Prioritising native trees for restoration success
How an IKI project is supporting large-scale restoration in five African countries through more diverse, high-quality native tree species.
Which species, where and why? Answering these questions before starting tree planting initiatives is critical to harnessing trees’ full potential to fight climate change, support biodiversity, and sustain livelihoods.
Under the Right Tree in the Right Place for the Right Purpose project (RTRP–Seed), which is funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI), major strides are being made to prioritise native tree species for restoration and reforestation in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia and Burkina Faso.
A key focus of the project is to identify and prioritise the most suitable native species for a given context. This supports nature-based solutions by aligning ecological, socioeconomic, and cultural values, and helps countries meet their landscape restoration pledges under the Bonn Challenge and the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100).
Designed to be highly participatory, the prioritisation process is driven by a range of stakeholders, led by Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) in collaboration with the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF), Unique Land Use, and national partners.
Laying the foundations: Building the master species list
The first critical step was to consolidate country-specific native tree species lists, drawn from the Global Tree Assessment, which were then merged to create a master matrix that highlights both country-specific and jointly occurring species.
Next, comprehensive information on the uses of, threats to, and conservation actions around these species was drawn from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, BGCI’s GlobalTreePortal, and CIFOR-ICRAF’s GlobUNT database.
The emphasis on species use – such as for timber, food and medicine – was deliberate: unless communities see tangible benefits, there is little incentive to nurture young trees to maturity. In those cases where use categories from IUCN and GlobUNT matched, they were merged; where they differed, IUCN’s more detailed classifications were prioritised.
The next phase involved creating a draft set of criteria to score and rank species:
- IUCN Red List category (how threatened a species is)
- Endemism (whether a species is unique to a particular country)
- Uses (economic, social, and ecological values)
- Ecological suitability (adaptability to local conditions)
- Availability of propagation protocols (ease of cultivation)
This produced a preliminary ranked list of species that set the stage for participatory discussions with experts and stakeholders.
Engaging experts and stakeholders: The Kenya workshop
In February 2025, RTRP–Seed held a participatory species prioritisation workshop in Kenya to validate and refine the priority setting methodology. This event brought together representatives from the Kenya Forestry Research Institute, Kenya Forest Service, Kenya Wildlife Service, National Museums of Kenya, International Tree Foundation, Centre for Ecosystem Restoration – Kenya, Green Heart of Kenya, and RTRP–Seed consortium partners (BGCI, CIFOR-ICRAF, and Unique Land Use).
Participants were divided into working groups aligned with RTRP activities such as seed collection, propagation protocol development, demonstration plot establishment, Breeding Seed Orchard planting, and commercially valuable native species promotion. The groups assessed species based on practical, local realities and considered additional factors such as Indigenous knowledge, seed availability, germination challenges, policy and access constraints, and institutional focus areas. This broad input helped ensure that the prioritisation framework was not only scientifically robust but also grounded in lived experience.
Moving forward: Refinement and replication
Following the workshop, further refinement of Kenya’s prioritised species "long list" has continued, integrating feedback from a wider network of local experts and stakeholders. A second workshop is planned to finalise Kenya’s priority list, targeting at least 100 native tree species.
The process developed and validated in Kenya will serve as a blueprint for similar prioritisation efforts across other countries participating in RTRP–Seed. The resulting prioritised species lists for each country will guide broader RTRP–Seed activities in order to address the gap between the aspiration to plant native tree species and current tree planting practice, where exotic trees generally dominate. Further activities are designed to foster the development of sustainable, integrated and high-quality tree seed and seedling sectors for native tree species through policy support, capacity building, and knowledge exchange – all catalysed by a dedicated Transformative Partnership Platform and promoted in collaboration with the Global Landscapes Forum (GLF).
In this way, RTRP–Seed aims to ensure the successful establishment of the right trees in landscapes where they can thrive and deliver multiple benefits for local livelihoods and resilient landscapes.
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The IKI-Strategy
The IKI wants to maximise its impact on climate action and biodiversity conservation. To this end, it concentrates its funding activities on prioritised fields of action within the four funding areas. Another key element is the close cooperation with selected partner countries, especially with the IKI’s priority countries.
