A description of the famous Green Belt Movement

1. Dr. Meenakshi Prasad
Assistant Professor
P.G. Department of Geography
Magadh University, Bodh Gaya
Source : google images
FOR DEPARTMENT OF WOMEN STUDIES

2. Disclaimer
The material for the presentation has been
compiled from various online sources available
on the internet. The information contained in the
presentation is for general information and
education purpose only. Endeavor has been made
to keep the information up to date & correct,
however the presenter makes no representation
of any kind about the completeness & accuracy of
the material. The information shared through this
presentation should be used for educational
purposes only

3. Contents :
1. Introduction
2. History
3. Division
4. Main Areas of Activity
5. Green Belt Movement & Women
6. Conclusion

4. Introduction
• The Green Belt
Movement was
founded in 1977 in
Kenya by Professor
Wangari Maathai under
the auspices of The
National Council of
Women of Kenya.
• It has its Headquarters
at Nairobi (Kenya)
Source : google images

5. • Green Belt Movement works at grassroots,
national & international levels to promote
environmental conservation, to build climate
resilience and to empower communities,
especially women & girls to foster democratic
space & sustainable livelihoods.
• According to an annual report done in 2003, ‘‘the
mission of GBM is to mobilize community
consciousness for self-determination, justice,
equity, reduction of poverty, and environmental
conservation, using trees as the entry point’’

6. • The Green Belt Movement also aims at organizing
women in rural Kenya
➢ to plant trees,
➢Combat deforestation,
➢restore their main sources of fuel for cooking,
➢generate income and
➢stop soil erosion
• Maathai has incorporated advocacy and
empowerment for women, eco-tourism and
overall economic development into the Green
Belt Movement.

7. History
• Before the start of the Green Belt Movement in
the 1970’s the position of women in the political
structure of Kenya was not very optimistic
• The Government was repressive and was
dominated by men and their patriarchal &
repressive views which created issues for women
& did not give them any political participation

8. • Many women throughout Kenya were struggling
with feeding their families, getting access to
natural resources (water, wood). Moreover, many
Kenyan women didn't have any form of legal
protection or say when it came to the politics in
Kenya. Women were so repressed and treated so
poorly that they weren't allowed to be in
government or sit in on political meetings.
• Responding to these challenges, Professor
Wangari Maathai founded the Green Belt
Movement in 1977, primarily working with
women in environmental conservation and
community empowerment in Kenya.

9. • Prior to founding the movement she was a part of
another environmental organization. Maathai served
as chairwoman of the UNEP's Environment Liaison
Center board, which today is called the Environment
Liaison Center International.
• From serving as a chairwomen with the UNLEP, she
later on in 1974, switched gears, and began focusing
her time and energy on mitigating environmental
issues.
• Maathai focused for efforts on battling deforestation
issues, and how to fix various other forest-related
issues in order to improve the overall quality of life for
the women and children in Kenya.

10. • Maathai was the first Eastern African woman to
receive a PhD from the University College of
Nairobi, and was a leader in the ecofeminist
movement.
• Maathai went on to serving as an active member
in the National Council of Women in Kenya from
1976 to 1987. During her time as a member she
served as the chairman for several years and she
began introducing her ideas about "community-
based" tree planting. From her continued work,
she eventually developed her ideas into an
organization, known as the Green Belt Movement
(GBM).

11. • The Green Belt Movement was officially founded on
the occasion of World Environment Day on June 5,
1977 by planting of seven seedlings and involved seven
ethnic tribes being honored through the planting of
trees.
• It took place in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, Starting
with seven seedlings on World Environment Day in
1977, the Movement soon began a widespread tree-
planting strategy in which over a thousand seedlings
were planted in long rows to form green belts of trees,
thus marking the very beginning of the Green Belt
Movement.

12. • 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.
• Gaining support and funding from the National Council
of Women of Kenya, the GBM was able to successfully
continue its work and efforts throughout Kenya.

13. • Eventually changes within Kenya and its government
occurred. The Green Belt Movement specifically played
an essential role in changing the ways women were
treated, excluded from, and used in Kenya.
• The framing of the Green Belt Movement as a non-
threatening environmental conservation effort made
an enormous impact on the government and
communities during a time that many other forms of
activism were seen as threats to the government.
However, by encouraging women to question their
place and challenge social and political institutions that
keep women compliant the Green Belt Movement was
eventually founded officially.

14. Divisions of Green Belt Movement
• There are two divisions that make up the
Green Belt Movement including:
• Green Belt Movement Kenya (GBM Kenya)
• Green Belt Movement International (GBMI).

15. Main Areas of Activity
1
• Tree Planting & Water Harvesting
2
• Climate Change
3
• Mainstream Advocacy
4
• Gender Livelihood & Advocacy

16. Tree Planting & Water Harvesting
“If you destroy the
forest then the river will
stop flowing, the rains
will become irregular,
the crops will fail and
you will die of hunger
and starvation”
-Prof. Wangari Maathai
Source : google images

17. • The Green Belt Movement uses a watershed
based approach to restore degraded watersheds
of key catchments so as to improve their
functions and improve the livelihood of the local
communities
• Being an integrated approach, it sustainably
supports and diversifies the sources of income for
the communities neighbouring the forest by
generating income from tree planting activities
and promoting alternative and profitable use of
the forest.

18. • Since 1977, GBM communities have planted
over 51 million trees in Kenya, in watersheds
in the highlands of Mt. Kenya, the Aberdares
& the Mau complex – three of the major
mountain ecosystems in Kenya, as well as on
private lands.
Source : google images

19. • GBM also plants trees
on public lands with
institutions such as faith
based groups, schools
and has a partnership
with the Kenya Army to
help access remote
areas for planting and
tree planting and tree
planting on army lands.
Source : google images

21. • In 1986, The Green Belt Movement formed a pan-
African Green Belt Network. The Network was formed
to educate (women especially) on tree planting
practices that are sustainable and environmentally
safe. The Network was formed in several countries
including Uganda, Malawi, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and
Ethiopia.
• In 2006 During the COP 12 (Conference of Parties) in
Nairobi, the Green Belt Movement launched the Billion
Trees Campaign in partnership with the United Nations
Environment Program (UNEP) and the World
Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF).

22. Climate Change
• Climate change poses one of the greatest
challenges facing the world in the 21st century
• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC) notes that climate change if not tackled
will have a severe negative impact on global
water supply, agricultural yields, marine
ecosystems and the spread of vector-borne
diseases & could result in the displacement of
thousands of people from coastal cities & small
islands

23. • In Kenya, the adverse impact of climate change is
compounded by local environment degradation caused
by illegal encroachments, deforestation & livestock
grazing. Forest cover for instance has fallen from 12%
in the 1960’s to 2% today.
• The experiences in Africa & Kenya specifically indicate
that women especially those for marginalised arid &
semi-arid areas are the most vulnerable to the effects
of climate change. This is because they are in charge of
most of the domestic and livelihood activities. They are
often responsible for their families and most of their
time is spent looking for food and water which are
often scarce in such regions.

24. • It is more difficult for
grassroots women who
find themselves managing
families in very strenuous
circumstances where
traditional livelihoods are
under threat & where
men are often absent.
• There is therefore need
for innovative strategies
& practices to alleviate
poverty and ensure
survival in the face of
climatic change.

25. • GBM believes that the current climate change policies
and actions in Kenya and world over do not provide
effective support for community engagement in
decision making, sustainable livelihoods and
environmental conservation
• It is because of this that the GBM has a climate change
programme that aims at strengthening the
understanding and capacity of rural communities &
forests in tackling climate change
• GBM’s approach empowers communities to take action
against climate change, the impacts of which are
already being witnessed across Africa, through food
security and water harvesting activities (adaptation)
and planting the appropriate trees in appropriate
places (mitigation)

26. • GBM has a long working relationship with likeminded
stake holders including the Government of Kenya in
climate change programmes and REDD+ activities.
• Some of the REDD+ activities that the organisation
partners with the Government are carbon projects in
Aberdare forest, Mt. Kenya forest & the Mau forest.
• The organisation has also been contributing to the
development of the National REDD+ process as a
partner including the development of ‘System for Land
Emission Estimation for Kenya (SLEEK) at technical level

27. • In 2007 GBM hosted several advocacy campaigns
against illegal grazing and charcoal burning in Mau
forest
• In 2009, GBM sent a delegation to the 15th United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (COP15). The
convention took place in Copenhagen, Denmark and
consisted of talks that were led by Wangari Maathai.
Maathai spoke at the convention several times and she
discussed topics on the challenges with climate
change, how to build resilient climate change
communities and ecosystems, and how women
deserve to be a part of the political
conversations/problems occurring within their
communities.

28. • In 2010, GBM with the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) and
Woods Hole Research Centre (WHRC) held a Training of
Trainers Workshop in August 2010 on Reduced Emissions
from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD).
• The GBM participated in advocating and educating the
public on the new constitution passed into law on August 5,
2010. The advocating educating the GBM did was for the
purpose for pursuing and pushing for environmental rights
being included into law.
• In 2013,GBM held a series of training workshops for a
variety of environmental leaders. From the workshops the
environmental leaders were able to learn about
environmental stewardship and conservation practices
within communities.

29. • In 2014, The GBM, the World Resources Institute
(WRI) and the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI)
worked together to bring groups of farmers from
130 different communities together. The
organizations hosted a series of activities to help
farmers understand climate change, and
understand how to counteract climate changes
effects on their farms. The organizations also
taught farms about water harvesting, fodder
growing and kitchen gardens.

30. • December 1, 2014, to December 12, 2014:
The Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC took
place in Lima, Peru. The GBM was a part of
the COP 20 Sustainable Innovation Forum that
brought together world leaders, senior
executives, investors and industry experts to
share ideas and accelerate innovative
solutions to address climate change,
accelerate green growth and sustainable
development.

31. Mainstream Advocacy
• Over the GBM and its founder Prof. Wangari Maathai
became internationally known for their advocacy
campaigns to preserve public land and foests including
Uhuru park, Karura forest & Jeevanjie gardens.
• In 1989 the Movement took on the powerful business
associates of President Daniel Arap Moi. 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.

32. • 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.
• Prof. Maathai led GBM’s campaigns on behalf of political
prisioner’s and against politically motivated ethnic violence
through the ‘Peace Tent Initiative’ and many other
campaigns.
• The GBM continues advocating for greater political
accountability and the expansion of democratic space in
Kenya.

33. • In 2012, GBM partnered with the Green Cross
International Sweden and they both participated with
peace and reconciliation initiatives within the District
of Nakuru County. This initiated organized the 1st
Children's Peace Festival 2012, that mobilized 1189
Children, Teachers, Education Officers and Security
stakeholders to gather at the Wangari Maathai Peace
Park in Molo town.
• The Peace Tent League was organized in Molo and the
League brought together ten teams from Molo
comprising two women's football clubs and eight
men's football clubs. The teams allowed for the
community and young children to bond, participated in
educational activities (besides sports) and build
relationships amongst communities.

34. • December 2013: The GBM partnered with Green Cross
Sweden and hosted the first Sports, Peace,
Environment, and Cohesion Marathon. This event took
place in two different countries, Nakuru and Baringo
and consisted of over 300 people participating in the
marathon. "The goal of the marathon was to reflect,
celebrate and re-energize efforts aimed at
strengthening sports, peace, environmental
conservation and the deepening of peaceful co-
existence of communities living in the Rift Valley
Region through community driven and inclusive peace
building events".

35. • GBM has called for time and again, an end to land
grabbing, deforestation & corruption.
• In 2005, Prof. Maathai and Mainichi Newspaper
launched the Mottainai campaign in Japan. The goal
was to mobilize the general public of Japan to use
resources more sustainably in their daily lives. The
term "Mottainai" is an ancient Japanese Buddhist
concept that urged people not to waste limited
resources, to be grateful for they have, and use what
they have with respect and care. Prof. Maathai was
introduced to the concept by Mainichi and has since
adopted it as a global campaign symbolic of the
protection and care of the environment.

36. • Through the continued support of Mainichi, GBM
extended the "Mottainai" campaign to Kenya in
2006 to address the issue of waste management,
particularly the common use of "flimsy" plastic
bags which cannot be recycled or re-used.
• At the international level, GBM advocates for
environmental policy that ensures the protection
of natural forests & community rights, especially
communities living close to and in forest eco-
systems in sub-saharan Africa & the Congo basin
rainforest ecosystem.

37. • December 2010, the GBM participated in the
16th United Nationals Framework Convention on
climate change (UNFCCC) Conference of the
Parties (COP 16) in Cancun, Mexico. GBM
attended the COP 16 to advocate for "for full and
effective participation of women, indigenous
peoples and local communities in climate change
decision making“
• In 2011, GBM facilitated workshops on climate
change and its impacts, and how it is caused. It
reached over 4000 community members.

38. Gender Livelihood & Advocacy
• GBM recognises that gender inequality is a major
obstacle to socio-economic and political
development as it hampers the participation of at
least half of the country’s population.
• GBM has taken various measures to promote
gender equality & gender equity.
• To make women economically self-sufficient it
has linked its tree planting with money
generation.

39. • GBM has the goal of
empowering women and
girls and nurturing their
leadership and
entrepreneurial skills by
mobilizing thousands of
women to establish tree
nurseries and plant
indigenous trees on
farms, public lands and
forests. Women receive a
financial token for the
seedlings that survive
Source : google images

40. • In 2007 GBM in the Mau Forest taught income
generating activities to women (Bee Keeping).
• GBM’s Gender Programme promotes and enhances
gender relations and involves women in decision
making processes and challenges the patriarchy within
national and global structures.
• Women for Change program (apart/ founded by the
GBM) continues to encourage and support women to
enter into leadership roles within the GBM. The GBM
also continued through this program to support
women with legal services, domestic violence help, and
education on natural resources/food security.

41. • The GBM runs a Community Empowerment &
Education Programme (CEE) through which community
members are educated about the linkages between
human activity and the environment which empowers
them to unite, take action & stand up for their rights.
• The CEE centers on women & community
empowerment to take over leadership in their own
situations
• GBM continues to increase awareness of gender issues
within the Constitution in Kenya. The GBM also hosts
several educational seminars pertaining to government
issues, political questions/problems, and voter
education for women from time to time

42. • In 2013, GBM launched an initiative to help women
learn about renewable clean energy, clean cooking
stoves/methods, alternatives to typical cooking
materials, and the building of tree nursery groups
amongst communities
• Women from the United Nations and the Green Belt
Movement celebrated in 2015, the World Environment
Day and the Beijing Platform for Action. This day took
place with hundreds of women and 500 trees were
planted at the Professor Wangari Maathai corner in the
Karura Forest in Nairobi, Kenya. This ceremony overall
brought a variety of attention to Professor Maathai's
work and actions while also spreading knowledge to
hundreds of women on the environment.

43. Green Belt Movement & Women
• The movement began as a project of women planting
trees and was started by a woman
• It one of the largest existing civil society organization
with over 100,000 women participants.
• At first the involvement of women began with the tree
planting program and it slowly grew into even more
than just the tree planting program.
• It addresses the problem of the women especially rural
women in Kenya.

44. • "African women in
general need to know
that it's ok for them to
be the way they are to
see the way they are as
a strength, and to be
liberated from fear and
from silence."
- Wangari Maathai
Source : google images

45. • Tree planting is central to
the activities of the GBM.
This is because of the
realisation of the rapid
diminishing of fuel wood
supplies, which is a major
source of energy in Kenya.
Women are the largest
user of fuel wood because
of the gender division of
labour in which women are
involved in searching for
fuel wood for cooking.
Source : google images

46. • Operations of GBM are carried out through a
network of affiliated women’s groups. It is
within groups that members receive mutual
support. Among the most important benefits
of the groups is the emphasis on the need to
make tree planting an income generating
activity for women. The women therefore not
only help produce and maintain their source
of energy but also get financial gains from the
seedlings they produce which gives them
extra income and improves their living
standards.

47. • The GBM started passing out seedlings to women and
teaching groups of women how to properly plant and
grow trees on their own.
• The GBM also provided free lessons to women in rural
communities so they could grow their own food and
feed their starving children.
• Since Wangari Maathai started the movement in 1977,
over 51 million trees have been planted, and over
30,000 women have been trained in forestry, food
processing, bee keeping, and other trades that help
them earn income while preserving their lands and
resources.
Source : google images

48. • Through the GBM taking a very hands on and invasive
approach to improving the rural communities within
Kenya, many women were able to get the natural
resources they needed/need to survive and continue to
grow their families.
• The amount of resource and support the GBM
provided especially to women, allowed for women to
become activists for the movement.
• It also allowed women to gain access to a variety of
educational resources and join the GBM's efforts,
activism, and overall contributions to rural
communities.

49. • GBM serves as a forum for the women from which the
members make political demand and intervention
• Maathai sparked the concept of Black Feminism in Kenya
which addresses the realities of intersectionality related to
identity and the multiple forms of oppression, Black
women specifically, experience.
• Maathai is responsible for initiating and growing the GBM,
and overall spreading feministic views, knowledge, and
educational materials throughout Kenya. She spread her
feministic views and knowledge due to the fact she
witnessed and endured a variety of discrimination, racism,
and gender inequality (as a women) throughout her life.
Through her experiences, and everything she had
witnessed in Kenya, she made it a goal for the GBM to
incorporate empowering women and fostering their
success.

50. • This in turn, initiated, Black feminism which has
become a known concept and a movement of its
own.
• Since Maathai incorporated black feminism
within the GBM, the number of women getting
involved in their local communities politics, state-
wide politics, and politics related to the GBM has
increased dramatically since 1977. Women would
typically not be aware or have access to political
information or resources, but through the GBM,
African American women have become involved
with politics.

51. • Specifically through the GBM, Maathai continued to
foster black feminism. She did this through the GBM
allowing women in Kenya to be key stakeholder in the
organization
• Being a key stakeholder has allowed for women to
discuss and bring awareness to more communities and
educate more women throughout the world.
• The GBM also continues to foster black feminism
through organizing seminars, speaking engagements,
and various community based meetings/discussions.
The organized seminars facilitated by the GBM, allowed
women from various rural Kenyan communities to
discuss their experiences of environmental
degradation, political views, discriminatory
experiences, etc.

52. • From the variety of discussions and seminars that take
place, women are able to create solutions from
subjugated knowledge to resist marginalization and
cultural knowledge about their communities.
• The strategies used by the GBM and initiated by
Maathai have contributed to benefiting women in
Kenya tremendously and have allowed women to stay
involved with the politics occurring in their rural
communities.
• The number of people who have joined the GBM has
made the roles of women and males' views toward
women change in Kenya.

53. Conclusion
• The GBM as a grassroots environmental movement has
grown from one that only pursued environmental
conservation to a political pressure group & eventually to
becoming part of a fully fledged opposition party.
• In 1997, the GBM’s working philosophies and objectives
were adopted as part of the manifesto for The Liberal Party
of Kenya, a party which also nominated Dr. Maathai as its
Presidential candidate for the National election held in the
same year.
• In 2004 Prof. Wangari Maathai was awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize for her work with the Green Belt Movement

54. • Maathai and the GBM partnered with organizations
and community members throughout Kenya to
advocate for environmentally sustainable practices,
women's rights, and various other environmental
problems. Moreover, throughout the Green Belt
Movement, the organizers of the movement had been
able to educate community members on non-violent
resolution practices. Through educating the community
on non-violent problem solving practices and on
politics, the GBM in combination with international
organizations and community members have been able
to initiate changes within the Kenyan government, and
social, political, and economic norms in Kenya.
Moreover, women throughout Kenya have been able to
participate regularly within Kenyan politics, which has
forced changes in Kenya to occur.