The Green Belt Movement (GBM) is an indigenous grassroots organization in Kenya that empowers women through the planting of trees. It is one of the most effective and well-known grassroots organisations addressing the problem of global deforestation. Professor Wangari Maathai established the organization in 1977 under the auspices of the National Council of Women of Kenya (NCWK). GBM's successes in forest conservation, education, and women's economic empowerment have gained the organisation worldwide acclaim. It is also noted for its advocacy of human rights, democratisation of access to public lands, and environmental justice issues such as the role of women's traditional ecological knowledge in addressing environmental degradation and desertification.
According to their 2003 annual report, 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." GBM is no longer directly linked to the NCWK and coordinates a national network of women's groups that plant trees and do environmental conservation and community development work. Their work combats deforestation, restores sources of cooking fuel, generates income, and stops soil erosion. Maathai has incorporated advocacy and empowerment for women, eco-tourism, and overall economic development into the Green Belt Movement.
Since Wangari Maathai started the movement in 1977, more than 51 million trees have been planted, and more than 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. Communities in Kenya (both men and women) have been motivated and organized to both prevent further environmental destruction and restore that which has been damaged.
Maathai received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her work with the Green Belt Movement.
Background
Deforestation is a major contributor to environmental disasters, desertification, and climate change. The Green Belt Movement (GBM) is one of the most effective and visible grassroots organisations addressing these issues.
The Green Belt Movement was founded in 1977 by Wangari Maathai and the National Council of Women of Kenya, and subsequently grew into a grassroots movement for women's economic empowerment and land stewardship. A 2005 paper by the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) stated that in Kenya, state expropriation of public lands for private use presents threats to the livelihoods and food security of peasants and the working poor, and that GBM is "deeply immersed" in the resulting struggles for control of public lands.
Maathai and the GBM connected the marginalisation of women and poverty to environmental degradation and promoted a grassroots approach to development by empowering women to control the environment. Their intention is to ensure that women have independent sources of income and also to conserve the environment through sustainable resource management.
History
Prior to the Green Belt Movement's founding, specifically during the 1970s, there was a restricted political opportunity structure within Kenya because the government at the time was very politically repressive. The Kenyan government was dominated by men and their patriarchal and repressive views, which created many issues for women. 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. 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.