Copperbelt,
Zambia
Engaging smallholder farmers in reversing deforestation
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under restoration

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trees growing

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species regenerating

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families benefiting

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people trained

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In Zambia’s Copperbelt, WeForest works with hundreds of small-scale farmers, providing them with training and tools to diversify their sources of income while they restore miombo woodlots on their farmlands.

As a result, they receive higher incomes, diversify their economic activities and learn new skills. The project also links them to local companies to ensure their honey gets sold. This way, the project becomes more sustainable, which makes the communities less dependent on WeForest’s contribution.

Why and how we’re working here

The typical Miombo forest has, in the Copperbelt province more than anywhere else in Zambia, suffered from mining and charcoal production.
WeForest trains farmers in restoring their small farms (1 or 2 ha on average) with indigenous and fruit trees.
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Location

Luanshya, Mpongwe and Ndola districts, Copperbelt province

Restoration approaches

Conservation, Assisted Natural Regeneration, Agroforestry 

restoration partners

WeForest Zambia, LFCA, DFCA, Rainlands Timber, BeeSweet

Species

Include Julbernardia paniculata, Pterocarpus angolensis

The project’s impact on people

Farmers with a minimum of one lima (0.25 hectares) of woodlot are recruited and trained in Assisted Natural Regeneration (ANR), which involves protecting and nurturing wild tree seedlings. This process is carried out all year round and serves to promote the natural succession of the forest.

Explore the interactive map

Who’s funding the Copperbelt project?

Updates from the Miombo Belt Regeneration programme

How we measure impact: Monitoring and Evaluation

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“Conservationists assist a forest reserve in Zambia to regrow itself“

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Thanks to you, amazing things happened this year!

Over 9600 hectares were restored during 2022 - that's almost 13.5 million trees....

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Elephants never forget

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The threat of frequent fires

Fire is a significant threat to biodiversity and ecosystem services up on the plateau. ...

How the miombo forest is degraded in Mafinga

Thinking that soils are more fertile up the mountain, farmers relocate to the middle of the Forest Reserve, easily 4...

Progress reports

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