BEST PRACTICE (GLOBAL)

Aside from the Philippines, Eden Reforestation Projects, a non-profit organization

based in California, USA, works in various developing countries possesses the same
goal as National Greening Program which is to reduce extreme poverty and restore
healthy forests.7 Since 2005, the organization has been working with more than 230
projects sites exist in eight countries including: Madagascar, Haiti, Nepal, Indonesia,
Mozambique, Kenya, Honduras, and Nicaragua. 8

Source: https://www.edenprojects.org/our-work

Eden works directly with villages and communities suffering from extreme
poverty resulting from the deforestation and destruction of the land that sustains them.9
The organization’s strategy consist of a bottom-up approach where it works with local
people to identify legal and illegal deforested lands that the community wants to restore
then, engages local communities in planting, maintaining, and guarding new forests.10
The process begins with communicating with government officials and local villagers
and by prioritizing the villagers' needs. This encourages ongoing community
commitment to restoring and protecting the forests to protect their own livelihoods. The
local villagers are then hired to collect seeds, start nurseries, plant trees, and guard the
newly emerged forests.11
Eden employs thousands of people across the globe to plant millions of trees in
their own communities each month. Currently, Eden planted approximately 830 million
trees on 249 project sites with approximately 11, 500 locals employed with fair wages.
12
In 2017, Eden led a project in the coastal forest near the city of Mahajanga in
western Madagascar funded by Treesisters. The project aims to restore approximately
2,500 hectares of (primarily) dry-deciduous forests but also a fringe of mangroves along
the shore, resulting in the planting of approximately 6,250,000 trees. Over time, the two
vegetative systems will become a continuous ecosystem, and ultimately connect to the
other projects part of the envisioned green belt.
Also, the project represents an opportunity to expand one of the world's richest
and most distinctive tropical dry forests, to the benefit of critically endangered plants
and animals. It is also a great opportunity to test forest-based economic development at
a large scale. Through the 'employ to plant' methodology, villagers start noticing
changes at all levels, including the ecological benefits, such as improved fisheries. This
immense relief is perfect ground for communities’ transition to different relationships
with the forest and trees. It is crucial in a country where reforestation is a matter of
survival, as Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in the world.
The project begins with providing the poorest of the poor with a consistent
income, and a sense of accomplishment. The first planted seedlings in 2017 were
provide from a tree nursery in Mahajanga. The nursery was constructed in 2018, with
the seedlings from the new on-site nursery to be planted beginning January 2019. 13 It
subsequently benefits their families as confirmed by sociological interviews conducted
with hundreds of villagers. Over 1,000 children that benefitted from the project, are now
receiving an education for the first time.13 Prior to employment, the parents could not
afford the tuition fees. The dignity of employment helps families escape the circle of
poverty, which often include debt relief and indentured servanthood.
It is important to note that female empowerment is also one of the objectives for
Eden Reforestation Projects in Madagascar. The project employs at a minimum 60%
female villagers, therefore greatly directly benefiting the women and their families and
helped finance a women’s center named Sarobidy Women's Center which provides
services such as prenatal, birthing and postnatal care in Mahajanga.13
The project's sustainability is the responsibility of the local people and the local
Government. Adjacent communities are given the opportunity to restore adjacent forests
and experience similar positive outcomes.

REFERENCES
7. Eden Reforestation Projects (2021). Eden Reforestation Projects. Retrieved on
March 5, 2022, from
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59688ee7a803bbe982c4042a/t/
60d91020258761250160aa2e/1624838187745/NationOverview_2021.pdf

8. Glendora, Calif (2021, April 13). Eden Reforestation Projects Celebrates Planting of a
Half-Billion Trees in Eight Countries. Retrieved on March 5, 2022, from
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/eden-reforestation-projects-celebrates-
planting-of-a-half-billion-trees-in-eight-countries-301267264.html#:~:text=Founded
%20in%202005%2C%20Eden%20currently,%2C%20Mozambique%2C%20Nicaragua
%20and%20Indonesia

9. Eden Reforestation Projects (2022). Our Work. Retrieved on March 5, 2022, from
https://www.edenprojects.org/our-work

10. Eden Reforestation Projects. The Intrepid Foundation. Retrieved on March 5, 2022,

from https://www.theintrepidfoundation.org/t/eden-reforestation-projects

11. Eden Reforestation Projects (2022). Why Eden?. Retrieved on March 5, 2022, from
https://www.edenprojects.org/why-eden

12. Eden Reforestation Projects (2022). Eden Reforestation Projects. Retrieved on

March 5, 2022, from https://www.edenprojects.org/

13. Eden Reforestation Projects (2022). Stories from the Field. Retrieved on March 5,
2022, from https://www.edenprojects.org/stories