Mapping Social Cohesion in Restoration Landscapes: Evidence from Western Rwanda

Social cohesion is increasingly recognized as essential for effectiveecosystem restoration, yet it remains underexplored in practice. Wemapped social relationships in restoration landscapes of WesternRwanda. Using Net-Map-based interviews and participatory work-shops, we evaluated horizontal and vertical cohesion. Restorationapproaches strengthened trust, collaboration, and communicationwithin communities, key drivers of knowledge exchange and collec-tive action, offering scalable models for advancing broader restorationinitiatives in Rwanda and similar contexts. We also found weak com-munity–government relationships driven by top-down governance,underscoring the need for inclusive, equitable restoration policies. Forsuch inclusion to be meaningful, communities must be empoweredto actively influence restoration decisions, which would likely fostersustainable, long-term outcomes. This study underscores the value ofcombining quantitative and narrative methods when using Net-Mapto understand relationship quality and power dynamics among actorsin socioecological restoration networks.