Reforestation in Africa: projects, results and how to get involved

Between 2010 and 2020, Africa lost an average of 3.9 million hectares of forest every year. That is more than any other region of the world, and the trend has worsened compared with the previous decade.

In response, reforestation in Africa has become a continent-wide undertaking. Vast projects such as the Great Green Wall sit alongside thousands of local initiatives led by farmers, villages and NGOs.

But what do these programmes actually achieve on the ground? Which projects are working, which are struggling, and how can an individual in France make a meaningful contribution?

Why has reforestation in Africa become so urgent?

A continent losing its forests faster than any other

Globally, deforestation is slowing. The FAO's FRA 2025 report puts it at 10.9 million hectares a year over 2015-2025, down from 17.6 million in the 1990s.

Yet Africa remains on the front line. Agricultural expansion, demand for firewood and charcoal, mining and growing cities are eating away at both the forests of the Congo Basin and the wooded savannahs of the Sahel. In 2024 alone, the Democratic Republic of the Congo lost nearly 590,000 hectares of primary forest, a record.

Desertification, drought and food insecurity

In the Sahel, losing trees is about far more than the landscape. Without plant cover, soils become poorer, rainwater runs off instead of soaking in, and the wind blows fertile earth away. Harvests fall and grazing land grows scarce.

Rural families who live from farming and herding are hit first. So reforestation here is above all a response to hunger and to the droughts striking Africa, long before it is a climate tool.

What are the major reforestation projects in Africa?

The Great Green Wall, the Sahel's flagship project

Launched by the African Union in 2007, the Great Green Wall was originally meant to be an 8,000 km belt of trees stretching from Senegal to Djibouti. The idea has since evolved: today it is a mosaic of land restoration projects across 11 countries.

Its goals for 2030 are ambitious: restore 100 million hectares of degraded land, sequester 250 million tonnes of CO2 and create 10 million rural jobs. Nearly 20 million hectares are reported to have been restored since its launch, with around 350,000 jobs created.

The AFR100 initiative and national commitments

Alongside it, the AFR100 initiative brings African countries together around a shared goal of restoring 100 million hectares of forest landscapes by 2030. Each country sets its own commitments, ranging from planting to protecting existing forests.

Worldwide, 91 countries have reported commitments to the FAO covering up to 190 million hectares of degraded forest to be restored over the coming decades.

Farmer-led regreening, the quiet success story

The most spectacular success did not come from a big programme. In Niger and Burkina Faso, farmers have regreened millions of hectares since the mid-1990s by protecting and pruning the young shoots that grow back naturally from stumps and roots.

This technique, known as farmer-managed natural regeneration, costs little, uses perfectly adapted species and relies on the families who benefit directly: wood, fodder, fruit and more fertile soils.

What has African reforestation achieved?

The picture is mixed. The Great Green Wall has raised billions of dollars, but only around 30% of the funding its goals require. At the current pace, more than 8 million hectares would need restoring every year until 2030 to keep the promise, a rate never yet reached.

Researchers also highlight a wider problem: many seedlings die in their first years for lack of water, care or protection from livestock. Planting millions of trees is not enough if nobody looks after them afterwards.

So not all approaches are equal.

How does LIFE reforest alongside local communities?

Since 2016, LIFE's Sapousse programme has built on exactly what works: planting "economic" trees entrusted to families, with local partners. More than 250,000 trees have been planted, in Senegal, Mali, Benin, Morocco and Madagascar in Africa, as well as in Lebanon, Bangladesh and Indonesia.

In Madagascar, 400 families in the Anosy, Itasy and Bongolava regions each received 500 seedlings: ravintsara, mango, tapia, cinnamon or coffee. Fruit and cash-crop trees provide a steady income, which ensures they are looked after. Our piece on trees planted to build resilience in Madagascar shows this model in detail.

The planting goes hand in hand with economic support: responsible market gardening, sustainable aquaculture, distribution of green manure and training in sustainable farming. More than 14,000 people have been supported.

"Thanks to Sapousse, our village is green and prosperous again," says Ibrahima in Senegal. In Benin, Fatimatou describes the reforestation training as a real opportunity for her community.

This approach echoes what restoration specialists say: effective reforestation, according to an ecological restoration expert, depends on the right species, in the right place, with the right people. You can read the results of this work in LIFE's activity reports.

How can you support reforestation in Africa from France?

There are several ways to help, from a one-off gesture to a long-term commitment.

Fund trees. This is the most direct way. At LIFE, one tree costs 2 euros and a bundle of 15 trees costs 30 euros, with a planting certificate.

Give regularly. A monthly donation funds plantation upkeep, tree nurseries and training, which determine whether the trees survive. LIFE's Planet sponsorship starts at 15 euros a month.

Start a fundraiser. A birthday, a wedding or a company event can become a chance to plant a small shared forest.

Keep a clear head. A tree planted in Africa does not "offset" a flight. To understand why, read our article planting a tree to offset your carbon footprint: does it work?

Can African reforestation succeed?

Yes, as long as we change how we measure it. The number of trees planted makes good headlines, but what really counts is how many are still alive ten years later, and how many families make a living from them.

The farmer-led regreening of the Sahel proves that millions of hectares can turn green again when communities are the first to benefit. That conviction has guided LIFE since Sapousse began.