Green Belt Movement
Encyclopedia
The Green Belt Movement is an indigenous grassroots
non-governmental organization
based in Nairobi
, Kenya
that takes a holistic approach to development by focusing on environmental conservation, community development and capacity building. Professor Wangari Maathai
established the organization in 1977, under the auspices of the National Council of Women of Kenya.
The Green Belt Movement organizes women in rural Kenya to plant trees, combat deforestation
, restore their main source of fuel for cooking, generate income, and stop soil erosion. Maathai has incorporated advocacy and empowerment for women, eco-tourism, and just economic development into the Green Belt Movement.
Since Maathai started the movement in 1977, over 40 million trees have been planted. Over 30,000 women trained in forestry
, food processing
, bee-keeping, and other trades that help them earn income while preserving their lands and resources. Communities in Kenya (both men and women) have been motivated and organized to both prevent further environmental destruction and restore that which has been damaged.
In 2004, Wangari Maathai
received the Nobel Peace Prize
- becoming the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize - for her work with the Green Belt Movement. Her book, The Green Belt Movement is published by Lantern Books
. Maathai was a leader in ecofeminist movement
.
Each of these programs is aimed at improving the lives of local inhabitants by mobilizing their own abilities to improve their livelihoods and protect their local environment, economy and culture.
From 1977-1988, the movement steers clear of traditional political arenas seeking to transform the social ground through reforestation and education. During the second phase, 1989–1994, the Green Belt Movement maintains these non-confrontational goals, while Wangari Maathai openly challenges the political arena. Throughout the Green Belt Movement, the organizers have been conscientious in framing their beliefs in a non-violent way. As a result, consensus, and not conflict or disruption among environmental issues has been the catalyst for major change in the social and political arena.
. A sustained, and often lonely protest, against the construction of a 60-story business complex in the heart of Uhuru Park
in Nairobi
was launched and won.
In 1991 a similar protest was launched that saved Jeevanjee Gardens
from the fate of being turned into a multi-story parking lot.
In 1998, the Movement led a crusade against the illegal allocation of parts of the 2,000 acre (8 km²) Karura Forest
, a vital water catchment area in the outskirts of Nairobi
. The struggle was finally won in 2003 when leaders of the newly elected NARC
government affirmed their commitment to the forest by planting trees in the area.
This activism has come at a high cost to both Maathai in person and to the Movement. The Kenyan government closed Greenbelt offices, has twice jailed Maathai and she was subject in 1992 to a severe beating by police while leading a peaceful protest against the imprisonment of several environmental and political activists. Whilst these have served as impediments to the Greenbelt Movement, they have not stifled it and it continues as a world-renowned and respected Movement.
In 2007, the Green Belt Movement endorsed the Forests Now Declaration
, calling for new market based mechanisms to protect tropical forests.
Grassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
non-governmental organization
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
based in Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
that takes a holistic approach to development by focusing on environmental conservation, community development and capacity building. Professor Wangari Maathai
Wangari Maathai
Wangari Muta Mary Jo Maathai was a Kenyan environmental and political activist. She was educated in the United States at Mount St. Scholastica and the University of Pittsburgh, as well as the University of Nairobi in Kenya...
established the organization in 1977, under the auspices of the National Council of Women of Kenya.
The Green Belt Movement organizes women in rural Kenya to plant trees, combat deforestation
Deforestation
Deforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use....
, restore their main source of fuel for cooking, generate income, and stop soil erosion. Maathai has incorporated advocacy and empowerment for women, eco-tourism, and just economic development into the Green Belt Movement.
Since Maathai started the movement in 1977, over 40 million trees have been planted. Over 30,000 women trained in forestry
Forestry
Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
, food processing
Food processing
Food processing is the set of methods and techniques used to transform raw ingredients into food or to transform food into other forms for consumption by humans or animals either in the home or by the food processing industry...
, bee-keeping, and other trades that help them earn income while preserving their lands and resources. Communities in Kenya (both men and women) have been motivated and organized to both prevent further environmental destruction and restore that which has been damaged.
In 2004, Wangari Maathai
Wangari Maathai
Wangari Muta Mary Jo Maathai was a Kenyan environmental and political activist. She was educated in the United States at Mount St. Scholastica and the University of Pittsburgh, as well as the University of Nairobi in Kenya...
received the Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
- becoming the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize - for her work with the Green Belt Movement. Her book, The Green Belt Movement is published by Lantern Books
Lantern Books
Lantern Books is an American book publisher since 1998, first located in Union Square , and now with offices in Brooklyn. It "publishes books for all wanting to live with greater spiritual depth and commitment to the preservation of the natural world." The subject areas that Lantern Books covers...
. Maathai was a leader in ecofeminist movement
Ecofeminism
Ecofeminism is a social and political movement which points to the existence of considerable common ground between environmentalism and feminism, with some currents linking deep ecology and feminism...
.
Structure
There are two divisions of the Green Belt Movement: Green Belt Movement Kenya (GBM Kenya) and the Green Belt Movement International (GBMI).Key focus areas of GBM Kenya
The Green Belt Movement works in six principal areas, known as "core programs":- Advocacy & Networking
- Civic & Environmental Education
- Environmental Conservation/Tree Planting
- Green Belt Safaris (GBS)
- Pan African Training Workshops; and
- Women for Change (capacity building)
Each of these programs is aimed at improving the lives of local inhabitants by mobilizing their own abilities to improve their livelihoods and protect their local environment, economy and culture.
History
In 1972, the environmental movement revolutionized advocacy and policies surrounding environmental issues such as those in The United Nations Environment Programme, also known as (UNEP). UNEP was established in Nairobi as a result of the United Nation Conference on Human Environment held in Stockholm in the same year. This development helped arouse interest in the environment in Africa regardless of the fact that many governments in the region held hostile sentiments towards the policies adopted in Stockholm to limit environmental degradation. Soon after, Maathai served as chairwoman of the UNEP's Environment Liaison Center board, which today is called the Environment Liaison Center International. In 1974, Maathai's focus became forestation and reforestation issues. She introduced a tree-planting program and opened the first tree nursery, from which she formed Envirocare Ltd. Although this program experienced many setbacks because of a lack of funding and support, it facilitated Maathai's involvement with the National Council of Women of Kenya as a member of the Executive Committee in 1977. Her determination to inexpensively provide the rural women of the NCWK with sufficient wood for fuel, building, and soil conservation, inspired the Save the Land Harambee tree-planting initiative. This soon began a widespread tree-planting strategy in which over a thousand seedlings were planted in long rows to form green belts of trees, and thus marking the very beginning of the Green Belt Movement.
"These "belts" had the advantages of providing shade and windbreaks, facilitating soil conservation, improving the aesthetic beauty of the landscape and providing habitats for birds and small animals. During these local tree-planting ceremonies, community members usually turned out in large numbers. To conceptualize this fast-paced activity of creating belts of trees to adorn the naked land, the name Green Belt Movement was used."
From 1977-1988, the movement steers clear of traditional political arenas seeking to transform the social ground through reforestation and education. During the second phase, 1989–1994, the Green Belt Movement maintains these non-confrontational goals, while Wangari Maathai openly challenges the political arena. Throughout the Green Belt Movement, the organizers have been conscientious in framing their beliefs in a non-violent way. As a result, consensus, and not conflict or disruption among environmental issues has been the catalyst for major change in the social and political arena.
Projects
- 1980s: Establishment of over 600 tree nurseries achieved (2,500 - 3,000 women assisting)
- 1980s: Establishment of approximately 2,000 public green belts carrying 1,000 tree seedlings on each green belt
- mid-1980s: Pan-African Green Belt Network developed (since adopted in Tanzania, Uganda, Lesotho, Malawi, Zimbabwe etc.)
- 1988: Struggle against construction of Africa's tallest skyscraper in Uhuru ParkUhuru ParkUhuru Park is a recreational park adjacent to the central business district of Nairobi, Kenya. It contains an artificial lake and an assembly ground used for occasional political and religious gatherings...
Nairobi (see "Activism Against the Odds" below) - 2007: Support of the Billion Tree CampaignUnited Nations Billion Tree CampaignPlant for the Planet: Billion Tree Campaign is a worldwide tree planting campaign established by the United Nations Environment Programme with the goal of a billion trees being planted during 2007...
Activism
In 1989 the Movement took on the powerful business associates of President Daniel arap MoiDaniel arap Moi
Daniel Toroitich arap Moi was the President of Kenya from 1978 until 2002.Daniel arap Moi is popularly known to Kenyans as 'Nyayo', a Swahili word for 'footsteps'...
. A sustained, and often lonely protest, against the construction of a 60-story business complex in the heart of Uhuru Park
Uhuru Park
Uhuru Park is a recreational park adjacent to the central business district of Nairobi, Kenya. It contains an artificial lake and an assembly ground used for occasional political and religious gatherings...
in Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
was launched and won.
In 1991 a similar protest was launched that saved Jeevanjee Gardens
Jeevanjee Gardens
Jeevanjee Gardens is an open garden in the Central Business District of Nairobi, Kenya.Jeevanjee Gardens was founded by A.M. Jeevanjee, an Asian-born entrepreneur in Kenya...
from the fate of being turned into a multi-story parking lot.
In 1998, the Movement led a crusade against the illegal allocation of parts of the 2,000 acre (8 km²) Karura Forest
Karura Forest
Karura Forest is an urban forest in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. The forest was gazetted in 1932 and is managed by the Kenya Forest Service ....
, a vital water catchment area in the outskirts of Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
. The struggle was finally won in 2003 when leaders of the newly elected NARC
National Rainbow Coalition
The National Rainbow Coalition was a coalition of Kenyan political parties in power from 2002 and 2005 when it fell apart in a controversy between its wings about a constitutional referendum.-Formation:...
government affirmed their commitment to the forest by planting trees in the area.
This activism has come at a high cost to both Maathai in person and to the Movement. The Kenyan government closed Greenbelt offices, has twice jailed Maathai and she was subject in 1992 to a severe beating by police while leading a peaceful protest against the imprisonment of several environmental and political activists. Whilst these have served as impediments to the Greenbelt Movement, they have not stifled it and it continues as a world-renowned and respected Movement.
In 2007, the Green Belt Movement endorsed the Forests Now Declaration
Forests Now Declaration
The Forests Now Declaration is a declaration that advocates using carbon credits to protect tropical forests. The Declaration was created by the Global Canopy Programme, and has been signed by over 200 NGOs, business leaders, scientists and conservationists...
, calling for new market based mechanisms to protect tropical forests.