Restoring ecosystems, protecting biodiversity, and strengthening community environmental stewardship. Healthy ecosystems are essential to healthy communities. Forest loss, land degradation, soil erosion, declining biodiversity, and the destruction of wetlands and water sources can undermine livelihoods while increasing environmental and public-health risks. This pillar focuses on restoring degraded landscapes, protecting water sources and wetlands, conserving biodiversity, strengthening community environmental stewardship, monitoring wildlife health, and promoting sustainable land management. Our approach places communities at the centre of ecosystem protection supporting local people to restore natural resources, manage community forests, protect water sources, conserve biodiversity, and build sustainable relationships with their environment.
Our 2036 Ambition
🌳 Restore Forests & Degraded Land
By 2036, OHRI aims to:
- Establish 50 community tree nurseries by 2032.
- Produce up to 500,000 seedlings annually through community nurseries.
- Plant 200,000 indigenous trees.
- Restore 2,000 hectares of degraded land.
- Achieve 70% two-year survival of planted trees.
- Establish 30 community forest committees with participatory forest-management plans.
OHRI will prioritise indigenous species with ecological, medicinal, nutritional, and economic value while strengthening community capacity to manage and protect restored landscapes.
💧 Protect Water Sources & Wetlands
Healthy water ecosystems are critical for communities, agriculture, biodiversity, and disease prevention.
By 2036, OHRI will:
- Protect 200 community water sources.
- Restore 100 kilometres of riparian buffers.
- Develop 30 wetland management plans by 2034.
- Strengthen community rules around water extraction, pollution control, sustainable resource use, and restoration.
These interventions will help reduce degradation around rivers, wetlands, springs, streams, and other important community water sources while strengthening local environmental governance.
🐘 Strengthen Environmental Stewardship & Wildlife Health
OHRI recognises that human health, animal health, and ecosystem health are interconnected.
By 2036, we aim to:
- Establish 150 community environmental stewardship groups.
- Support groups with tools and knowledge for environmental monitoring and protection.
- Monitor wildlife health at 50 human-wildlife interface sites.
- Collect up to 500 wildlife health samples for surveillance.
- Deliver 3,000 environmental education sessions reaching approximately 60,000 participants.
Community wildlife monitors will help identify unusual wildlife mortality and other health signals at high-risk locations, strengthening early detection of potential threats at the human-animal-environment interface.
🌱 Restore Soil Health & Promote Sustainable Land Management
Land degradation and soil erosion threaten agricultural productivity, food security, biodiversity, and climate resilience.
OHRI aims to:
- Train 5,000 farmers in soil-health assessment and restoration practices across 200 communities.
- Establish 100 community seed banks preserving indigenous crop varieties.
- Train community farmer-seed stewards in seed selection, storage, regeneration, and conservation.
- Document the agronomic, nutritional, and climate-resilience characteristics of 50 indigenous crop varieties.
- Reduce soil erosion across 5,000 hectares through contour farming, vegetative barriers, agroforestry, and Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration.
Our Approach
OHRI will combine ecosystem restoration with community ownership and practical livelihood considerations.
Community Forest Restoration → Establishing nurseries, planting indigenous trees, and supporting community forest governance.
Water & Wetland Protection → Protecting water sources and restoring vegetation along rivers, streams and wetlands.
Biodiversity Conservation → Promoting community awareness and responsible management of natural resources.
Wildlife Health Surveillance → Monitoring health risks at human-wildlife interfaces and strengthening One Health surveillance.
Environmental Education → Equipping children, farmers, community leaders and households with practical environmental knowledge.
Soil Restoration → Promoting sustainable land management, erosion control, agroforestry and natural regeneration.
Seed Sovereignty → Supporting community seed banks and conservation of indigenous crop varieties.
Our 2036 Impact
200,000 Indigenous Trees planted
2,000 Hectares of degraded land restored
50 Community Tree Nurseries
30 Community Forest Committees
200 Water Sources protected
100 km of Riparian Buffers restored
30 Wetland Management Plans
150 Environmental Stewardship Groups
50 Wildlife Health Surveillance Sites
3,000 Environmental Education Sessions
5,000 Farmers trained in soil-health restoration
100 Community Seed Banks
5,000 Hectares protected from soil erosion
A Proposed Investment Opportunity
PILLAR 4 FUNDRAISING TARGET: US$1.3 MILLION
OHRI proposes mobilising US$1.3 million to accelerate ecosystem restoration, biodiversity conservation, sustainable land management, and community environmental stewardship across its target communities.
This proposed fundraising target would support:
1. Forest & Land Restoration
- Community tree nurseries
- Indigenous seedling production
- Tree planting and maintenance
- Restoration of degraded land
- Community forest committees and management plans
2. Water & Wetland Protection
- Protection of community water sources
- Riparian restoration
- Wetland management planning
- Community environmental monitoring
3. Community Environmental Stewardship
- Formation and strengthening of environmental groups
- Environmental monitoring equipment
- Community conservation activities
- Environmental education and awareness
4. Wildlife Health
- Human-wildlife interface mapping
- Training of community wildlife monitors
- Wildlife health surveillance
- Safe sample collection and referral for laboratory testing
5. Soil Health & Sustainable Land Management
- Farmer training
- Soil-health assessments
- Erosion-control interventions
- Agroforestry and Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration
- Community seed banks and indigenous crop conservation
Important: The US$1.3 million is a proposed fundraising target for Pillar 4, not a separate approved pillar budget in the Strategic Plan. OHRI’s Strategic Plan identifies an overall ten-year resource requirement of US$9.8 million for the organisation and does not provide separate dollar allocations for each pillar.
Restoring Nature. Strengthening Communities. Protecting Our Future.
Ecosystem protection is an investment in people. When forests are restored, water sources protected, soils regenerated, and biodiversity conserved, communities become better positioned to withstand climate pressures, protect livelihoods, and maintain healthier environments.
OHRI is committed to building communities that do not simply depend on their natural environment but actively protect, restore, and sustainably manage it.
Invest in Nature. Restore Ecosystems. Build Resilient Communities.
US$1.3 Million Proposed Pillar 4 Funding Target
200,000 Trees • 2,000 ha Restored • 200 Water Sources • 150 Stewardship Groups • 50 Wildlife Surveillance Sites
Support Ecosystem Protection & Biodiversity