Country Specific Results
In Ethiopia, WB-funded sustainable land management programs have brought 2.5 million hectares of land under sustainable management and 13 million hectares under secure land tenure through land certification. These land certificates have been used by households as collateral to mobilize and estimated $100 million in loans for land management and enterprise development.
The has contributed to better water access, less soil erosion, higher yields, diversified sources of income and improved food security ¨C resulting in more resilient livelihoods and boosting the country¡¯s human capital. A series of projects will scale these results. The Ethiopia Resilient Landscapes and Livelihoods Projects ( and ) are improving land productivity and carbon storage, and increasing access to diversified livelihoods.
These projects and programs are increasing the role the private sector and sustainable production forestry play in building resilient rural economies. The Bank¡¯s engagement in Uganda and Rwanda reflects this new agenda.
PROGREEN support is helping to expand the reach of the SLM Program to the forest and agricultural landscape of South-West Ethiopia, an under-served region that has a high potential for implementing a landscape approach while establishing and managing green corridors.
In Burkina Faso, the Decentralized Forest and Woodland Management Project (DFWMP), part of the Forest Investment Program (FIP), utilized a community-based natural resource management approach with participatory planning, decentralized funding, and an innovative Payment for Environmental Services (PES). The project achieved significant results, including a 3.78 million tCO2eq reduction in GHG emissions, improved livelihoods for over half a million people, and the creation of income-generating activities through partnerships with local SMEs. The project focused on job creation, modernized beekeeping, and dyke building, while supporting investments and reducing soil degradation. Communities were empowered by securing land tenure and promoting gender inclusion, which increased local ownership, sustainability, and a reduction in poverty from 47.5% to 44.5% in project areas between 2018 and 2021. The project scaled up activities to 96 municipalities across eight regions in the current Community Climate Action and Landscape Management project (P170482), which also supports further job creation in non-timber forest products value chains such as shea, moringa and baobab.
The Niger Community Action Project for Climate Resilience project strengthened the resilience of Niger¡¯s rural people to climate variability through integrated land management investments and direct socioeconomic support to Niger¡¯s poorest communities. The project provided technical assistance, goods, and services to nearly half a million rural producers and poor households whose livelihoods depend on natural resources. More than 400,000 rural producers introduced sustainable land management practices, and the resilience of approximately 86,000 poor households without productive means greatly improved through employment opportunities to protect and rehabilitate critical socioeconomic infrastructure as well as support fodder production and the establishment of food banks, enhancing food security. Investments successfully improved the resilience of production systems, where crop yields increased by 56%, and project achievements were bolstered via development policies that mainstreamed climate resilience into health, water, and transport sectoral strategies, and also into community development plans.
In , the World Bank has long supported the government in better managing and conserving the Cerrado forest through a set of complementary projects that comprise a landscape approach. The Cerrado is the second largest biome in South America, which was being deforested twice as quickly as the Amazon due to land clearing for agriculture and cattle ranching. The Cerrado is a driver of economic growth and important for food security, biodiversity conservation, water regulation and carbon sequestration. Investments underway are addressing drivers of deforestation by clarifying land rights, making agricultural production more sustainable, providing monitoring and information, and building capacity to detect, prevent and fight forest fires and supporting traditional communities to manage their natural areas and resources. Results to date include:
- 20,025 farmers have been trained been in low carbon emission agricultural practices.
- 93,844 hectares of agriculture lands are using low carbon emission agricultural practices
- 313,000 hectares of land are being cultivated where sustainable agricultural practices
- 2,000 people have been trained to manage forest fires, and
- 2,000 farmers have received technical assistance for low carbon agriculture practices
- 190,072 landholdings, totaling about 35.5 million hectares, have been enrolled in the National Rural Environmental cadaster system (SICAR) and as a result are adopting sustainable land management practices
- 2,506 families have registered their land.
In Mozambique, the forestry sector directly employs 17,000 people and accounts for nearly two percent of GDP. Around 267,000 hectares of forest are lost each year and the World Bank is supporting the government in mobilizing resources to sustainably manage the forest sector through an . Through technical assistance, on-the-ground investments, results-based finance, and analytical work, the portfolio is:
- Investing in the livelihoods of thousands of small- and medium-size landholders,
- Improving the sustainability of timber, charcoal and agricultural production,
- Strengthening land rights and land use planning,
- Restoring degraded lands,
- Reducing deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing carbon stocks,
- Tackling wildlife poaching, and
- Conserving biodiversity, and
- Contributing to disruptive forest technologies to improve law enforcement within and out of protected areas.
In , the World Bank has been supporting the Government with a series of projects that have increased sustainable forest management, forest-related jobs, and the net value of forest goods and services. The , for example, focuses on productivity to enable forest-dependent people and enterprises to benefit from forest landscapes. To date, the project has brought an additional 180,000 hectares of land under integrated landscape management practices and has benefited 33,800 people. The project also complements a wider forest-sector agenda, integrating a range of instruments, including technical assistance to Mexico¡¯s Forest Commission and the preparation of an FCPF Carbon Fund Emissions Reduction Program that could potentially leverage up to US$50 million in payments to the country for results linked to avoided deforestation.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, home to the second-largest swath of rainforests in the world, about 62 percent of the territory is covered by forests that critically contribute to the livelihoods of 40 million people, who are among the world¡¯s poorest. Rapid population growth has increased the demand for agricultural land, fuelwood and charcoal production, and large-scale development, resulting in significant deforestation. Since 2008, the World Bank mobilized $140 million to support reforms and pilot innovations in forest governance, land use planning, and land tenure. Under the Improved Forested Landscape Management Project alone, 17,000 hectares of agroforestry plantations were created; 20,000 hectares were enclosed for natural regeneration; 110,000 people saw an income increase of 18% and more than 6 million tCO2eq emission reductions were generated. Estimates show that scaling up these approaches could enhance rural livelihoods by 300% and increase cash generation by up to $2,200 per household per year while providing more sustainable charcoal and agricultural commodities to the megacity of Kinshasa. The Forest Dependent Community Support Project has been key in supporting the continuous engagement of the DRC civil society and Indigenous peoples in forest action.
In Senegal, the Sustainable Participatory Energy Management Project (PROGEDE by its French acronym) helped combat Senegal¡¯s rapidly growing demand for household fuels and the associated degradation of forests and the rural environment. Results include:
- increased income from forest resources in participating villages from US$18 to $70 million in 5 years;
- doubling of forest area under management: Extended community-based sustainable forest management from 400,000 ha to 997,300 ha in 5 years;
- increased sustainable wood fuels production from 180,000 to 2,500,000 m3;
- reduced deforestation by 74,127 ha and reduced net CO2 emissions in the project area by 3,220,826 t CO2e
- positive gender impact, with the emergence of female operators in charcoal production and improved stoves, more women in decision-making, increased female leadership community organizations, and improved livelihoods.
In Moldova, where the majority of poor communities depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, the is increasing the use of sustainable land management practices like forestry shelter belts, which can limit soil erosion and sequester carbon, while contributing to greater returns for farmers.
Emission Reduction Payment Agreements (ERPAs):
Chile, Costa Rica, C?te d¡¯Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominican Republic, Fiji, Ghana, Guatemala Indonesia, Lao PDR, Madagascar, Mozambique, Nepal, Republic of Congo and Vietnam ¡ª all countries with globally significant forest resources ¡ª have signed landmark agreements with the World Bank that reward community efforts to reduce carbon emissions by tackling deforestation and forest degradation. Together, these 15 agreements, known as Emission Reductions Payment Agreements, unlock results-based payments of more than $720 million for nearly 145 million tons of carbon emissions reduced through 2025 - equivalent to taking nearly 32 million cars off the road for a year. The payments will come from the , whose Secretariat is hosted by the World Bank.
Last Updated: Apr 18,2025
