Looking Forward to the Decade of Restoration

Many of us see 2020 as the beginning of the decade of restoration. The hope and commitment of people around the world is rising to meet the challenge of our time.

When BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management company, announces that “Climate change is driving a profound reassessment of risk and we anticipate a significant reallocation of capital”, the message is getting through.

For the International Tree Foundation, 2020 will be a year of renewal and restoration.

We’re supporting more community-led tree planting projects, helping more farmers develop agroforestry practices, and will restore greater areas of wondrous biodiverse habitat.

We would like to hear from you.

If you have any ideas or questions about our plans for this year – more of below – please get in touch!

In March we’re partnering with The Economist at their first Sustainability Conference in London.

This is an exceptional opportunity to collaborate with the growing number of businesses leaders who share our goals. With broad support we can spread the message that community-led forest restoration and agroforestry generate sustainable economies AND protect the unique ecosystem in which we live. Later in the year we will hold a tree planting ceremony at the site in Kenya where in 1922 Richard St Barbe Baker founded what was to become ITF. He was a visionary environmentalist with a profound knowledge of the ecological, economic and spiritual value of trees, woodlands and forests. His is an inspiring story, and well worth visiting our website to discover more. 

Sixteen new partners join our Sustainable Community Forestry programme this year too, working across seven countries including Rwanda where we haven’t worked for over ten years.

The ITF global community of people planting trees can achieve so much this year. In October, all 196 countries who signed the United National Convention on Biological Diversity commit to a new global framework. This is crucial to our efforts to restore ecosystems and reverse further biodiversity losses. We will be watching this closely as negotiations progress. 

We share your love of trees, and we share your commitment to restoring our diverse and beautiful landscapes. Together, we can make this the decade of restoration.