Join us as Inco UK is spotlighting various solution based climate change organisations and highlighting the incredible work they do in fighting our urgent climate crisis facing all of humanity. This weeks' focus is on Eden People+Planet. Our Eco series focuses on human rights/environmental justice organisations and initiatives – highlighting successful nature based solutions/ Indigenous knowledge solutions to restoring our planet
Mission and Vision
Eden People+Planet, formerly known as Eden Reforestation Projects, is an ecological, social and economic organisation which started almost two decades ago. Eden partners with local communities to restore the landscape giving the locals ‘a sense of ownership to protect their forest long-term.’ Eden works with diverse communities to ‘restore and monitor over 241,150 hectares of land’ in 8 different countries: Madagascar, Mozambique, Kenya, Ethiopia, Nepal, the Philippines, Honduras and Brazil. They partner with local leaders and their communities who are committed to transform their environment into a thriving ecological one. These communities have the responsibility to find planting opportunities and build their citizens’ commitments to the planting and the long-term protection of the forests. In addition, Eden provides economic incentives such as jobs with no gender pay-gap and simple planting techniques. Most local leaders grew up in the region where they are now leading an Eden project. Therefore, these leaders can easily relate to the people and already know the landscape. It is an environmental project as much as a social one with a core model of ‘Employ to Plant.’ Through the salaries that the employees earn, they can support their families, and send their children to school.
Landscape Restoration
Eden implements what they call ‘holistic restoration,’ otherwise labelled as ‘landscape restoration.’ They look at transforming the landscape rather than individual territory. The main question remains: what does the region need and what can we do to improve the entire ecosystem? Eden also looks at conservation bringing ‘long-term ecological, social, economic, and biodiversity benefits.’ Landscape restoration consists of producing seedlings, planting diverse species, assisting in natural regeneration, agroforestry, restoring seed beds, managing fires, and controlling erosion through plantings seeds in the right places. Eden focuses on the landscape, encouraging locals in the planning and the decision-making regarding the use of the land, the restoration goals, and the strategies. They restore the land with multiple functions in mind: ecological, social and economic. Finally, their goal is ‘long-term resilience.’
Project stories
On their website, many moving stories can be found, such as the article about Amélia Alberto Chilengue, a single mother in Mozambique who is able to feed her family through working with Eden. She affirmed that she is ‘proud to leave a legacy for my children. As they grow up, they will know that their mother contributed to planting trees to restore the environment.’ (Amélia Alberto Chilengue, Eden: People+Planet). In Madagascar, the Eden team is planting mangrove trees. These are essential to Madagascar’s environment, as they protect local communities from coastal floods and prevent the destruction of the coral reefs by stopping the soil from going into the ocean. Moreover, juvenile fishes stay near the mangrove as it protects them until they grow stronger. In most planting sites, there is a 2-weeks tide cycle, leaving a 6-days window for the planters can canoe and plant the mangroves before being stuck by the low tide. Some of the planters are now able to repay the debts they got through fishing with the fish baron’s equipment and start afresh. However, the Malagasy team encountered a few problems. Among them is a territorial competition with the production of coal. Even though, the Eden team have planted mangrove trees on governmental and community lands with the right accords, some people claim the same land to get charcoal, on which the country is heavily dependent for cooking. They started guarding the forests against such attacks. With 46 project sites, Madagascar is one of the most prolific restoration sites of Eden. In a similar project in Kenya, along the coast of the Lamu, Hassan Shaffi Shetai witnessed the destruction of the mangrove forests in the pursuit of charcoal production. He is now the team leader and boat driver of a team planting the trees back, restoring the landscape, and giving jobs to people, thus reducing the high unemployment among young adults. Through diverse Eden projects, local populations are employed to bring back their land to life by planting trees and restoring the landscape. Entire communities thrive again by gaining their ecosystems back.
Transparency of the Organisation
Eden works with principles of ‘continuous learning and improvement’ along with ‘adaptive management.’ Their work changes with their own experiences and learnings, as well as scientific discoveries. They have enough projects to learn from one experience to the next. They measure their advancements through creating ‘inventories for biomass and carbon.’ They do this every so often and compare their findings from one time to another. They have regular ‘socio-economic assessments’ and undertake ‘landcover change analyses.’ They check for consistency and finally, they report on their findings and measure them against external standards. Each of their projects aligns itself with the national policies currently in place, and the national commitments and priorities of the territory.
Sustainability and Future Plans
Eden: People+Planet are always looking for new partners whether corporate, foundation, or individual donors. In 2021, Eden expanded its work by creating a spinoff, called Carbon Compassionate. They are a carbon mitigation company, supporting conservation and restoration schemes through carbon-financed projects. Eden: People+Planet is an organisation whose purpose is to restore the landscape and support the local communities most affected by climate change.
To find out more about Eden: People+Planet and how to support their work and more organisations like them, please visit the following:
Eden: People+Planet Website: https://www.edenprojects.org/
To find out more about Carbon Compassionate:
Other articles about Eden: People+Planet:
George, Zach St. “Can Planting a Trillion New Trees Save the World?” The New York Times, 13 July 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/13/magazine/planting-trees-climate-change.html
Aziz, Afdhel. “Climate Solutions: How Eden Reforestation Projects Has Planted and Restored Nearly a Billion Trees – and Is Looking for Companies to Partner With.” Forbes, https://www.forbes.com/sites/afdhelaziz/2022/09/20/climate-solutions-how-eden-reforestation-projects-has-planted-and-restored-nearly-a-billion-trees--and-is-looking-for-companies-to-partner-with/
UN, “Eden Reforestation Projects | Department of Economic and Social Affairs.” https://sdgs.un.org/partnerships/eden-reforestation-projects
Barkham, Patrick. “Can Planting Billions of Trees Save the Planet?” The Guardian, The Guardian, 19 June 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/19/planting-billions-trees-save-planet
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