Green Belt Movement Kenya

Green Belt Movement The Green Belt Movement is a grassroots organization based in Kenya and it focuses on environmental conservation and community development. Green Belt Movement has undergone tremendous growth and evolution over several years. It was founded in 1977 by Wangari Mutta Maathai, known then as Envirocare. Wangari Maathai joined the National Council of Women of Kenya and was actively participating in it. She introduced the idea of Envirocare to her colleagues and, after consultations and discussions; they agreed that it was necessary to establish such an initiative. However, rather than impose the name Envirocare on them, Wangari and her colleagues derived a new name for the organization: Save the Land Harambee. As the campaign progressed, many people at the grassroots joined in the tree-planting exercise because they realized the importance of soil conservation and reforestation. The strategy that Save the Land Harambee employed involved encouraging community members to plant trees in large areas of public land so as to form green belts of trees. Many with a lot of excitement and enthusiasm embraced this strategy and it was not long before the organization became synonymous with Green Belts. To capture the dynamism that was instrumental to its success, the name of the organization was changed from Save the Land Harambee to The Green Belt Movement (GBM) a name that it has retained ever since. In addition to forming Green Belts on public lands, the need to plant trees on private land also arose since more than 90% of the rural population use fuel wood in their homes on a daily basis. In response to this need, GBM encouraged community members to organize themselves into groups, become members of the organization and then establish a tree nursery and distribute seedlings to community member’s free-of-charge. In return, GBM promised to compensate these groups in monetary terms for the seedlings that they distributed. To make the whole process effective as well as ensure a high survival rate of trees, GBM developed a methodology, which is now known as the ten-step procedure for tree planting. The main objectives of Green Belt Movement (1) To promote environmental conservation and sustainable development. (2) To avert desertification process throughout Africa through planting of trees. (3) To encourage tree planting soil rehabilitation, water harvesting, reforestation. (4) To protect the catchments areas, many of which have been deforest rated. (5) To protect Zero-grazing and organic farming as a means of improving soil fertility and food production. The Green Belt Movement grew very fast. By the early 1980s there were estimated to be 600 tree nurseries, involving 2000, 3000 women. About 2000 public Green Belts with about a thousand seedlings each had been established and over half a million school children were involved. Some 15000 farmers had planted woodlots on their own farms. In 1986 the movement established a Pan African Green Belt Network and has introduced over 40 individuals from other African countries to its approach. This has led to the adoption of Green Belt methods in Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Lesotho, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe and some other countries of the region.