By Jean Baptiste Ndabananiye
Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) has implemented this six-year Forest Landscape Restoration Project in the Mayaga Region Project-commonly known as the Green Amayaga Project- in the Southern Province specifically in Kamonyi, Ruhango, Nyanza and Gisagara Districts. Our analysis indicates that the over-$7 200 000 project, ended in December 2025, focused on tree and forest planting, initiatives aimed at community empowerment, and the provision of 20 full kits of giant liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) storage tanks to 20 schools in the districts. The project has been funded by Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
Meanwhile, according to the Soil Atlas 2024- a 12 November 2024 story titled “Soil degradation, the silent global crisis” published by the Heinrich Böll-Stiftung’s European Union office in cooperation with TMG- think tank for sustainability, soil degradation constitutes a very big issue worldwide. “Soil degradation is a major but largely neglected global problem that threatens agricultural productivity, food security and ecosystem health. And around one-third of soils worldwide are degraded,with over 40 percent located in Africa.” Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)’s November 2025 story headlined “FAO warns of ‘silent crisis’ as land degradation threatens billions ” explains “Roughly 1.7 billion people are living in areas where crop yields are failing due to human -induced land degradation- ‘a pervasive and silent crisis’ that is undermining agricultural productivity and threatening ecosystem health worldwide.”
While land is being degraded at an alarming scale, World Wildlife Fund in its undated story entitled “Soil erosion and degradation” states “Soil is the Earth’s fragile skin that anchors all life on Earth. It is among the most precious resources to humans.” FAO echoes “Land is the core of agrifood systems, supporting over 95 percent of food production in addition to providing essential ecosystem services that sustain life on the planet.”
The story by FAO points out “Land degradation typically results from a combination of factors, including natural drivers such as soil erosion and salinization. However, human activities such as deforestation, overgrazing, and unsustainable irrigation practices are now among the leading contributors.” Besides, the threat of desertification is globally growing at a shocking rate too.
In light of this situation, Life In Humanity reflects on whether interventions like the Green Amayaga Project can help to address the rising challenges of land degradation worldwide, including through community empowerment and other approaches. To explore this question, Life In Humanity has launched a reporting project on the Green Amayaga Project, beginning with a series that focuses on actions implemented to directly address soil erosion, droughts and potential desertification.
Green Amayaga Project against land degradation
Edith Nigigena, a project beneficiary, is Munini Village Chief in Jenda Cell in Mugina Sector, Kamonyi. She says ” Before the Green Amayaga Project, here occurred erosion which degraded the land. They have dug erosion-control structures, planted grass and trees integrated with crops on the land. Today, there no longer happens erosion. The project through this work has protected the Kavunja wetland where maize, beans and vegetables are cultivated.”
Emmanuel Nsengiyumva, another project beneficiary in the same village, also affirms that the intervention has achieved immense accomplishments. “The project has produced great changes. Before, we used to experience excessive sun exposure which caused droughts. But now, we usually get rain on time since the project was carried out in our community.“
He adds that in addition to overcoming land degradation in their region, the project has created a mechanism for the community’s members to protect themselves from harsh solar heat. “Because of the agroforest in this land and the forest around, we breathe oxygen. During the sunny season, we come to shelter from the sun in these trees and feel the gentle breeze which we didn’t before whereby we protected ourselves from intense solar heat inside our houses.”
Camille Shima- a secondary school teacher living in Mikamba Village, Mbati Cell in Mugina- also points out “ The project has executed soil conservation practices so that no erosion happens any more in our community. “
Elie Ntabwoba also in Mikamba echoes what the others have just said. “Before the project, all this place was a desert. It was naked, but it has turned green. You are feeling the he gentle breeze; if it were before, you couldn’t experience it.”
Such testimonies are shared not only in Kamonyi but also in any other geographical scope of the project. For example, Valens Mihigo in Kidoma Village, Mwendo Cell and Bernadette Niyonagira in Buremera Village, Mbuye Cell-both in Mbuye Sector in Ruhango also emphasize the project’s crucial role in successfully fighting land degradation in their region. Here, the project has conducted Ururumanza river bank protection and planted trees in the community members’ land. These beneficiaries also highlight the fact the initiative has successfully handled drought and desertification in their community.
Mihigo underlines “ Before this project, all this area formed a desert, but now the situation has changed since the area bears trees- grevilleas on the hills and bamboos along the river bank. Sand which descended from our pieces of land on the hills abounded here at the river bank, but you can spot none because the grevillea trees are keeping our field soils from moving away. The bamboos have strengthened the land along the river bank so that the latter one is safeguarded too.”
“The project stands very important for the residents of this community. No soils are carried away from our fields by erosion. It is the grevilleas which prevent erosion on our pieces of land; the reason why you cannot see any sand here since the sand used to emanate from our fields on the hills. Eh, if the project had not come, all this place you see could have become a desert! Fields on the hills had been extremely degraded. This part around the river banks could now not be cultivated.”
Niyonagira concurs with Mihigo. “When the project had not been implemented here yet, we were living in a desert. When the river inundated, it washed our crops and field soils away. Owing to the trees, we enjoy a gentle breeze while, before, we suffered extremely harsh solar heat. Today, the community members have comprehended the mammoth importance of trees so that when a person cuts a tree down, they plant another one. We cannot talk exhaustively about the project; it goes beyond our understanding!”
Emmanuel Byiringiro serves as the Director of Agriculture and Natural Resources in Ruhango District. He also maintains that desertification was threatening. “The project began at the time when biodiversity in Ruhango sectors: Ruhango, Kinazi, Mbuye and Ntongwe had been degraded. This part was going to become a desert. River banks were not protected at all. But they are now safeguarded with bamboos. The sectors possessed very few trees, but they are now all covered.”
To justify the great importance of the project, he provides an instance of the Kabebya river which used to devastate a marsh. “The Kabebya river would flood the Mukunguri wetland in which they farm rice and which we share with Kamonyi, but the larger part being located in Ruhango. Though the marsh still faces the issue of floods, the latter ones don’t pose a significant threat like before. Inundation factors are others than the lack of trees, forests and erosion-control measures since the project has ensured them. Yet again, as already said, floods don’t constitute a big issue to the marshland.”
Remy Songs, the Green Amayaga Project Manager, asks the beneficiaries to sustain these attainments. “What we request the beneficiaries is to assure the sustainability, continuing to protect the trees and bamboos planted and maintain them. And as you can observe it, they already take care of them.”
“Now, even if the river flooded and arrived here, it could damage nothing since there could be welfare generation since the project’s work to protect the river banks has equipped the ecosystem in the area with the natural ability to recover on its own. In this place [Vunga Village, Mwendo Cell in Mbuye], there used to happen landslides and erosion that would carry field soils away. We thus executed works to safeguard the citizens’ land including planting trees which are mixed with crops. The biodiversity of every place covered has been restored.“
Biodiversity refers to the variety of living organisms including plants, animals, insects and microorganisms that exist within a given area. It reflects the health and balance of an ecosystem, since each species plays a role in maintaining natural processes such as soil fertility, water regulation, and climate resilience. High biodiversity indicates a stable environment that can better withstand disturbances and support sustainable livelihoods.
All beneficiaries interviewed-such Lydvine Mukandayisenga dwelling in Kamudogo Village, Mamba Cell in Mamba Sector, Gisagara-are determined to realize Sonya’s request, especially since they all possess sustainability mechanisms which will enable them to do so. “Eh, owing to the fact that the project has awakened us to grasp the undeniable and critical importance of trees, plus the project’s component of social support which has elevated our living conditions, we are wholeheartedly committed to protecting achievements accomplished by the project.
For example, personally, I am resolved to furnish my unreserved contribution for trees planted to be maintained. As I did in the past for a person who harmed his trees combined with crops, by felling them while they were one month-old, I will remain vigilant. Like this person who I advised to stop doing so and has abandoned this practice, I will never cease to intervene against such behavior.“
The current global state of land degradation
The Collins Dictionary defines land degradation as the process of something becoming worse or weaker or being made worse or weaker. The degradation of land or the environment, according to this dictionary, is the process of becoming damaged and poorer, for example, because of the effects of pollution, industry, and modern agricultural methods.
FAO- in its document “Chapter 3 Land degradation” says “The word degradation, from its Latin derivation, implies “reduction to a lower rank” (Blaikie and Brookfield 1987). Hence when land is degraded, its productivity is reduced and may continue to decline unless steps are taken to restore the lost productivity and prevent further losses. Unchecked land degradation may result in an almost total loss of the productive land capacity to produce anything of value to humanity. Concern with such an outcome has led to land degradation sometimes being defined as follows: land degradation is the loss of the productive capacity of the land to sustain life (IFAD 1992).“
FAO further states “However such a definition is perhaps too broad and has somewhat emotive overtones. It ignores the fact that whereas the productive capacity of an area may have been reduced by land degradation, it may still be possible to use the land for productive purposes by adopting alternative land uses, although with an inherent lower productive potential. While land degradation will have taken place, it will not have progressed to the extent that the land can no longer sustain any form of life. It therefore may be more appropriate to define land degradation in a more focused manner as follows:
Land degradation is the reduction in the capability of the land to produce benefits from a particular land use under a specified form of land management (after Blaikie & Brookfield 1987).Such a definition embraces not only the biophysical factor of land capability, but also such socio-economic considerations as the way the land is used and the products desired (the benefits) from the land.”
According to FAO, as clear in the mentioned document, components of land degradation include the degradation of (1) soil, (2) vegetation, and (3) water, plus climate deterioration, among others.
Heinrich Böll-Stiftung’s European Union office, with its aforesaid story, underlines “The extent and severity of soil degradation are influenced by both natural processes and human activities, such as deforestation, farming practices, overgrazing, and urbanisation.
Erosion, primarily caused by water and wind, is one of the most widespread and severe forms of soil degradation. It carries away the nutrient-rich topsoil that is essential for plant growth. Soil erosion leads to the loss of an estimated 75 billion tonnes of soil a year, which in turn causes financial losses of around 400 billion US dollars annually. These alarming statistics underscore the profound economic and ecological consequences of soil degradation on a global scale.”
This office e confronts a stark planetary truth: across a world where an area larger than South America is already degraded by human use pushed beyond nature’s limits.”Globally, around 18.1 million square kilometres of land are degraded. Some 62 percent of this area is damaged by unsustainable practices, such as improper agricultural methods, deforestation, and poor land management, while 38 percent is subject to overgrazing that exceeds the land’s capacity to recover and maintain its productivity.”
The Earth’s land area is approximately 148.94 million square kilometers (57.5) million square miles), accounting for about 30% of the planet’s total surface, with the rest being covered by water. On a planet where land accounts for only 30 percent of Earth’s surface, the degradation of more than 18 million square kilometres certainly represents an immense and accelerating loss of the world’s productive, ecological, and economic foundations.
The office adds “In Sub-Saharan Africa, soil erosion can reach up to 100 tonnes per hectare annually, reducing crop yields by 30 to 50 percent in severely affected areas. Approximately 65 percent of arable land in the region is now classified as moderately to severely degraded, posing a significant threat to food security. In Europe, 61 percent of soils are currently unhealthy, primarily due to organic carbon loss, biodiversity loss, and peatland deterioration. Due to gaps in data on soil contamination, the overall extent of degradation is likely to be even more severe.
In South Asia, soil degradation is driven by the cultivation of steep lands, excessive ploughing, flood irrigation, removing or burning crop residues, unbalanced fertiliser use, and uncontrolled grazing. These practices reduce crop growth and yields. Moreover, irrigated lands suffer from salinisation and groundwater depletion. Land degradation costs South Asia an estimated 10 billion US dollars annually.“
Heinrich Böll-Stiftung’s European Union office highlights “Concerted efforts that address the drivers of soil degradation are needed. The fight against soil degradation is a battle for the very foundation of life on Earth.“
Holistic in its design and methodology, the Green Amayaga Project has left no critical component unaddressed, including conservation agriculture- a subject we will explore in great detail in our upcoming articles. Conservation agriculture focuses on sustainable farming practices such as minimal soil disturbance like no-tillage farming or not heavily plowing, digging soil, or turning it over.
Local action against a global land crisis
The Green Amayaga Project demonstrates how localized interventions can yield profound results in addressing soil erosion, drought, and desertification. By planting trees, integrating crops, and constructing erosion-control structures, the project has stabilized land while also generating income for the community. Beneficiaries like Niyigena and Nsengiyumva attest that areas once bare and prone to erosion are now green, productive, and capable of sustaining crops.
Riverbanks and cultivable land, previously vulnerable to flooding and soil loss respectively, are now fortified with bamboo and grevillea trees, protecting both the land and local livelihoods. Agroforests have also moderated microclimates, providing shade, oxygen, and relief from harsh solar exposure. These local achievements mirror the urgent global need to address land degradation, which affects over 18 million square kilometres worldwide—an immense loss on a planet where land comprises only 30 percent of the Earth’s surface.
The project’s integration of community empowerment ensures that restoration efforts are maintained and sustained over time, as our next article will illustrate it further. Beyond immediate soil protection, the Green Amayaga Project restores biodiversity, strengthens ecosystems, and supports climate resilience. Its holistic approach highlights that targeted interventions can transform degraded landscapes into productive, life-sustaining environments anywhere in the world. As such, the first series proves that the project offers a model for other regions facing similar crises, showing that practical, community-driven solutions can fulfill a key role in shaping responses to the worldwide challenge of land degradation.