Kenya’s lakes and projects that will benefit from Sh13.5B that Wangari Maathai's daughter Wanjira won.

Ms. Wanjira Maathai (Wangari Maathai’s daughter)- Photo, Courtesy

The World Resources Institute (WRI), whose managing director of Africa and Global Partnerships is Ms Wanjira Maathai – daughter of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai, will spend part of Sh13.5 billion (US$100 million) it won on various restoration projects of lakes and forests in the Kenya's Greater Rift Valley in the next four years.

TED, a non-profit organisation that aims to create a future worth pursuing for all through the Audacious Project launched in 2018, announced during TED2023 in Vancouver, Canada, that WRI's Restore Local project has won US$100 million over four years to accelerate locally-led land restoration in three African landscapes – Lake Kivu and Rusizi River Basin, Ghana's Cocoa Belt and Kenya's Greater Rift Valley.

Greater Rift Valley area is spread from Turkana County [at the boarder of Kenya- Ethiopia and South Sudan] through Nakuru and Kiambu Counties, all the way to Narok County [at the boarder of Kenya-Tanzania).

The lakes that fall in the targeted area include Lake Baringo, Lake Turkana, Lake Bogoria, Lake Nakuru and Lake Elementaita.

Some of the Kenyan organisations that could benefit from the restoration cash is Exotic EPZ founded by Jane Maigua, Charity Ndegwa and Loice Maina.

The small business works with 4,500 farmers in 12 Kenyan counties to plant 196,000 macadamia nut and native trees. Nut harvests provide steady income for farmers, while the trees themselves improve the land and soils and sequester greenhouse gases.

"Restoration is one of the most powerful investments we can make on the planet, because restoring degraded land can simultaneously mitigate climate change and protect communities from its worst impacts," says Ms Maathai

According to WRI, about 65 per cent of Africa’s farmland is degraded, worn down by unsustainable farming and grazing practices.

“Forests, grasslands, and other lush landscapes are also facing rapid damage, leading to water insecurity and growing deserts. Without urgent action, the soil will yield less and less food, posing a serious problem for the 60 per cent of people across Africa who rely on the land to feed their families,” she says.

 Restore Local, part of The Audacious Project’s 2023 cohort, provides Restoration Champions across the continent with the support they need.

 “Building on the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100) founded in 2015, the four-year project will work to restore Africa’s vital landscapes by investing in locally led restoration at scale,” she explains.

“Restoration Champions engage thousands of smallholder farmers to revitalise their land, but they lack the capacity and investment needed to scale up their work.”

Ms Maathai’s mother, Prof Wangari Maathai, was the founder of the Green Belt Movement, which encouraged the planting of trees in local environments. It was responsible for more than 30 million trees being planted in Africa. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace.