How and When to Report on Disturbances in your TerraFund Project

This article explains how to report on disturbance event that impact your project progress.

Article Outline

Overview

How to Access and Submit Disturbance Reports

Disturbance Report Information

Overview

Disturbance reports capture and document information on events that affect the success of your project’s restoration activity.

Major disturbances may include fire/flood/hurricanes, uncontrolled grazing/herbivory, pest outbreaks, and intentional clearing. Any disturbance that kills or significantly impairs the growth of more than 25% of the restored trees or area must be reported.

Please report disturbances within 1 week after they occur. If this is not possible, please report them as soon after that as possible. We encourage you to report with as much detail as possible so that our team can best assist you and help you adapt your workplan following any disturbances.

How to Access and Submit Disturbance Reports

You can find disturbance reports within your project's "Reports" page: 

Click on the "Disturbance Reports" tab highlighted in the screenshot above to access the Disturbance Reports page. Here, you can click "Add Report" fill out and submit a disturbance report: 

Disturbance Report Information

To report on a disturbance, you will need to enter some basic details about the event that occurred, the impacts on people and property, and the actions your team has taken so far to recover from the event. 

Below, you can find guidance on each of the aspects of disturbances that we ask you to report on. 

Please note: you will need to separate disturbance reports by “type” – for example, if your project was impacted by an ecological disturbance such as a pest outbreak, AND a man-made disturbance such as overgrazing, you would need to submit an individual disturbance report for each of those events.  

Type and Subtype

Please find the definitions and descriptions of each disturbance type and subtype below. 

• Type: Climatic – major natural disturbances  

  • Subtypes: 

    • Flooding: occurs when water bodies like rivers, lakes, oceans receive more water than they can hold causing water to spill over the banks and inundate the surrounding areas. They usually result from heavy rains or snowmelt. Seedlings in the inundated areas are susceptible to death in case flooding takes longer to dry.  

    • Landslides or erosion event: this is a situation where there is movement of rock, soil, and debris down the slope due to gravity. It occurs when the stability of the soil is compromised due to heavy rainfalls, earthquakes, volcanic activity, or human activities such as deforestation, soil disturbance due to construction activities. This disaster can lead to loss of many seedlings and/or saplings.  

    • Drought: extended periods of drought can lead to death of seedlings and/or saplings  

    • Fire: uncontrolled fires could burn hundreds to thousands of seedlings. These fires can start naturally due to causes like lightning, but they can also be caused by human activities, such as discarded cigarettes, campfires, intentional acts of arson, malpractice of beekeeping, social conflicts, etc.  

    • Hail: in severe conditions, hailstones can destroy sapling/seedling leaves leading to deaths.  

    • Strong winds: high wind speeds can damage property and trees. 

• Type: Ecological – minor natural disturbances that impact less than half of planted trees or the project area including pests, small erosion events, etc. 

  • Subtypes: 

    • Invasive species: these plants can outcompete or hinder the development of native species, therefore reducing biodiversity or undermining restoration efforts.  

    • Pests and diseases: fungi, nematodes, root rot, etc., can lead to several damages in plantations, fields affected.  

    • Poor soil quality: untested soil, poorly managed, may not support intended tree species leading to lower survival rates.  

• Type: Man-made – minor or major human-caused disturbances, including site vandalism, illegal grazing, etc. 

  • Subtypes: 

    • Poaching: some high-value planted seedlings are stolen from farms, mostly fruit tree seedlings, agroforestry, or other valuable tree species.  

    • Illegal logging: trees planted can be illegally cut, prompting the failure of the restoration efforts.  

    • Vandalism: trees and structures like nurseries can be damaged by individuals or groups of people opposed to the project.  

    • Change in land use or conflict: owners of land under which restoration has been carried out may wish to convert their land to other uses or sell the land. For instance, a smallholder agroforestry farmer may dispose of their land to raise money for pressing family needs like medical care or school fees, or restored government land can be offered to the community for settlement or used for infrastructure projects like roads, hospitals or schools. Conflicts among family or community members, linked to land tenure, can affect project activities or progress.   

    • Illegal grazing: livestock grazing on project site. 

    • Illegal mining: areas under restoration can be illegally exploited for mineral laundering. 

    • Lack of community ownership: the community may refuse, oppose or be reluctant to participate in or support the restoration activities.  

    • Cultural conflicts: disputes arising from different cultural norms, traditions, or beliefs can disrupt the effective implementation of the project.  

    • Labor shortage: low wages, competition of labor among sectors, or poor working conditions can hinder restoration work and result in project delays, increased costs, reduced quality of work, slowed progress, lower survival rates, and overall failure to meet reforestation goals.  

    • Inflation: cases of aggravated inflation and internal foreign currency regulations can lead to a devaluation of the amount allocated in the budget, prompting projects to miss their targets or leaving them incomplete.   

    • Lack of political will: restoration might be a low political priority in some countries where TerraFund projects are executed, leading to weak enforcement of environmental laws, and lack of political support for TerraFund work. This might lead to less motivation for some restoration champions and failure to hit the targets.  

    • Insecurity: when restoration is done in an area prone to insecurity, this may hinder proper tree maintenance and monitoring. The project may experience labour shortages, as people may not be willing to work in such situations.  

Intensity

This measurement will help your project team understand the severity of the disturbance. You will need to indicate where the disturbance fits in the three intensity categories below:

• Low - A small issue that is easy to manage and has little impact on the project. It usually requires minimal time and resources to fix and doesn't cause significant delays. Example: a few newly planted trees are damaged by local wildlife grazing for example. The damage is minor and can be quickly fixed.  

• Medium - An incident that has a more noticeable impact on the project and might affect its timeline, budget, or scope. It may need a focused response and extra resources, but it's still manageable within the project's overall plan. Example: a pest outbreak that affects a significant portion of the vegetation, requiring a coordinated pest management plan to stop it from spreading and causing further damage.  

• High - A serious event that puts the project's success or stakeholders at significant risk. It requires an immediate and strong response, possibly with help from external sources like the local government, and can cause major delays, increased costs, or long-term problems for the project. Example: a major flood or landslide in a restoration area that destroys large sections of newly planted trees or seedlings, requiring a complete reevaluation of the project plan, emergency measures to prevent further damage, and extensive efforts to restore the affected area. 

Extent

This measurement will help your project management team understand how the disturbance impacted your tree and area restored numbers. You will choose the percentage of the project area or percentage of trees in nurseries that was impacted by the disturbance. 

People affected

You will need to provide an estimate of the number of people (who are employees, volunteers, or who receive direct or indirect benefits from the project) who have been impacted over the duration of the disturbance event.

Monetary damage ($USD)

You will need to provide an estimate of the amount of damage incurred by the disturbance event (we ask that you convert your estimate to USD for consistency across the cohort.).  

Disturbance Start and End Dates

You will be asked to enter start and end dates of the disturbance. If the event is ongoing, please leave the end date field empty. 

Sites and Nurseries Affected

In this section, you will indicate exactly which of your project’s sites and/or nurseries the disturbance impacted. You can select as many sites/nurseries as applicable.  

Polygons

Within the sites impacted, you should indicate which polygons were impacted. Your specificity here will help your project management team and GIS analysts understand the exact location(s) of the disturbance, and monitor impacts over time.  

Disturbance Description

Your team can use this area to provide additional details on the disturbance event. 

Action Description

Use this section to detail any actions your team has taken so far to respond to the disturbance. This will help your project management team know where to start and what additional resources may be most helpful in addressing the disturbance, if applicable.