The Importance of Resourcing Reforestation Leaders in Africa

Planet Women’s mission is to partner with women to create a healthy planet for the benefit of all life. In 2022, Planet Women launched the Center for Gender, Equity & the Environment (CGEE) to resource women leaders and grassroots groups that are restoring forests and protecting nature in Africa.

It is essential to have a broad diversity of leaders making decisions about how nature is protected and how resources are stewarded. How, why and where people interact with the environment differs across genders, communities and regions, so many voices are needed to shape effective solutions. Planet Women’s goal is to ensure that women environmental leaders have the tools, skills and funds they need to create a better future.

Why Africa?

Close to one-fifth (17%) of the world’s forests are in Africa, yet land degradation and forest loss is at a crisis point. 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. Protecting Africa’s forests is essential to a healthy future for the whole planet. The African 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.

Why now?

Across Africa, there are many large-scale efforts to protect forests and biodiversity, like the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100), which aims to restore 100 million hectares of land in Africa by 2030. Thirty-two African countries have committed to participate in AFR100 along with public and private sector partners, international development programs and local communities. This enormous endeavor has 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.

In 2022, we partnered with One Tree Planted to connect with women and men working in reforestation organizations that are part of AFR100 and One Tree Planted’s network of trusted planting partners. After gaining input from these restoration groups on where they desired support, we worked with One Tree Planted’s Africa team to co-design our initial suite of offerings for CGEE: the Women’s Leadership Circle, the Gender Mainstreaming course, and easily accessible micro-grants for women to use on personal and professional development.

Promising Results & Looking Ahead

We are very grateful to our partners and donors who have made CGEE successful. As of June 2024, 22 women from 15 African countries have joined the Women’s Leadership Circle. And 50 women and men have taken in the Gender Mainstreaming course from across 10 African countries. Looking ahead to 2025, we anticipate hosting two more cohorts of the Women’s Leadership Circle and offering three more cohorts of the gender mainstreaming course.