November 13, 2024

TOP AFRICA NEWS

We Digest News to tell the Truth

How “forest gardens” are restoring land – and hope – in Sub-Saharan Africa

By regreening the landscape, the gardens offset local deforestation. They also contribute to global efforts to conserve biodiversity, counter climate change, and improve the health of soils. TREES says its projects have already planted 100 million trees around the world.

In recognition of its benefits for people and nature, the initiative was recently designated a United Nations World Restoration Flagship. The award, part of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, is designed to showcase efforts that are reviving the natural world.

“Initiatives like TREES are playing an important role in reversing decades of ecosystem degradation, especially across the Sahel, pushing back desertification, increasing climate resilience, and improving the well-being of farmers and their communities,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). UNEP coordinates the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration along with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

Since 2014, non-profit group Trees for the Future has helped 50,000 households in Kenya, Mali, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda. Credit: (UNEP)

Jeandarque Sambou is one of tens of thousands of smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa who have established tree-dotted “forest gardens” with assistance from Trees for the Future (TREES), a non-profit group. The initiative, say those involved, is helping to diversify food and income sources, making families more resilient, and pushing back against land degradation.

Since 2014, the initiative reports that it has supported 50,000 households in Kenya, Mali, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda. TREES officials say they are aiming to restore 2,290 square kilometers by 2030.

According to Fatoumata Diehiou, the regional coordinator for TREES in Fatick, the initiative is also helping to stem the migration of young people from Senegal’s rural communities.

“Someone who finds work in their region, in their country, will not go elsewhere,” Diehiou said.

In the beds of her neatly laid out garden, Sambou grows vegetables including cabbage, potatoes, and onions, as well as hibiscus, a red flower widely used in West Africa to flavor jellies, jams, and drinks.

Sambou stated that she no longer buys vegetables like onions or capsicum as the forest garden provides them all.

TREES aims to restore 2,290 square kilometres by 2030. Credit: (UNEP)

It’s not all been plain sailing. In the first year, hungry livestock broke through Sambou’s fence and destroyed her crops. Now she reinforces the boundary with thorn-laden branches cut from acacia trees, whose leaves and roots also deliver nutrients to her soil.

“I take care of my garden like I take care of my children,” she said.

The skills that her family has acquired have become a form of insurance against whatever the future may bring.

Sambou insisted that his children are aware of his garden activities, and he believes that his absence will prevent their suffering.

Leave a Reply

TOPAFRICANEWS.COM © All rights reserved.
Verified by MonsterInsights