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As African countries accelerate efforts to restore degraded landscapes, integrating water into restoration planning is becoming increasingly important. At the 9th AFR100 Annual Partnership Meeting (APM9), SIWI has been invited by the Government of Madagascar to lead Water Day, bringing together governments, restoration practitioners and development partners from across Africa to share practical tools, experiences and financing approaches that help make forest and landscape restoration more resilient, sustainable and effective.
Date
20 Jul 2026 - 24 Jul 2026
PlaceMadagascar
CONTACT
About the AFR100 Annual Partnership Meeting
The African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100) is a country-led effort to restore degraded and deforested landscapes across Africa. The initiative brings together 34 African countries, supported by technical and financial partners, with a collective commitment to restore more than 129 million hectares of land by 2030.
The Annual Partnership Meeting is AFR100’s flagship gathering, bringing together ministers, government representatives, regional organizations, research institutions, development partners, civil society and financial institutions to strengthen collaboration, share practical experience and accelerate implementation of forest and landscape restoration across the continent.
The 2026 meeting, hosted in Nosy Be, Madagascar, focuses on scaling restoration through stronger partnerships, financing, technical innovation and knowledge exchange.
Why SIWI is participating
Forest and landscape restoration is about far more than planting trees. Restored landscapes depend on healthy water systems that regulate river flows, recharge groundwater, improve water quality and strengthen resilience to droughts and floods. At the same time, forests themselves depend on water, making integrated planning essential for long-term restoration success.
Through our Water-smart Forest and Landscape Restoration (W-FLR) initiative, SIWI works with governments and partners to ensure that water is fully integrated into restoration planning and implementation. By participating in AFR100, we aim to share practical experience from pilot countries, strengthen collaboration with African partners and support countries in delivering restoration that benefits both people and nature.
SIWI at AFR100
SIWI’s participation centres on Water Day, held on 23 July, which has been developed in collaboration with the Government of Madagascar and regional partners. Throughout the day, SIWI will contribute technical expertise, facilitate knowledge exchange and share practical experiences from countries implementing water-smart forest and landscape restoration.
Representing SIWI at the meeting are Malin Lundberg Ingemarsson and David Mingasson.
Leading Water Day
SIWI has been invited to co-lead and moderate Water Day together with representatives from the Government of Madagascar.
The day explores the links between water resources, forest and landscape restoration and community resilience. Discussions will highlight how integrating water considerations into restoration planning can strengthen ecosystem services, improve livelihoods and increase resilience to climate change.
Malin Lundberg Ingemarsson will open the programme with an introduction to water resources and the hydrological cycle in forest and landscape restoration, setting the stage for the day’s discussions.
Showcasing the Water-smart Forest and Landscape Restoration tool
David Mingasson will present SIWI’s Water-smart Forest and Landscape Restoration (W-FLR) tool, developed together with GIZ and Sida to help integrate water resource management into forest and landscape restoration planning.
The tool helps governments and restoration practitioners identify water-related risks and opportunities, strengthen governance and ensure that restoration interventions support both ecosystem health and water security.
The session will also feature experiences from pilot countries including Benin, Madagascar and Togo, illustrating how the tool has been applied in different restoration contexts and highlighting lessons that can inform future implementation across Africa.
Mobilizing finance for water-smart restoration
Later in the day, SIWI will lead an interactive session on financing water-smart forest and landscape restoration.
Facilitated by Malin Lundberg Ingemarsson and David Mingasson, the session will explore practical approaches to mobilizing finance for restoration, including climate finance, payment for ecosystem services, impact investment and other innovative funding mechanisms.
Representatives from AFR100 member countries will share their own experiences of accessing finance and discuss opportunities to scale restoration by integrating water considerations into investment planning.