A guide to the Restoration Opportunities Assessment Methodology (ROAM)

This guide describes the Restoration Opportunities Assessment Methodology (ROAM), a flexible framework designed to help countries identify and analyze forest landscape restoration (FLR) potential at national or sub-national levels. Developed by the IUCN and WRI, ROAM combines stakeholder engagement ("best knowledge") with data analysis ("best science") to provide analytical inputs for national policies, such as REDD+ strategies and biodiversity action plans.

• ROAM is structured into three main phases: (1) preparation and planning, (2) data collection and analysis, and (3) results to recommendations. A typical national-level assessment requires 15-30 days of work by a core team over a two-to-three month period.
• The methodology employs two primary spatial analysis approaches based on data availability: 'digital mapping,' which uses GIS datasets and algorithms, and 'knowledge mapping,' which uses a crowd-sourcing approach to transfer local stakeholder expertise onto base maps. In practice, a combination of both is often preferred.
• ROAM identifies six main analytical tools or components: Stakeholder Prioritization of Restoration Interventions, Restoration Opportunities Mapping, Restoration Economic Modelling and Valuation, Restoration Cost-Benefit-Carbon Modelling, Restoration Diagnostic of Presence of Key Success Factors, and Restoration Finance and Resourcing Analysis.
• The economic analysis component uses 'marginal analysis' to determine the additional benefit and cost of a restoration intervention compared to a baseline land use, rather than attempting to account for all values in a landscape.
• Carbon sequestration benefits are estimated using IPCC methods, typically the 'Tier 1' method for national-level analysis, which tracks changes in carbon stored in biomass based on default values.
• The 'Restoration Diagnostic of Presence of Key Success Factors' evaluates three themes to determine a country's readiness for restoration: clear motivation among actors, enabling conditions (ecological, market, policy, legal, social, and institutional), and capacity and resources for sustained implementation.
• The methodology categorizes FLR interventions into three land-use situations: forest land (wide-scale restoration), agricultural land (mosaic restoration), and protective lands and buffers (e.g., mangrove restoration and watershed protection).
• The guide emphasizes a multi-stakeholder approach, dividing participants into primary stakeholders (direct interest/livelihood dependence), secondary stakeholders (indirect interest/management agencies), and interest groups (NGOs or international organizations).

APA

Maginnis, S., Laestadius, L., Verdone, M., DeWitt, S., Saint-Laurent, C., Rietbergen-McCracken, J., & Shaw, D. M. P. (2014). A guide to the Restoration Opportunities Assessment Methodology (ROAM). World Resources Institute. https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/guide-restoration-opportunities-assessment-methodology.pdf

Chicago

Maginnis, Stewart, Lars Laestadius, Michael Verdone, Sean DeWitt, Carole Saint-Laurent, Jennifer Rietbergen-McCracken, and Daniel M. P. Shaw. A guide to the Restoration Opportunities Assessment Methodology (ROAM). World Resources Institute, 2014. https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/guide-restoration-opportunities-assessment-methodology.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{maginnis2014guide, author = {Maginnis, Stewart and Laestadius, Lars and Verdone, Michael and DeWitt, Sean and Saint-Laurent, Carole and Rietbergen-McCracken, Jennifer and Shaw, Daniel M. P.}, title = {{A guide to the Restoration Opportunities Assessment Methodology (ROAM)}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2014}, url = {https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/guide-restoration-opportunities-assessment-methodology.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }