Tropentag, September 16 - 18, 2026, Göttingen "Towards multi-functional agro-ecosystems promoting climate-resilient futures"

Restoring landscapes, reshaping livelihoods: Labour allocation, decision-making, and well-being in forest landscape restoration across western Rwanda

University of Göttingen, Dept. of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Germany

Abstract

Restoring degraded landscapes is widely promoted as a pathway to improving environmental conditions and rural livelihoods, yet its implications for household well-being and labour division remain insufficiently understood. In Rwanda’s western region, where land degradation is closely linked to population pressure and agriculture-dominated livelihoods, the government has implemented large-scale restoration policies including agroforestry, terracing, and woodlot establishment, often within forest landscape restoration programs. These interventions shape rural livelihood strategies across on-farm, off-farm, and non-farm activities, with important implications for household economic opportunities.
We use cross-sectional survey data from about 600 households in four districts (Nyabihu, Rubavu, Rutsiro, and Ngororero), including over 1,000 respondents. Using correlation analysis, random forest models, and regression analysis, we examine how restoration activities and livelihood strategies relate to household labour distribution, decision-making and multidimensional well-being, including involvement in both own-farm and village-level restoration.
Preliminary findings suggest that restoration-related activities such as on-farm terracing, and own woodlots, as well as off-farm work are associated with higher workloads, with women and younger members bearing a disproportionate share. We find that greater decision-making power in expenditure and institutional trust for women are associated with lower working hours, suggesting that intra-household agency may help moderate labour burdens. Livelihood activities are largely complementary rather than substitutive, with households combining multiple strategies. Restoration programme participation is also associated with higher labour burdens, particularly for women.
In terms of well-being, our study suggests higher reported income in households engaged in own-farm agroforestry, terracing, and off-farm employment, indicating potential economic gains from more diversified and restoration-related livelihoods. However, life satisfaction is more closely associated with broader livelihood diversification than with specific restoration practices, suggesting that well-being depends more on overall livelihood portfolios than on individual restoration activities.
Our findings highlight how restoration interacts with livelihood portfolios, labour allocation, and well-being across households. Overall, the study situates forest landscape restoration within the broader theme of forests, trees, and human well-being in smallholder systems, emphasising that restoration policies must be assessed not only for ecological outcomes but also consider implications for labour, agency, livelihoods, and well-being.

Keywords: Decision-making, forest landscape restoration, gender, labour allocation, rural livelihoods, Rwanda, wellbeing

Contact Address: Susanne Vögele, University of Göttingen, Dept. of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Platz der Göttinger Sieben 5, 37073 Göttingen, Germany, e-mail: susanne.voegeleuni-goettingen.de