagnostic method offers interesting rationales for forest restoration interventions in Central Africa, in order to adapt project objectives to the local context and diversity of farming systems, and ultimately to improve project performance.