Presentation short abstract

We analyze the differences between national policies, international discourses, and local future visions for restored landscapes in Malawi. We find that local people strongly value energy access and livelihood security, and need resources to achieve these goals.

Presentation long abstract

Restoration has emerged as a global priority in the last decade, however the global agenda has been designed by policymakers and environmental scientists, as opposed to the concerns of people who live in landscapes targeted for restoration. We aim to understand how restoration narratives and future aspirations vary among restoration actors in Malawi.

Drawing on 83 key informant interviews and 81 focus groups conducted in the summer of 2025 with farmers and local, regional, and national leaders, as well as analysis of policy documents, we examine how farmers in areas targeted for restoration conceptualize restoration and envision the futures of their communities, and how this differs from futures envisioned by national policies and international organizations.

We find that global and national narratives focus on forest loss and degradation in relation to carbon storage and biodiversity loss. However, local people emphasize broader concerns for energy access, livelihood security, agricultural productivity, health, water provision, cultural benefits of nature, and social cohesion. These findings demonstrate that farmers are interested in alternative livelihoods and energy sources which would reduce their dependence on forest resources and improve their broader well-being. While these connect to restoration goals, they indicate the need to restore life supporting socio-ecosystems, with potential additional climate and biodiversity gains. We also found that local people were concerned with the incentives and support systems, such as knowledge, training, and supplies, needed to sustain their participation in ongoing restoration efforts, reinforcing the need for adequate provision of support resources at the local level.