GBM International

The mission of the Green Belt Movement International is to empower communities worldwide to protect the environment and to promote good governance and cultures of peace. Read a letter from founder Wangari Maathai.

Our Goals

Through its holistic approach to development, the Green Belt Movement addresses the underlying social, political, and economic causes of poverty and environmental degradation at the grassroots level. Its empowerment seminars help people make critical linkages between the environment, governance, and their quality of life. Participants develop a deep desire to better their own lives and communities. As they gain economic security, they are willing to protect shared resources such as forests, public parks, and rivers. The GBM started by addressing a serious problem with a simple solution: getting communities to plant trees as a symbol of their commitment. Today, this approach is taking root worldwide.

In Kenya and throughout Africa, forest and natural resources remain under tremendous pressure. The seeds of democracy, good governance, and environmental stewardship have been planted, but their shoots are still tender. Unless they are nurtured, future generations will inherit a less secure world.

The Green Belt Movement’s philosophy and approach is based on the premise that truly sustainable development can only take place through recognizing the intimate and fundamental link between the environment, democracy, and peace. The global interest in this approach provides an opportunity to share this experience with other organizations around the world and to mobilize resources in support of this expansion. To serve this role, the Green Belt Movement International (GBMI) has been established.

The vision of GBMI is a world in which the environment, democratic space, and peace are secure, and citizens are empowered to take action. To achieve this vision, GBMI has developed four bold and ambitious strategic goals. Click on each goal for further information about it.

Goal 1 of GBMI: Strengthen and expand the Green Belt Movement in Kenya

As a result of GBM programs, hundreds of thousands of poor women in rural communities in Kenya have improved their lives, soil erosion has been reduced in critical watersheds, and thousands of acres of biodiversity-rich indigenous forests have been restored or protected. Yet, many Kenyans still live in poverty without access to basic services, education, and economic opportunities. The GBM seeks to expand its grassroots presence throughout Kenya and empower more individuals to address the underlying causes of poverty and environmental degradation.

Currently, Kenya’s forest cover is 1.7 percent, far below the minimum UN recommended goal of 10 percent. Through its grassroots action, GBM seeks to scale up its tree-planting activities. Our focus will be Kenya’s five forested mountain areas. Kenya’s world famous wildlife, its major lakes and rivers, its agricultural areas and 70 percent of its electricity depend on protecting, through reforestation, the water originating in these five forested mountains.

The aim is to:
  • Expand existing community tree-planting programs throughout Kenya.
  • Expand or initiate integrated conservation programs in Kenya’s five forested mountain areas, which are also areas of exceptional biodiversity value.
  • Support other GBM programs in Kenya, such as civic and environmental education, reproductive health education, and local advocacy.

Goal 2 of GBMI: To share the Green Belt Movement’s program with other countries in Africa and beyond

In the 1990s, GBM was one of the most prominent organizations publicly opposing corruption, advocating for human rights, protecting open green space, and supporting peaceful democratic change in Kenya. This success has resulted in a new consciousness about the importance of the environment in our daily lives.

With initial funding from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), GBM formed the Pan African Green Network, which has provided a means for outreach to other like-minded environmental organizations across Africa. The GBM trained 55 community leaders from 15 African countries through this network to begin their own tree-planting and grassroots organizing programs. The GBM is also a founding member of The Africa Biodiversity Network, an informal network of some 300 concerned Africans engaged in promoting conservation, sustainable development, and the protection of indigenous knowledge and cultures. Expanding these networks is a priority of GBMI.

GBMI aims to:
  • Support and strengthen like-minded networks throughout Africa, such as the Pan African Green Network and The Africa Biodiversity Network.
  • Develop programs based on the GBM approach in 10 countries in Africa within the next five years
  • Build partnerships with other like-minded organizations in countries throughout the world to provide opportunities for exchange, education, and experiential learning

Goal 3 of GBMI: To empower Africans, especially women and girls, and nurture their leadership and entrepreneurial skills

Africa is one of the richest continent on the planet, but her people remain some of the poorest. At the grassroots level, many youth remain unemployed and disempowered. The GBMI aims to help them develop the knowledge, skills, and tools to create opportunities for themselves and others. It is through such initiatives that they gain confidence, dignity, and a sense of self-worth. Inspiring a spirit of entrepreneurship is one way to ensure that young people today become the role models of tomorrow.

To date, GBM has created programs for young women addressing the challenges of growing up. These programs facilitate income-generating activities such as tree planting, beekeeping, and food processing. They provide training on reproductive health and encourage the development of care and support centers.

The GBMI seeks to create experiential learning opportunities through the development of an empowerment center for young Africans. Through nurturing a new culture of entrepreneurship, GBMI will unleash the creativity and confidence necessary for our youth to achieve their potential.

GBMI aims to:
  • Develop a model empowerment program based on GBM’s current civic and environmental programs and conduct research into similar experiential learning programs around the world
  • Design and build an Empowerment Center for youth, particularly women and girls, in Kenya that uses the model program described above.
  • Increase the impact of our programs through inviting youth from across Africa to participate.
  • Develop institutional partnerships to expand the concept in Kenya and throughout the world.

Goal 4 of GBMI: Advocate internationally for the environment, good governance, equity and cultures of peace

Looking back over her years with the Green Belt Movement, Wangari Maathai remarked, “If I have learned one thing, it is that humans are only part of this ecosystem. When we destroy the ecosystem, we destroy ourselves, for in its survival depends our own.” The United Nations, the African Union, and other global organizations are beginning integrated efforts to end poverty and promote environmental sustainability across Africa. GBMI has a tremendous opportunity to inform and influence global policy related to these issues.

One such opportunity is to raise awareness about the need to protect the Congo Basin forests. Africa’s forests continue to be destroyed at an alarming rate, yet the Congo Basin Forest Ecosystem remains the largest expanse of natural tropical forest outside the Amazon. These forests are of tremendous value to humankind and have been called the earth’s “second lung.” Wangari Maathai has been invited to be a special ambassador for this fragile and important ecosystem and work with national leaders to help secure its future. Another important initiative is the African Union’s Economic, Cultural, and Social Council (ECOSOCC). Wangari Maathai has been named the president of ECOSOCC to help galvanize the mobilization of Africa’s civil society.

GBMI aims to:
  • Raise awareness about the need to protect vital ecological systems such as the Congo Basin forests.
  • Continue to build GBM’s capacity as a leading international advocate and ambassador for environmental conservation, sustainable development, good governance and peace.
  • Partner with research institutions to provide scientific rationale for enlightened international development and sound environmental policies.
  • Promote campaigns that encourage people to use resources wisely, such as the 3R campaign: Reduce, Re-use, Recycle in Kenya and the “Mottainai Campaign” in Japan.