The internationally renowned environmentalist Tony Rinaudo, known globally as ‘The Forest Maker’ for his work transforming millions of hectares of dry land into forest, is in Auckland this week to share his remarkable journey restoring the world’s most challenging landscapes.

Tony will be hosting a seminar - ‘A Radical Solution to the Climate Crisis’ - at Auckland University this Thursday, 1 August (from 6:30-9:00pm).

The talk, which is open to students, will give attendees an insight into Tony’s experiences and his lifelong commitment to making a positive impact on environments around the world to help vulnerable children and communities thrive and prosper.

Tony is the Principal Climate Action Advisor for humanitarian agency World Vision. His tireless efforts to drive Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR), the process of using existing root networks to regrow trees (instead of starting from seeds), has made him a 2018 Right Livelihood Award Laureate, a highly esteemed award that is often considered an alternative to the Nobel Prize.

Tony works closely with farmers in communities to enable them to become self-sufficient through natural farming approaches.

“I’m honoured to have the opportunity to share my story with others to give hope and to inspire people to take action to preserve our landscapes and protect our planet for future generations,” Tony says.

“I have been fortunate to have experienced an incredible journey - with both trials and victories - which has made a profound and lasting impact on my life and on the lives of many others. There’s nothing more rewarding than seeing communities that were once struggling to thrive, and to witness the restoration of hope, and children now living life in the fullest.”

Having witnessed the degradation of the land in his native Australia as a young boy, Tony has long been a champion of protecting the environment for future generations.

Inspired by his Christian faith and desire to make a difference in the lives of the most vulnerable people in the world, Tony went on a mission to Niger in 1981 with a goal to plant trees to help to revitalise the dry lands. Despite his efforts, few trees survived in the hostile terrain, and those that did were cut down.

After two years with little luck, on one fateful day Tony discovered what looked like a bush on an otherwise barren piece of land. Upon closer inspection, he realised that it was the stump of a tree, with an established underground root system. It was then that he stumbled upon FMNR.

This centuries-old method of cultivation, which is practised today by communities in 25 countries across Africa and Asia, provides an accessible, low-cost method to counter deforestation and land degradation - significant issues threatening the survival of rural communities around the world.

Tony continues to work with World Vision to help communities around the world improve their livelihoods through FMNR. The benefits of FMNR include improved soil fertility, which provides bigger, better crops, thereby resulting in the production of more food for children and driving economic opportunities, thanks to additional fodder and produce, which provides families with valuable assets that they can use or sell for income.

World Vision New Zealand National Director Grant Bayldon says the organisation is committed to addressing climate change because it is one of the greatest challenges for vulnerable children and communities worldwide.

“Climate change is a children’s crisis - from health risks to education challenges, it's putting children's futures at stake. They will have to live through the worst effects of carbon pollution, despite having contributed little to the issue in the first place.

“It’s imperative that we take action to ‘regreen the future’ and FMNR is a simple and cost-effective way to do this. We’re honoured to have Tony in New Zealand sharing his knowledge about this climate change-busting initiative,” he says.

World Vision is partnering with communities around the world to ‘unlock the planet’s underground forests’ using FMNR. In areas such as Timor-Leste, where nearly 90% of forests have been lost, FMNR has the potential to revive forests, provide cleaner air, prevent landslides, and protect life-giving water sources during droughts.

World Vision is committed to a goal to bring back one billion hectares of global forest over the next 10 years. If World Vision is successful in achieving this goal, we’ll remove up to a quarter of the world’s carbon from our atmosphere - a massive win in the fight for climate justice.

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