Wangari Maathai's daughter Wanjira to lead Ksh.13.5B land restoration project

Wanjira Maathai, the late Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai's daughter, will lead a new land restoration project in the Greater Rift Valley, Ghana's Cocoa Belt and the Lake Kivu and Rusizi River Basin along the DRC-Rwanda-Burundi border for the next four years.

This is after the World Resources Institute (WRI), which she leads as Managing Director, Africa and Global Partnerships, was awarded USD 100 million (approx. Ksh.13.5 billion) by NGO TED through its Audacious Project, a collaborative funding initiative launched in 2018  that catalyzes social impact on a grand scale.

The Audacious Project selects a cohort of projects every year that represent bold solutions to the challenges facing the world.

The kitty was specifically awarded to WRI's Restore Local initiative that provides restoration champions across the continent with the support they need.

"I am honoured that Restore Local has been selected for catalytic funding through The Audacious Project, which is a clear signal of confidence in locally-led action," said Ms. Maathai.

"Restoration is one of the most powerful investments we can make on the planet, because restoring degraded land can simultaneously mitigate climate change and protect communities from its worst impacts. It can also restore land productivity, create jobs and improve family incomes."

According to Ms. Maathai,  local farmers, entrepreneurs and communities hold the potential to fully restore Africa’s degraded lands.

"But they can’t do it without the right tools, platforms and resources. All of us — from governments to investors to NGOs — have a role to play in empowering Africa’s restoration champions to get the job done," she said.