How “forest gardens” are restoring land – and hope – in Sub-Saharan Africa
By regreening the landscape, the gardens offset local deforestation. They also contribute to global efforts to conserve biodiversity, counter climate change and improve the health of soils. TREES says its projects have already planted 100 million trees around the world.
According to Fatoumata Diehiou, the regional coordinator for TREES in Fatick, the initiative is also helping to stem the migration of young people from Senegal’s rural communities.
“Someone who finds work in their own region, in their country, will not go elsewhere,” Diehiou said.
In the beds of her neatly laid out garden, Sambou grows vegetables including cabbage, potatoes and onions as well as hibiscus – a red flower widely used in West Africa to flavour jellies, jams and drinks.
“I don’t buy any more onions, capsicum or other vegetables. The forest garden has given us everything,” she said.
It’s not all been plain sailing. In the first year, hungry livestock broke through Sambou’s fence and destroyed her crops. Now she reinforces the boundary with thorn-laden branches cut from acacia trees, whose leaves and roots also deliver nutrients to her soil.
“I take care of my garden like I take care of my children,” she said.
The skills that her family has acquired have become a form of insurance against whatever the future may bring.
“Everything I do in the garden, my children know about it,” Sambou said. “So, today or tomorrow, if I am not there, my children will not suffer.”
About the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration
The United Nations General Assembly has declared the years 2021 through 2030 the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Led by the UN Environment Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, together with the support of partners, it is designed to prevent, halt, and reverse the loss and degradation of ecosystems worldwide. It aims at reviving billions of hectares, covering terrestrial as well as aquatic ecosystems. A global call to action, the UN Decade draws together political support, scientific research, and financial muscle to massively scale up restoration.
Distribution channels: Environment
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