Forest landscape restoration governance and management in sub-Saharan Africa: what are the implications for the implementation of Forest Landscape Restoration programmes?

Forest and land degradation in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is driven by interacting socio-economic, biophysical, and institutional factors, including agricultural expansion, population pressure, overgrazing, and unsustainable energy use, such as charcoal production. These pressures are compounded by insecure land tenure, weak governance, limited institutional coordination, and inadequate policy implementation, undermining sustainable land management and climate resilience. Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) has emerged as a key approach to address these challenges by integrating ecological restoration with socio-economic development. This paper examines governance and management dimensions shaping FLR implementation in SSA, with the objectives of analysing the drivers of degradation, evaluating policy and institutional frameworks, assessing restoration approaches, and identifying barriers and enabling conditions for scaling FLR. The study adopts a systematic literature review guided by the FLR framework and content analysis of selected studies across SSA. The review draws on peer-reviewed articles, policy documents, and technical reports, selected based on their relevance to key themes, including drivers of degradation, SLM practices, FLR approaches, and governance frameworks. Findings show that restoration approaches such as natural regeneration, agroforestry, and afforestation have strong potential to enhance carbon sequestration, biodiversity, and rural livelihoods. However, their effectiveness is constrained by governance challenges, including unclear resource rights, limited financing, and weak technical and institutional capacity. Case studies from Ghana and Zambia illustrate how REDD+ and farm-based interventions can support FLR outcomes. The paper concludes that scaling up FLR requires secure tenure, policy coherence, stakeholder participation, and strengthened institutional coordination, aligned with regional initiatives such as AFR100 under the Bonn Challenge.