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Kenya, Land grabbing and GMOs

July 26, 2011 - 06:50AM
Published by Francesca de Gasparis

On July 1st the Kenya government enacted the Biosafety Act of 2009 that allows Genetically Modified Organism (GMO)cultivation and consumption; as a result I started inquiring into the risks and advantages of GMOs. As I went through press releases and the personal accounts of people on the ground, I discovered that GMOs bring about a much larger challenge to Kenya: corporate “land grabbing” and the dependence of local populations to international corporations.

Happy Birthday Tree

July 21, 2011 - 02:30PM
Published by Kathryn Gelder

When GBM Project Officer Dionisio Ndegwa celebrated his birthday on July 16th, he didn't just receive presents or partake in normal birthday festivities. He helped a tree come to life.

For the past five years, Dionisio has planted a tree each year to commemorate his birthday. This past weekend Dionisio celebrated his with friends and colleagues at the GBM Lang'ata training center by planting a tree during a workshop on advocacy and communications.

GBM Participates at the ESRI International User Conference

July 15, 2011 - 07:55AM
Published by Peter Ndunda

July 11 - 15, 2011: This week, the Green Belt Movement has been participating at the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) International User Conference at San Diego, California in USA. It has been a great pleasure and honor to join an amazing group of people and organizations from more than 100 countries to share and exchanged ideas on how we are using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to better understand our world and solve environmental problems.

Planting for Peace

July 5, 2011 - 12:20PM
Published by Francesca de Gasparis

It may surprise some of our supporters that Kenyan armed forces have been working with the Green Belt Movement (GBM) since 2006 to fight environmental degradation, which is happening on a staggering scale. Many people associate the army with military action however the Kenya army has been planting trees with GBM since 2006.This innovative collaboration has now been formally congratulated with the presentation of the ‘Wangari Maathai Environmental Award’. 

One young hummingbird's goal is to plant 1,000 trees

June 16, 2011 - 10:30AM
Published by Kathryn Gelder

Supporters of the Green Belt Movement remind us every day of Professor Maathai’s hummingbird story. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s a story about a little hummingbird in the middle of a raging forest fire - doing the best it can. The story teaches that even when problems seem overwhelming, we can all make an impact – no matter how large or small.

Rio+20 in one year from now - what have we achieved in the last 20 years?

June 10, 2011 - 01:50AM
Published by Francesca de Gasparis

Next year it will be twenty years since the first ever Earth Summit was held in Rio de Janeiro by the United Nations.

Climate Change Meeting in Nairobi

June 1, 2011 - 04:10AM
Published by Francesca de Gasparis

May 20, 2011:The Green Belt Movement, in collaboration with the Kenya Climate Change Working Group, organized and hosted a national stakeholders briefing and consultative meeting on Climate Change at the Silver Spring hotel in Nairobi on May 20th 2011. The meeting was attended by more than 35 participants, including the 2004 Nobel Peace Laureate Professor Wangari Maathai, 4 Members of Parliament in Kenya and the Assistant Clerk of the Kenya National Assembly. More than 20 civil society organizations in Kenya were represented in this important seminar.

Biofuels in 2011

May 17, 2011 - 04:45AM
Published by Francesca de Gasparis

Last week I made my way to the UK houses of Parliament, and not just to look at its grand exterior but to expand my knowledge of biofuels. Yes, biofuels. As somewhat of a newcomer to the subject, my previous knowledge was limited to the fact that biofuel is made out of plants, and sometimes out of recycled cooking oil. I also knew that GBM was not in favour of it but not the reasons why. I was interested to learn more about the topic from the panel discussion which Friends of the EarthRSPB, and Action Aid had arranged. They had invited a range of different academics and expert speakers to discuss the impacts of biofuels on the environment and people around the world. In particular the discussion was focused on the EU’s new target, the so-called Renewable Energy Directive (RED- another RED different from the REDD GBM often reports on), which states that 10% of all land transport fuels should come from a renewable source. I was eager to find out, have we finally made one massive step into a more sustainable future?

Let's Make Earth Day Last All Year!

April 21, 2011 - 12:20PM
Published by Francesca de Gasparis

It’s not every day that we get to dedicate the day to the Earth BUT it should be! Let’s make this Earth Day last. Pledge something green from walking or cycling to work to buying locally grown food to turning off your lights to PLANTING A TREE. Bottom line: let’s not only make changes this Earth Day but this WHOLE year.

Mount Kenya 101: a rich history that you will experience with our Climb Mount Kenya Challenge!

April 7, 2011 - 05:15AM
Published by Francesca de Gasparis

Standing just over 17,000 (5,199m) feet above sea level, Mount Kenya is the second tallest mountain in Africa after Mount Kilimanjaro. Mt Kenya is located on the equator in central Kenya and is an extinct stratovolcano that is thought to have risen over 23,000 ft (6,500m) before it erupted over 3 million years ago.

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