Regional workshop strengthens Africa’s capacity to apply ITTO's FLR Guidelines

Participants of the ITTO regional workshop on forest landscape restoration. © ODEF

The International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), in collaboration with L'Office de Développement et d'Exploitation des Forêts (ODEF) of Togo, successfully convened a regional workshop to promote the dissemination and practical application of the ITTO Guidelines for Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) in Africa from 23–26 June 2026 in Lomé, Togo.

The four-day workshop brought together 13 forestry professionals, government officials and restoration practitioners from Benin, Central African Republic, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique and Togo to strengthen their capacity to design, implement, monitor and evaluate integrated forest landscape restoration initiatives through the development and implementation of FLR projects.

Forest landscape restoration has emerged as a strategic approach to addressing land degradation, biodiversity loss and climate change while supporting sustainable livelihoods. 

Opening the workshop, ITTO Projects Manager Olivier Adje Ahimin emphasized ITTO's long-standing leadership in promoting sustainable tropical forest management. Building on four decades of experience in developing internationally recognized guidelines and criteria for sustainable forest management, he highlighted that the landscape approach extends restoration efforts beyond individual forest management units to encompass the broader mosaic of land uses and stakeholders.

Such an approach, Mr Ahimin noted, “encompasses the entire landscape, promising to halt land degradation, increase carbon storage, help conserve biodiversity, and, importantly, create sustainable livelihoods for local communities.”

The workshop was facilitated by a panel of experts headed by Professor Kouami Kokou of the University of Lomé, an internationally recognized Togolese expert on forest degradation, and his team.

The workshop adopted a "learning by doing" methodology, combining technical presentations with practical exercises, case studies, peer learning and individualized coaching. Participants worked directly on their own restoration projects being implemented in their countries, enabling them to immediately apply the principles and tools introduced at the workshop. 

The programme was organized around seven modules covering the principles of FLR, the ITTO Guidelines, their origins, the importance of conducting field assessments prior to implementation, and the integration of the Guidelines into existing projects. Participants also learned about the operational implementation and monitoring of FLR projects. 

Aside from the technical presentations, the workshop enabled participants to take ownership of the ITTO FLR Guidelines as a practical tool for designing, evaluating, implementing and monitoring forest landscape restoration projects. The hands-on exercises, exchanges of experiences among participating countries, and the field visit to the Missaahoé Classified Forest helped transform a reference document into a practical instrument that can be directly applied by restoration practitioners. 

The final module consisted of personalized coaching and a review of each participant's project. The workshop also encouraged participants to refine their initial project proposals by incorporating the ITTO FLR Guidelines while accounting for the many considerations involved in securing funding and implementing restoration projects. 

At the conclusion of the workshop, Professor Kokou noted that “(this workshop) marked a major milestone in strengthening the capacities of African stakeholders involved in forest landscape restoration.”

Through this workshop, participants not only gained practical experience in applying the ITTO FLR Guidelines to restoration projects that reflect the ecological, social and economic realities of their respective countries, but also established a community of practitioners who can continue to exchange project proposals, experiences and lessons learned from the field. Moreover, one of the workshop's key objectives was to equip participants with the knowledge and skills to formulate and implement projects so that they can, in turn, train others in their respective countries.

As Professor Kokou pointed out, the workshop has created a community of practitioners who will continue to strengthen their project development and implementation through the network established during this workshop. This network will play a key role in maximizing the long-term impact of the workshop. “As a trainer, I leave this meeting with a deep sense of satisfaction and accomplishment”, Professor Kokou added.

This regional workshop forms part of ITTO's continued efforts to support member countries in implementing forest landscape restoration as a practical, landscape-scale solution to restore degraded forests, enhance biodiversity, strengthen climate resilience and improve rural livelihoods across the tropics.