Green Belt Movement (community reforestation)
Movimiento del Cinturón Verde (reforestación comunitaria)
- Date
- 5 de junio de 1977 · confidence high
- Place
- Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya
- Credited to
- Wangari Maathai and the National Council of Women of Kenya
- Field
- Life & health
What it is
A tree-planting programme run by rural women's groups with local nurseries that combines erosion control, firewood and income. It planted tens of millions of trees and earned Maathai the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize.
It grew out of a World Environment Day event in 1977 with seven trees; the tree count comes from the movement's own statistics.
What it led to
- a community reforestation model copied across Africa and beyond
- a link between environmental conservation, democracy and women's rights
- the UN 'Billion Tree' campaign