GBM Blog

This January, the Green Belt Movement (GBM), with support from Agence Française de Développement (AFD), began filming our upcoming documentary to show the lessons learned from the AFD Aberdares Rehabilitation Project that started in 2006. The objective of the project was to plant 2,000 hectares of degraded forestland with indigenous trees. To date 3.8 million trees have been planted on 3,800 hectares of public and forestlands. Nearly double the project objective! GBM tree nursery groups grew indigenous trees and planted them in strategic areas that will in time increase tree cover, having a positive impact on ecosystem services like water volume and biodiversity.

The African Climate Change Resilience Alliance (ACCRA) has, together with the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), produced a new report on how development interventions can contribute to the adaptive capacity of communities and households. Intrigued by the topic, I went to the launch of the report that was held at the ODI on the 25 January 2012 to take part in some interesting discussions with the co-writer, Simon Levin among others.

At 2 am on the 2nd of November 2011, Sasha Hank set off on her final ascent to Lenana Point, the peak of Mount Kenya. In the darkness, she trekked through rock, sand and snow before she made it to Lenana Point – sitting 4,985m (16,355 ft) above sea level. Sasha and her companions reveled in their triumph as they sat among the clouds on the third highest peak of the tallest mountain in Kenya. Her accomplishments extended beyond the mountain for Sasha’s trek was one of dedication and commitment to the Green Belt Movement (GBM).

The UN climate change talks ended over a week ago in Durban. The talks over ran by 36 hours as governments struggled to find agreement. Many NGOs, including the Green Belt Movement, condemned the talks as too little too late to stop catastrophic climate change. According to science we are still on track to experience over 4 degrees increase in temperature which will be devastating for much of Africa. The deal done in Durban falls short of creating a mandate for emission cuts that is ambitious enough and also means the next commitment period will only come into force possibly in 2020. Countries including the US, Canada, China, New Zealand, Poland and India received Fossils for their poor performance in weakening the potential deal.