Impact of Forest Landscape Restoration on Community Livelihoods in Rwanda. A Case of Green Amayaga Project, Ruhango District
Received 23 June 2026, Revised 24 August 2026, Accepted 24 August 2026, Available online 25 August 2026.
Abstract
Persistent land degradation and declining agricultural productivity in Rwanda's Mayaga region have severely undermined rural livelihoods. The Government of Rwanda, through the Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA), implemented the Green Amayaga Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) Project across four sectors of Ruhango District between 2020 and 2025. This study assessed the impact of FLR interventions on community livelihoods, focusing on: (i) project activities implemented; (ii) changes in household livelihood conditions before and after implementation; and (iii) the statistical relationship between FLR practices and livelihood outcomes. A mixed-methods sequential explanatory design was adopted. Quantitative data were collected from 400 beneficiary households through structured questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple linear regression. Regression diagnostics confirmed the absence of multicollinearity (VIF < 2.0), normal residuals, and homoscedasticity. Qualitative data were obtained from 23 focus group discussion participants and 18 key informants and analyzed thematically. Results show that all planned ecological targets were fully achieved. Household income, food security, agricultural productivity, livestock ownership, and environmental conditions all improved significantly. Pearson correlation confirmed a strong positive association between FLR practices and livelihood outcomes (r = 0.684, p < 0.01). Multiple regression explained 55.1% of the variation in livelihood outcomes (R² = 0.551; F (5, 394) = 80.214; p < 0.001), with agroforestry (β = 0.238) and community-driven development (β = 0.214) as the strongest predictors. These findings imply that Rwanda's national FLR programs should prioritize agroforestry scaling, inclusive community governance structures, and continuous capacity building as core policy instruments for rural poverty reduction and climate resilience.