FOR DEPARTMENT OF WOMEN STUDIES

Dr. Meenakshi Prasad Assistant Professor P.G. Department of Geography Magadh University, Bodh Gaya Source : google images 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 Contents :

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

• The Green Belt Movement was founded in 1977 in by Professor under the auspices of The National Council of Women of Kenya.

• It has its Headquarters at (Kenya)

Source : google images • Green Belt Movement works at grassroots, national & international levels to promote environmental conservation, to build 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’’ • The Green Belt Movement also aims at organizing women in rural Kenya ➢ to trees, ➢Combat , ➢restore their main sources of fuel for cooking, ➢generate income and ➢stop soil

• Maathai has incorporated advocacy and empowerment for women, eco-tourism and overall economic development into the Green Belt Movement. 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 • 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. • 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 .

• 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. • 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). • The Green Belt Movement was officially founded on the occasion of 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. • These "belts" had the advantages of providing shade and windbreaks, facilitating soil conservation, improving the aesthetic beauty of the and providing for birds and small .

• 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. • 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. 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). Main Areas of Activity

• Tree Planting & Water Harvesting 1

• 2

• Mainstream Advocacy 3

• Gender Livelihood & Advocacy 4 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 • 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. • 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 • GBM also 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

• 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). 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 • 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. • 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. • 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 and water harvesting activities (adaptation) and planting the appropriate trees in appropriate places (mitigation) • 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 • 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 , 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. • 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. • 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. • 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 . 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 , & Jeevanjie gardens.

• In 1989 the Movement took on the powerful business associates of President . 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. • 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. • 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. • 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". • 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. • 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" 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. • 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. 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 .

• 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. • 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 • 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. • 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 • 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. 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. • "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 • 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 • 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. • 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 • 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. • 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. • 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. • 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. • 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. 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 • 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.