The Green Belt Movement

In 2004, Dr. Wangari Maathai became the first African woman and environmentalist to earn the Nobel Peace Prize. She received the award for founding and leading the Green Belt Movement: A Kenya-based grassroots organization which has successfully championed environmental awareness, women’s and community empowerment, and locally-based sustainable development since 1977.

The idea of a self-sufficient, environmentally-based, local empowerment initiative emerged from Dr. Maathai’s active community engagement during her political campaigns in the 1970s. At that time, she gained a deeper understanding of the issues facing her poor constituents, especially underemployment and insufficient access to basic ressources like water, nutritious food, and energy (Michaelson, 1994). By 1977, she was even more prominent in women’s and environmental affairs as she became a member of the Executive Committee and Standing Committee on Environment and Habitat for the National Council of Women of Kenya. She would also go on to attend a UN conference on desertification in Nairobi, adding further urgency to her environmental agenda. In June of that same year, she took the first major, symbolic step to combating Kenya’s environmental and social issues: She held her first tree planting ceremony.

Rationale for tree-planting according to Dr. Maathai: –"Many women in rural areas said they were concerned about firewood, which was the main source of energy. They were concerned about water; there wasn’t adequate clean drinking water. They were concerned about nutritious food, and they were concerned about poverty, especially among women. I immediately suggested that perhaps what we should do with these women is to plant trees. I saw the connection between land degradation and lack of water.“ (Pal, 2005) –"Poverty is both a cause and a symptom of environmental degradation. You can’t say you’ll start to deal with just one. You’re trapped. When you’re in poverty, you’re trapped because the poorer you become, the more you degrade the environment, and the more you degrade the environment, the poorer you become. So it’s a matter of breaking the cycle.“ (Pal, 2005)

In light of the rewards outlined above, tree-planting quickly became a very popular proposition. In just over a decade, 10 million trees would be planted as communities from across Kenya joined the Movement (Michaelson, 2004). While Maathai was the conductor, the communities, especially the women, were the engine. They held primary responsibility for planting and maintaining the nurseries; they have helped advertise the Movement through word of mouth and local community associations; finally, as the key pillars of most Kenyan families, they were best-suited to pass on the values and ethics of the Movement to their immediate kin and future generations (Ibid; GBM, 2012; Karunditu, 2012; Kerry, 2003 as cited in Tree Mother of Africa, n.d.).

BENEFITS TO BIODIVERSITY Helps Maintain the Habitat and Ecosystem Supports indigenous plant species Reduces risk of endangering local plant and animal species BENEFITS TO LOCAL ECONOMY Improves land and soil productivity through storage of water and moisture. Allows for production of food, fuel wood, farm material, and market goods. BENEFITS TO CLIMATE Absorbs greenhouse gases Helps slow expansion of Sahara climate BENEFITS TO CIVIL SOCIETY Mobilization of women and communities Creates greater attachment to land Improves civic awareness for environment and land use. Improves Democratic Accountability

While Tree planting remains central to the mission and purpose of the Green Belt Movement, it also engages in a number of other activities to improve civic awareness, women’s rights, good governance, and community capacity building: –Provides seminars for schools and registered tree nurseries to raise awareness on the consequences of environmental degradation. –Conducts Green Belt Safari tours which invite visitors to work and interact with communities and GBM’s work. –Recruits community leaders and volunteers through the Society of Greens program. –Initiates ad hoc advocacy campaigns to challenge deforestation policies and government mismanagement. –Holds workshops that build skills and develop income-generating activities, with an eye towards advancing the economic mobilization of women.

In recent decades, the Green Belt Movement has earned great recognition and produced several impressive achievements: –GBM has planted approximately 47 million trees since 1977 (GBM, 2012). –As of 2006, GBM supported 6000 nurseries in 600 communities across Kenya. (Vidal, 2011) –It has established international offices in Washington and London. –Inspired by the GBM and under the leadership of Dr. Maathai, the United Nations Environment Programme launched the Plant for the Planet: The Billion Tree Campaign, a worlwide initiative to plant a billion trees a year. Over 12.5 billion trees have been planted under this initiative (UNEP, 2012). –It progressively became a prominent voice for political change and democratic improvement as it mobilized constituents against corruption and rights abuses from past governments. (Michaelson, 1994; Pal, 2005) –In addition to Nobel Peace Prize, Maathai has gained recognition from governments and institutions throughout the world including the NAACP image awards (2009), the Indira Ghandi Peace Prize (2006) awarded by the government of India, and the Order of the Rising Sun from the government of Japan (2009).

Dr. Maathai was the first Eastern African woman to earn a PhD, receiving a doctorate of anatomy from University College of Nairobi in She was a critical thinker who maintained a strong adherence to social justice and anti-imperialism during her studies in the United States. Her leadership and charisma helped mobilize communities across Kenya both politically and economically and inspire a global movement to reverse environmental degradation Sadly, Dr. Maathai passed away on September 25 th, 2011, due to complications from ovarian cancer. Fortunately, she left behind a great deal of wisdom, especially regarding the connections between the environment, women and local empowerment, politics, culture, and sustainable development: –“As long as there is no trust and confidence that there will be justice and fairness in resource distribution, political positioning will remain more important than service.” (UNEP, n.d.) –“The more I looked into the environment, and the more I looked into the problems that people were complaining about, especially women, the more I understood that what we were complaining about were the symptoms. And that we needed to understand the causes of those symptoms. Why did we deforest our country?” (Independent Lens, 2009) –“I found myself not just a woman wanting to plant trees to provide food and firewood. I found myself a woman fighting for justice, a woman fighting for equity. I started planting trees and found myself in the forefront of fighting for the restoration of democracy in my country.” (Independent Lens, 2009)

References The Green Belt Movement (GBM). (2012). The Green Belt Movement. Last Retrieved July 6, 2012 from Independent Lens. (2009). Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai. Public Broadcasting Service. Last Retrieved April 20, 2012 from Karunditu, M. (2012). Reflections from the Aberdares: Women are the cornerstones [Blog Entry]. The Green Belt Movement. Last Retrieved July 6, 2012 from Michaelson, M. “Wangari Maathai and Kenya's Green Belt Movement: Exploring the Evolution and Potentialities of Consensus Movement Mobilization.” Social Problems, 41: Pal, A. (2005). “Wangari Maathai.” The Progressive. May: n.p. Last Retrieved April 21, Wangari Maathai: The "Tree Mother of Africa" and Her Green Belt Movement. (n.d.). Tavaana. Last Retrieved July 6, 2012 from United Nations Environment Programme. (2012). About – Plant for the Planet. Last Retrieved July 6, 2012 from United Nations Environment Programme. (n.d.). Africa Environment Day/Wangari Maathai Day: A call for action – Quotes by Prof Maathai. Retrieved July 6, 2012 from %20Quotes%20by%20Prof%20Maathai.doc. %20Quotes%20by%20Prof%20Maathai.doc Vidal, John. (2011 September 26). Wangari Maathai Obituary. The Guardian. Last retrieved July 6, 2012 from