WeForest Copperbelt

Inside the project

The WeForest Copperbelt project works across Luanshya, Mpongwe and Ndola in Zambia's Copperbelt Province, restoring degraded miombo woodland on farmland.

Launched in 2016 and expanded in 2021, it is WeForest's first Zambia initiative, delivered with local partners LFCA, DFCA, Rainlands Timber and BeeSweet and certified under the Preferred by Nature Forest Ecosystem Restoration standard in June 2021.

The Copperbelt lost around 239,000 hectares of tree cover between 2011 and 2021 to mining and charcoal production. The project works with hundreds of smallholder farmers using assisted natural regeneration, agroforestry and beekeeping to bring tree cover back, with more than 4,200 hectares under restoration.

Objectives

• Restore degraded miombo woodland on Copperbelt farmland through assisted natural regeneration.
• Engage hundreds of smallholder farmers in agroforestry and beekeeping.
• Bring more than 4,200 hectares under active restoration.
• Counter tree-cover loss driven by mining and charcoal in the Copperbelt.

Approach

• Use assisted natural regeneration to bring back tree cover on degraded farmland.
• Combine agroforestry and beekeeping to give farmers a direct stake in restoration.
• Work with hundreds of smallholder farmers across three Copperbelt districts.
• Hold certification under the Preferred by Nature Forest Ecosystem Restoration standard.