2024 End of Year Recap

This year, Eden: People+Planet made remarkable strides in ecosystem restoration, community resilience, and environmental protection across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Your support drives our shared commitment to restoring landscapes and highlights the collective efforts of communities, supporters, partners, and teams working together to create a thriving future for people and the planet. See all of the achievements you helped make in Mozambique, Kenya, Nepal, the Philippines, and Honduras below.

Mozambique: Advancing Restoration Through Community Collaboration

Eden’s restoration efforts in Mozambique made significant strides in 2024, combining innovative solutions, collaborative partnerships, and meaningful community engagement to address the challenges of restoring degraded landscapes and supporting local livelihoods.

This year, we:

• Launched the Chimanimani Landscape Restoration Project (CLRP): Collaborated with stakeholders in Manica Province to align activities within the Chimanimani National Park Buffer Zone. This initiative fostered strategic synergies and partnerships, laying the groundwork for holistic restoration and sustainable management.

• Developed Key Project Frameworks: Finalized the Logframe, Theory of Change, and Project Design Document (PDD) for the CLRP. These essential guiding documents structure all activities and operations, ensuring effective implementation in the Chimanimani Buffer Zone.

• Introduced the BlueForest Carbon Project: Partnered to restore mangrove ecosystems by planting 40 million mangrove trees, establishing Eden Mozambique as a leader in large-scale restoration and carbon project implementation.

• Built the Chimanimani Seed Bank: Established a facility to conserve seeds from local plants and trees, ensuring biodiversity preservation and a sustainable supply of seedlings for future restoration.

• Opened the First Nursery in Chimanimani National Park: Located in the Gotogoto communities within the buffer zone, the nursery has an annual production capacity of 500,000 seedlings. It represents Eden’s fifth nursery in Mozambique, providing employment for 24 workers—equally split between women and men—and restoring degraded areas.

• Hired a Program Manager for Chimanimani: Appointed Abu Armando Jone to lead the Chimanimani Landscape Restoration Project. Abu brings expertise in climate-smart development, agribusiness, and community engagement to ensure the project’s success.

Kenya: Restoring Biodiversity and Scaling Impact

Eden’s efforts in Kenya have been pivotal in restoring biodiversity, combating deforestation, and addressing critical environmental challenges through community-driven initiatives. This year, Eden achieved significant milestones that strengthen both the environment and the communities who depend on it.

Key achievements included:

• Restoring Native Biodiversity in Lower Imenti Forest: By removing invasive Lantana camara, we created an environment for native species like Croton megalocarpus and Markhamia lutea to flourish. These efforts have revitalized the ecosystem and improved biodiversity in this critical forest.

• Promoting Mangrove Regeneration in Tudor Creek: Using pioneering species like Ceriops tagal, Eden jump-started the natural regeneration of mangrove forests, stabilizing soil, improving carbon storage, and providing habitats for fish and wildlife.

• Providing Fire Mitigation Training in the Mau Forest: Collaborated with local communities and partners to deliver comprehensive fire prevention and response training, ensuring the sustainability of restored forests.

• Launching AFR100 and Lamu Restoration Initiatives: Partnered with the AFR100 initiative to plant 175,000 trees in the Mau Forest, restoring ecosystems and creating local jobs.

• Launching the Lamu Forest Landscape Restoration Project: Established the groundwork to preserve 154,000 hectares of crucial coastal land, with the goal to protect biodiversity and strengthen community resilience.

Nepal: Advancing Landscape Restoration and Supporting Local Communities

Eden’s work in Nepal has focused on large-scale restoration, community-led forest management, and fostering biodiversity to address environmental and socioeconomic challenges.

In 2024, we:

• Established the Sunkoshi Basin Restoration Project: Launched a 257,770-hectare initiative in the Midhills region to empower Community Forest User Groups with equitable forest management plans focused on biodiversity restoration and sustainable livelihoods.

• Supported Livelihoods through Agroforestry: Partnered with the Bhadaure community to distribute agroforestry species like lemon trees, helping residents generate significant income from harvests like Dhana Bahadur Thapa Magar’s 1,800 kilograms of lemons this year.

• Facilitated Collaborative Reforestation: Brought together the Sindhupalchowk District community to plant 19 tree species, 74% native, at the Kipche plantation site, restoring ecosystems and fostering biodiversity through collective effort.

The Philippines: Advancing Reforestation and Innovation

Eden’s work in the Philippines has focused on large-scale reforestation, innovative restoration techniques, and collaborative partnerships that enhance restoration efficiency and community involvement.

In 2024, the Eden team made strides in:

• Reforesting Misamis Oriental and Bukidnon: Planted over 3 million trees, restoring degraded landscapes, improving biodiversity, and boosting soil and water health.

• Introducing Native Species Planting: Leveraged native plants to build ecosystem resilience and improve restoration success.

• Building Collaborative Partnerships: Strengthened alliances with government bodies, indigenous communities, and local organizations to expand resources and impact.

• Strengthening Monitoring Systems: Implemented cutting-edge tools to track progress, ensuring transparency and driving continuous improvement.

Honduras: Protecting Forests and Watersheds

Our team in Honduras has been on the front lines of wildfire prevention and management, safeguarding thousands of hectares of forests and watersheds essential for community water supplies.

Over the past year, the Honduras team has:

• Constructed 100+ km of Fire Breaks: Strategically cleared strips of land to prevent wildfires from spreading.

• Extinguished Over 50 Wildfires: Proactive firefighting efforts minimized damage, with most fires confined to mature forests that are recovering well.

• Promoted Healthy Forest Growth: Pruned millions of trees to accelerate growth and reduce fire susceptibility.

• Engaged Local Communities: Educated farmers on land preparation techniques to reduce wildfire risks and protect forests.

• Enhanced Surveillance and Training: Established 24-hour outposts and trained local fire brigades in alignment with government guidelines.

Looking ahead, we aim to expand these efforts across the 90,000-hectare Cinturón Verde Landscape, a critical area encompassing Tegucigalpa’s primary water catchments. By scaling up funding, we can enhance fire prevention, hire additional staff, and protect key ecosystems.

Building on Success

From addressing wildfires in Honduras to reforesting critical landscapes in the Philippines and Kenya, 2024 was a year of collaboration, innovation, and impact. These accomplishments are a testament to the dedication of local communities, the expertise of our teams, and the unwavering support of people like you, who share our vision for a sustainable future.

As we look to 2025, we are excited for you to join us on this journey to achieve even greater milestones. Together, we can achieve even greater milestones in the fight against climate change and environmental degradation.