Exciting News! African Women on the Frontlines of Forest Restoration & AFR100
This story is from Planet Women’s 2022 Mid-Year Report.
In Africa, land degradation is at a crisis point. According to a report published by AFR100, one-third of Africans are affected by land degradation, 33% of agricultural soils are moderately to severely degraded and 48% of African forests have been lost or degraded.
The importance of protecting Africa’s forests cannot be overstated. Close to a fifth (17%) of the world’s forests are in Africa. The continent is home to the second-largest rainforest on the planet: the lush Congo Basin, where the trees and peat soils are key to stabilizing climate change. Central African forests are estimated to support more than 60 million people and provide habitat to diverse wildlife, like elephants, chimpanzees, gorillas and more than 300 species of birds.
Mountain gorilla in Bwindi Forest, Uganda. © Brenda Berry
With so much at stake, African nations are collaborating on AFR100, an initiative that aims to restore 100 million hectares of land in Africa by 2030. Thirty-two African countries have committed to participate along with public and private sector partners, international development programs and local communities. This enormous effort has already mobilized billions of dollars to restore forests, mangroves, wetlands and grasslands.
This is an important opportunity to increase the diversity of voices that are represented in landscape restoration and ensure that women are included at every level. How, why and where people interact with trees and forests differ across genders, communities and regions, so it is essential to have a broad diversity of leaders designing and implementing AFR100. For all these reasons, we are thrilled to announce the launch of our center for gender equity and environment in Africa!
Through the center (which is so new we don’t have an official name for it yet!), Planet Women will provide a suite of services tailored to local women and organizations participating in AFR100 restoration work. We will offer leadership and skill-building modules that address areas where women seek to grow and create space for community-building and mentorship. The center will also offer technical support to restoration organizations, including:
Gender assessment and analysis to identify gaps in gender equity and inclusion opportunities, and partner on action plans that increase the success of restoration efforts.
Capacity building around how to incorporate gender into restoration plans; how to increase women’s leadership in project design and implementation; and increase their visibility and role in communications. This includes measures to mitigate any conflict or safety risks (e.g., gender-based violence) and measures to ensure women’s voices and priorities are heard and incorporated into restoration efforts in a way that is mindful of local customs and laws.
Tree planting in Rwanda with One Tree Planted and Kula Project. © Kula Project
Wanjira Mathai, Managing Director of Africa and Global Partnerships at World Resources Institute, shared this powerful statement about AFR100: “Local communities own and manage nearly 70% of Africa’s land. That is why a future where rural Africa’s landscapes are fully restored is only possible if we believe in and fund the work of thousands of community groups and leaders, especially young people, women and entrepreneurs.”
Planet Women would not have been able to bring this dream to fruition without seed funding from a generous philanthropist and our partnership with One Tree Planted, a global reforestation organization. One Tree Planted is collaborating on our initial program offerings for their roster of trusted planting partners—more than 80 local nonprofits conducting restoration for AFR100. We are so grateful!
Two women tree planting in Rwanda. You can see the seedling nursery in the background! © Kula Project
Progress update from current Africa projects
With funding from Planet Women, Conservation Through Public Health, Uganda Wildlife Authority, and local government partners carried out 10 workshops for women farmers and community advocates who live and work around Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The workshops reached 245 women and shared education around conservation, public health, leadership, business management, and sustainable agriculture practices. Planet Women is very proud to have supported this project from the initial needs assessment in 2019 (when we were still New Course!) to the successful workshops in 2022.
Through Congo Education Partners, Planet Women donors contributed directly to scholarships for female students and faculty at Djolu Technical College in the remote rainforest of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Students there are majoring in environment and sustainable development, water and forests, and nursing and public health. Your gifts also supported salaries for visiting professors from the University of Kisangani.
In May 2022, with a grant from Planet Women, Botswana Wild Bird Trust (BWBT) hired Manga Motho, a social scientist from the University of Botswana, Okavango Research Institute. Manga will be conducting a baseline assessment of educational barriers for young women in the eastern panhandle of the Okavango River Delta. This study will inform a plan to improve educational opportunities for girls in the region through BWBT’s Educator’s Expeditions program.
More than 375 Samburu Indigenous women are now “Milk Mammas,” selling their goats’ milk to feed the rescued wildlife at Reteti Elephant Sanctuary. Planet Women provides ongoing gender-related technical support for this project, advising on design, implementation, and monitoring. We are very excited to see the positive feedback from the women in the program. This year, we helped set up women’s savings groups and trainings in bookkeeping, entrepreneurship, and business management. Thanks to these women, 18 elephants, four giraffes, two kudus and two gerenuks get tasty, healthy milk every day!
“I am proud to see the baby elephants are healthy and that it is my goats feeding them. We have opened bank accounts for the first time. We have confidence that every month we will be paid, and I can afford my daughter’s school fees. For the first time I have been able to save money, to spend on my family and myself.”-Nalele Lemojong, Milk Mamma, Kenya
We’re celebrating Planet Women’s two-year anniversary this month! As you look back at all that’s been accomplished, please help continue the momentum by making a secure donation below.
Your support uplifts women, families, and communities and helps safeguard the precious forests, waters and wildlife that keep Earth’s ecosystems in balance. Thank you so much!