Where We Plant

Once entirely bush and savannah, the landscape in Tanzania is now semidesert after heavy deforestation. Planting trees will not only obsorb CO2, but create jobs, income, and food security for local communities. The goal of our planting partner is to re-wild this area with 230 million trees of varying native species.

On Padaidori Island, Indonesia, trained teams use a series of “circle plots” located within the planting sites to annually measure tree growth rate, survival rate, diversity, and other indicators of forest health. These teams also identify areas of the forest that need additional restoration effort, from the occasional destructive impacts of animals ( typically, crab predation) and extreme weather.

The local people on Bial Island in Indonesia rely on healthy mangroves to support fisheries, provide timber, and protect against the impact of tropical storms and coastal erosion. In February 1996, a severe earthquake struck off the coast of Biak, resulting in a devastating tsunami that severely damaged their coastal ecosystems. The communities and forests of Biak have been slow to recover, and the planting project at Mnurwar has been instrumental in bringing meaningful employment and ecological restoration to the area.

This project has successfully established community-based mangrove plantations over an area of 2.5ha in the target area of Gazi Mangrove Forest, Kenya. This project benefits coastal communities who depend on natural resources for their livelihoods, as well as those whose settlements, infrastructure, and ecosystems are continually being affected by sea intrusion and natural disasters. Mangrove planting and aquaculture have been prioritized for the poorer and more vulnerable.