In Togo, the government plans to rehabilitate 1.4 million hectares of degraded forests in the Central region as part of the second phase of the Forests4Future (F4F) initiative, which was officially launched in Lomé last week. Funded by Luxembourg and Germany, this project aims to restore severely damaged lands, especially in the prefectures of Tchamba, Tchaoudjo, Sotouboua, and the Mono River basin, while also implementing national-level interventions. The five-year program will feature extensive reforestation efforts aimed at restoring forest cover and enhancing the resilience of local communities against climate change impacts.
Although this phase builds on the previous one, it will receive technical support from German cooperation through GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit). The current phase focuses on empowering communities by developing local development plans and supporting income-generating activities such as honey, shea, and néré production.
Special emphasis will be placed on the sustainable use of gallery forests, which are seen as potential income sources in this deforested central region. By promoting agroforestry, the project aims to merge environmental conservation with the improvement of rural living conditions. For Lomé, this initiative aligns with international commitments to forest landscape restoration and adheres to national policies on environmental sustainability and rural poverty alleviation.
Project leaders believe that enhancing the agroforestry product sector will significantly boost the incomes of households involved in these restoration efforts. During the launch event, Joseph Senninger, Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in Benin, commended Togo’s ambition, describing it as “clear and strong.”
