Restoring African landscapes with indigenous food-bearing trees

PNAS Nexus

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Natal orange, Nkhata Bay, Malawi, November 2021.

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Credit: Emilie Vansant

Deforestation is a major problem across Africa. It is widely recognized that deforestation harms biodiversity, but tree loss also harms dietary quality, as nutritious fruits, nuts, seeds, and leaves disappear from the landscape. Over $1 billion has been pledged for landscape restoration in Africa, but Emilie C. Vansant and colleagues report in a Perspective that many projects tend to focus on planting fast-growing, exotic tree species rather than native species. Such low-diversity plantations are vulnerable to pests, wildfires, droughts, and other extreme weather events, and introduced species can sometimes outcompete local vegetation. 

The authors see the growing momentum around landscape restoration as a missed opportunity to restore native biodiversity, and in doing so, to restore sources of nutritious foods that are embedded in local cultures and traditional knowledge systems. The authors focus on Malawi as a case in point, as the country has pledged to restore more than 40% of its total land area. Increases in food prices in recent years have made a healthy diet unaffordable for 92% of the Malawian population, according to United Nations data. 

Through knowledge co-creation workshops and consultations with representatives from 21 civil society organizations engaged in community-based restoration projects, the authors found that although the idea of planting and naturally regenerating native food trees is very appealing to people, technical knowledge on these trees is harder to access than knowledge about more common exotic species. In response, the authors worked with local experts to co-produce an illustrated tree-planting guide for indigenous edible tree species, such as wild loquat, Mbula plum, and sour plum. According to the authors, the goals of landscape restoration and combating malnutrition can both be served by planting and caring for native food trees. 

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Journal

PNAS Nexus

Article Title

Restoring indigenous trees can help combat malnutrition in Africa

Article Publication Date

23-Jun-2026

 

Tree seedlings, Nkhata Bay, Malawi, March 2025

Credit

Emilie Vansant

 

The authors worked with the local experts to co-produce an illustrated tree-planting guide for indigenous edible tree species, such as wild loquat, Mbula plum, and sour plum.

Credit

Vansant et al

 

Workshop activities around centering nutrition in landscape restoration were held in Ekwendeni, Malawi, in March 2025. 

Credit

Emilie Vansant

 

A baobab tree in a farmer’s field, Mulanje, Malawi, November 2021.

Credit

Emilie Vansant