Ensuring forest stewardship and restoration at cash crop frontiers
What changed in 2025
Changes: New in 2025 (with dates or time periods): [decisions, implementations, results, e.g., “On 6 October 2025, the municipality of X approved…”; “Between March and September, a survey on xx was conducted by yy with the following results..”]
Quote (2–3 sentences): from Hub Director or project lead. Focus on 2025 and why it was special/challenging.
Key facts
partner schools received Green School Certificates in July 2025 5
teachers trained in environmental education in the past two years. 229
Wildlife clinic rescued and assisted animals 124
About
The Solutionscape “Stewardship initiatives for nature and people in forest frontiers” focuses on the Nam Tien Provincial Protected Area in Xayabury, Laos.
Affected by uncontrolled growth of agriculture, only 40% of the Nam Tien protected area currently remains covered with forest. Local and regional authorities responsible for protecting these areas often lack resources, capacity, and enforcement ability. As a result, forest areas are treated as open spaces for unchecked and unsustainable farming practices, with farmers growing crops like maize, cassava, banana, watermelon, and rubber. The effects include wildlife loss, soil erosion, polluted water, and disrupted water flows. At the same time, local farmers, who depend on these crops, face insecure incomes due to unpredictable market changes. Adding to the pressure, foreign investors target these forest areas for large-scale farming, creating more pressure on the landscape and challenges for local communities.
To address these issues, the Wyss Academy is working with local governments, communities, private sector representatives, and research groups to develop solutions that protect and restore nature while supporting the people who depend on the land and its resources. The ongoing, highly interlinked projects focus on developing new business models for conservation and working toward the joint management of protected areas. They also test innovative ways to restore tree cover through agroforestry and create nature-positive income alternatives for local communities by combining technical, market based, and educational approaches. Engaging both current and future generations, these projects bring together various stakeholders to drive lasting impact.
In 2025, we continued working closely with schools around Nam Tien, Xayabury, strengthening teachers’ and students’ capacity in environmental education, and ensuring they are equipped to lead this work independently. Local officials at the Agricultural Technical Service Center received agroforestry training, helping expand sustainable land-use practices in the region. Meanwhile, the WILDMED mobile wildlife clinic strengthened Laos’ wildlife rescue system and supported our ECORE program by helping build the Elephant Conservation Center into a hub for local and regional biodiversity research and education.
“Throughout 2025 we could see our efforts supporting local livelihoods through our work with schools and the education department take off and becoming embedded in the day-to-day operations. Our partners at the Elephant Conservation Center and the Technical Service Centre have the means and the capacity now, thanks also to the collaboration with our Chinese Partner the Kunming Institute of Biodiversity and the Department of Land Administrative and Management, to move their conservation and development efforts much further and to engage in a more meaningful way with local communities, to reduce the pressure on the environment.”
Main achievements in 2025
Highlight 01 – Strengthening environmental education in Xayabury
In November 2025, we marked two years of environmental education work with six schools in Nam Tien, Xayabury, Laos. The programme began with co-design workshops involving teachers, local government officials, and environmental education partners, responding to a context where no environmental education facilities or systems previously existed.
Over two years, we worked closely with schools and local authorities to build practical capacity. By July 2025, all five schools that joined the programme from the outset received Green School Certificates from the Xayabury Provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment. In parallel, more than 229 teachers were trained, strengthening schools’ ability to lead and sustain environmental learning independently.
Today, every participating school operates a waste-management system, trains students in waste sorting and composting, and collaborates directly with local government agencies. These foundations now enable schools to design their own proposals, expand community engagement, and continue biodiversity-related initiatives beyond the project.
Total Teachers trained: 229 Total community members and government officials engaged 111
Total Teachers trained 229
Highlight 02 – On the frontlines of wildlife care in Laos
In November 2025, we marked two years of environmental education work with six schools in Nam Tien, Xayabury, Laos. The programme began with co-design workshops involving teachers, local government officials, and environmental education partners, responding to a context where no environmental education facilities or systems previously existed.
Over two years, we worked closely with schools and local authorities to build practical capacity. By July 2025, all five schools that joined the programme from the outset received Green School Certificates from the Xayabury Provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment. In parallel, more than 229 teachers were trained, strengthening schools’ ability to lead and sustain environmental learning independently.
Today, every participating school operates a waste-management system, trains students in waste sorting and composting, and collaborates directly with local government agencies. These foundations now enable schools to design their own proposals, expand community engagement, and continue biodiversity-related initiatives beyond the project.
Total Teachers trained: 229 Total community members and government officials engaged 111
Total Teachers trained 229
Highlight 03 – Building local capacity for agroforestry in Xayabury
In November 2025, we marked two years of environmental education work with six schools in Nam Tien, Xayabury, Laos. The programme began with co-design workshops involving teachers, local government officials, and environmental education partners, responding to a context where no environmental education facilities or systems previously existed.
Over two years, we worked closely with schools and local authorities to build practical capacity. By July 2025, all five schools that joined the programme from the outset received Green School Certificates from the Xayabury Provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment. In parallel, more than 229 teachers were trained, strengthening schools’ ability to lead and sustain environmental learning independently.
Today, every participating school operates a waste-management system, trains students in waste sorting and composting, and collaborates directly with local government agencies. These foundations now enable schools to design their own proposals, expand community engagement, and continue biodiversity-related initiatives beyond the project.
Total Teachers trained: 229 Total community members and government officials engaged 111
Total Teachers trained 229
Projects
Co-designing knowledge for environmental justice in Masoala
Co-designing knowledge for environmental justice in Masoala
Nature-positive land use and livelihood development
Nature-positive land use and livelihood development
Stewardship at forest frontiers—Co-designed knowledge and engagement
Stewardship at forest frontiers—Co-designed knowledge and engagement
