Predecessor | Watu wa Mitu (People of the Trees) |
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Formation | 1922 | (as Men of the Trees)
Registration no. | 05219549 |
Location |
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Region | Africa, United Kingdom |
Website | internationaltreefoundation |
Formerly called | Men of the Trees |
International Tree Foundation (ITF) is an international, non-profit, non-political, conservation organisation. It is involved in planting, maintenance and protection of trees. It was founded in Kenya on 22 July 1922 by Richard St. Barbe Baker as Men of the Trees. [1] It operates in several countries in Africa and in the United Kingdom. [2] There have been chapters in over 100 countries. By some estimates, organizations he founded or assisted have been responsible for planting at least 26 billion trees, internationally. [3] [4]
ITF was founded in 1924 by Richard St. Barbe Baker. Following his work in Kenya creating Watu wa Mitu (People of the Trees) with Chief Josiah Njonjo, he returned to the United Kingdom with the goal of raising awareness about the benefits of reforestation around the world by creating the charity Men of the Trees. [5] In 1929, a branch was opened in Palestine. [6]
In 1992, Men of the Trees was renamed to the International Tree Foundation, and has continued to work around the world in local communities on a variety of projects centred around reforestation, environmental protection and community-building. [7] In Australia there is currently still a small organization that goes by the name Men of the Trees, [8] although in England, where the charity originated, the original charity has now been fully rebranded as the International Tree Foundation. [9]
Arbor Day is a secular day of observance in which individuals and groups are encouraged to plant trees. Today, many countries observe such a holiday. Though usually observed in the spring, the date varies, depending on climate and suitable planting season.
The Arbor Day Foundation is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees. The Arbor Day Foundation has more than one million members and has planted more than 350 million trees in neighborhoods, communities, cities and forests throughout the world. The Foundation's stated mission is "to inspire people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees." The organization has a Charity Navigator rating of 3 out of 4 stars and is based in Nebraska.
Reforestation is the natural or intentional restocking of existing forests and woodlands (forestation) that have been depleted, usually through deforestation, but also after clearcutting.
Wangarĩ Muta Maathai was a Kenyan social, environmental and a political activist and the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. As a beneficiary of the Kennedy Airlift, she studied in the United States, earning a bachelor's degree from Mount St. Scholastica and a master's degree from the University of Pittsburgh. She went on to become the first woman in East and Central Africa to become a Doctor of Philosophy, receiving her PhD from the University of Nairobi in Kenya.
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.
Richard St. Barbe Baker, Hon. LL.D. F.I.A.L., For.Dip.Cantab., ACF was an English biologist and botanist, environmental activist and author, who contributed greatly to worldwide reforestation efforts. As a leader, he founded an organisation, Men of the Trees, still active today as the International Tree Foundation, whose many chapters carry out reforestation internationally.
Marc Ian Barasch is a non-fiction author, film and television writer-producer, magazine editor, and environmental activist. Major books written by Barasch are The Healing Path (1992), Remarkable Recovery (1995), Healing Dreams (2001) and Field Notes on the Compassionate Life (2005). He has been an editor-in-chief of New Age Journal ; and an editor at Psychology Today ; and Natural Health. He has also done journalistic writing for Conde Nast publications on the arts and the environment. He is Founder and Executive Director of the Green World Campaign (2006–present).
The Turkish Foundation for Combating Soil Erosion, better known in abbreviated form as TEMA, is a non-governmental organization (NGO) for reforestation and the protection of natural habitats in Turkey.
Trees for Cities is a UK charity which aims to plant urban trees and create greener cities. Since 1993, the organisation has reported that 125,000 volunteers have planted over 1,200,000 urban trees in parks, streets, woodlands, schools, hospitals and housing estates. The charity also runs the Edible Playgrounds programme, which aims to inspire school children to grow and eat healthy food.
The Plant A Tree Today Foundation (PATT) is a non-governmental environmental organization with primary operations in the United Kingdom and Thailand. Established in 2005, PATT attempts to raise environmental awareness and foster better practices in less developed nations around the world, planting trees as a means to combat deforestation and climate change. Planting tree help to reforest cleared land. Planting of trees also plays a role in climate change adaptation.
The African Conservation Foundation (ACF) is an international non-governmental organisation established in 1999 and registered in 2001. Its focus is wildlife and habitat conservation within and outside of protected areas, adopting an integrated approach which includes community development and environmental education. The organisation is registered as a charity, supporting and conducting field conservation projects around Africa. It also maintains an Africa-wide network for information exchange and capacity building of conservation efforts in the region.
Plant-for-the-Planet is an organisation that aims to raise awareness amongst children and adults about the issues of climate change and global justice. The Initiative also works to plant trees and considers this to be both a practical and symbolic action in efforts to reduce the effect of climate change. In 2011, it reached a goal of planting a million trees.
Adeso is Nairobi-based humanitarian non-governmental organization.
Forest conservation is the practice of planning and maintaining forested areas for the benefit and sustainability of future generations. Forest conservation involves the upkeep of the natural resources within a forest that are beneficial for both humans and the ecosystem. Forests provide wildlife with a suitable habitat for living along with filtering groundwater and preventing runoff.
The Anne Fontaine Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization created in 2011 by the Franco-Brazilian fashion designer Anne Fontaine. Based in New York City, it "aims to encourage reforestation and to concentrate its financial resources specifically on the protection of the Atlantic Rainforest in Brazil".
Eden Reforestation Projects (Eden) is a nonprofit NGO that works in developing countries to rebuild natural landscapes destroyed by deforestation. Eden works directly with communities experiencing extreme poverty resulting from the deforestation and destruction of the land that sustains them. The organization employs thousands of local community members and provides them with the education and tools necessary to plant, grow, and protect to maturity, millions of trees each year. Eden currently plants approximately 15 million trees a month, and in 2020 reached over 423 million trees planted of which over 225 million are mangrove trees.
Deforestation is a primary contributor to climate change. Land use changes, especially in the form of deforestation, are the second largest anthropogenic source of atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions, after fossil fuel combustion. Greenhouse gases are emitted during combustion of forest biomass and decomposition of remaining plant material and soil carbon. Global models and national greenhouse gas inventories give similar results for deforestation emissions. As of 2019, deforestation is responsible for about 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon emissions from tropical deforestation are accelerating. Growing forests are a carbon sink with additional potential to mitigate the effects of climate change. Some of the effects of climate change, such as more wildfires, may increase deforestation. Deforestation comes in many forms: wildfire, agricultural clearcutting, livestock ranching, and logging for timber, among others. The vast majority of agricultural activity resulting in deforestation is subsidized by government tax revenue. Forests cover 31% of the land area on Earth and annually 75,700 square kilometers of the forest is lost. According to the World Resources Institute, there was a 12% increase in the loss of primary tropical forests from 2019 to 2020. Mass deforestation continues to threaten tropical forests, their biodiversity, and the ecosystem services they provide. The main area of concern of deforestation is in tropical rain forests since they are home to the majority of the planet's biodiversity.
Elizabeth Wanjiru Wathuti is a Kenyan environment and climate activist and founder of the Green Generation Initiative, which nurtures young people to love nature and be environmentally conscious at a young age and has now planted 30,000 tree seedlings in Kenya.
Trees For Life is a registered charity that protects and restores land in the bush, farms, and urban areas of South Australia. It runs many programs, the oldest involving volunteers growing seeds into small plants for planting by farmers and other landholders. It was formed in 1981 and now has 2000 volunteers.