Community-led restoration across the Global South applying analog forestry

The International Analog Forestry Network is rooted in the belief that healthy ecosystems and thriving communities depend on one another. An ecological restoration approach that mimics the structure and functions of natural forests while supporting sustainable livelihoods. By regenerating forests that provide food, medicine, clean water, biodiversity habitat, and income opportunities, we help communities strengthen both environmental and social resilience.

The environmental challenges includes biodiversity loss, soil degradation, declining water quality, and increasing climate vulnerability. Driven by deforestation, monoculture production systems, and unsustainable land-use practices that weaken ecosystems and threaten the livelihoods of communities that depend directly on natural resources. Our solution is community-led and grounded in local knowledge. We work with communities to assess ecological conditions, identify priorities, and co-design restoration strategies tailored to their landscapes. Through training, participatory planning, and long-term support, communities establish diverse forest gardens and agroforestry systems that restore ecological functions while generating food and income. This approach strengthens local stewardship, protects watersheds, improves soil fertility, enhances biodiversity, and creates climate-resilient production systems without harmful external inputs.

In line with our work priorities, IAFN will put the prize money into its continuing efforts at building and strengthening a movement of AF landscape restoration practitioners, by addressing one of its core areas of work: building capacities and engaging with local stakeholders. We will allocate the prize funds to our training centers, which could be used for a variety of purposes, such as nursery development, conduct AF training sessions/programs, community outreach or AF implementation design - monitoring of AF plots. We will support our training centers are located in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay, Cameroon and Sri Lanka.