Generation Restoration: World Environment Day 2024
June 5th marks World Environment Day. Held annually since 1973, the largest global platform for environmental outreach, engaging millions of people around the world in a collective effort to protect the planet.
Before all of our eyes, the natural world around us is deteriorating. More than 2 billion hectares of the world’s land is degraded, affecting more than 3 billion people. This year, the central message is to #GenerationRestoration, and the measures everyone can take to help end land degradation and restore landscapes to their former glory.
All of Haller’s work in Kenya is rooted in an understanding that even the most degraded landscapes can be returned to thriving ecosystems with the right approach, care and attention. When Dr Haller arrived in Mombasa over 50 years ago, the land on which Nguuni Nature Sanctuary now stands was an abandoned limestone quarry.
Dr Haller’s methodology extends throughout all of the work the Haller Foundation carries out today. Below are just a few of the ways we’re currently working to restore degraded landscapes and protect the environment.
Make Agriculture Regenerative
Globally at least 2 billion people, especially from poorer areas, depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. However, current food systems are unsustainable and a key contributing factor to land degradation. Global trade systems and government run incentive schemes have helped to establish monocultural practices, the overuse of chemical fertilisers and pesticides, and the destruction of forests for agricultural purposes.
Haller’s approach is focused on making agriculture regenerative. We teach smallholder farmers in Kenya (and beyond) hundreds of techniques focused on simultaneously increasing yields and restoring the natural environment. All of the methods contained on our Haller Farmers App were developed with smallholders, and work in harmony with nature to support and sustain ecology as well as economy.
Globally agricultural producers receive $540 billion a year in government subsidies. 87% of these go towards distorting prices or harming nature and human health. As we look to restore the landscapes around us, this funding needs to be redirected towards regenerative practices.
Protect the Soil
Hand in hand with Haller’s focus on regenerative agriculture is protecting and restoring soil health. 60% of all species live in the soil and 95% of food we eat is produced from it. Not only does the soil play a crucial role in our food systems, it also operates as a carbon sink, locking in greenhouse gases and mitigating climate change.
Haller’s work focuses on four key stages (WASH, Grow, Scale, Health and Education). The second stage, Grow, centres on restoring soil health in order to boost yields and restore environmental health. As climatic conditions become increasingly unpredictable in East Africa, ensuring smallholder farmers have access to techniques to protect soil health is increasingly critical.
Encourage Pollinators
Three out of four crops producing fruit and seeds depend on pollinators (bees, bats, insects, butterflies, birds and beetles). Despite their importance in global food systems, pollinators are on the decline.
Haller focuses on encouraging pollinators by reducing the impact of pesticides and fertilisers, teaching smallholders how to create natural alternatives to harsh chemicals. Our agricultural philosophy is also rooted in an understanding that planting a diverse range of crops not only boosts potential yields, but also supports a greater diversity of species.
These are just a few of the many ways Haller is working to protect and restore the natural environment every day. Follow us across our socials to keep up to date with our projects in Kenya and beyond.
