News published: 13 March 2024

An ambitious climate initiative harnessing the power of native tree seeds launched in Nairobi, Kenya, aiming to advance African land restoration goals. The “Right Tree, Right Place: Seed Project” will enhance the availability of high-quality native tree seeds across Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Burkina Faso.

The initiative seeks to bridge the gap between planting policy and execution, improve coordination between the public and private sectors in seed accessibility, and establish viable business models to promote the adoption of native tree seeds, all of which allow a unique combination of skills.

“We need high-quality seeds for the right species that are best suited to their purpose and environment. This is how we create good and resilient ecosystems – for food security, biodiversity, livelihoods and stabilizing our climate. By nurturing native species, we are not only safeguarding our environment but also partnering with local communities and fostering resilience. Investing in seed systems is to preserve our heritage, protect biodiversity, build a global commons that can ignite high-quality tree seed systems including the private sector and secure a sustainable future for generations to come,” said Éliane Ubalijoro, Chief Executive Officer of the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF).

With a budget of €20 million, this landscape restoration endeavour will foster an environment conducive to native tree seed and seedling production and enhance supply-demand dynamics, through knowledge sharing, seed mobilization, and capacity development, for example. The project’s innovative force lies in addressing local and global challenges through tree planting for both current and predicted future climates. It builds upon local knowledge, science and cooperation between communities and the public and private sectors to make restoration scalable and sustainable.

“Reforestation efforts to date have focused too narrowly on fast-growing exotic trees rather than planting biodiverse native species tailored to local ecological conditions. This undermines long-term sustainability. The Right Tree, Right Place: Seed Project tackles these interlinked challenges through a coordinated strategy. First, enabling policies and institutions for the native tree seed supply sector. Second, developing technical capacity all along the seed-to-seedling delivery chain. Thirdly, linking nurseries to meet restoration demand on deforested lands. And fourth, sharing knowledge to inspire similar initiatives at pan-African scale,” said Ramni Jamnadass, Senior Advisor of Biodiversity and Trees Genetic Resources at CIFOR-ICRAF and Principal Scientist of the project.