Kenya’s youth are taking leadership in bringing together diverse stakeholders from the government, private sector, nonprofit sector, academia, vulnerable communities, and development partners to co-create locally-led nature-based solutions for sustainable forest and landscape restoration at scale. This multi-sector and multi-stakeholder partnership harnesses meaningful synergies for systemic biodiversity restoration and sustainable natural resources use; community wellbeing and resilience; and industrial innovation and economic development.

Ecosystem Restoration Alliance of Kenya (KERA) is a national youth-led NGO that focuses on ecosystem restoration: we restore deforested lands and degraded landscapes, control and manage invasive species, restore biodiversity, empower vulnerable communities, and entrench climate adaptation.

We are committed to implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in vulnerable rural counties, focusing on sustainable development and empowerment. Our efforts address SDG #1 (No Poverty) by prioritizing marginalized communities, and SDG #2 (Zero Hunger) through ecological agriculture that enhances food security and smallholder farmer incomes. We support SDG #4 (Quality Education) by equipping youth and women with skills in sustainable agriculture and green entrepreneurship. Our gender-responsive approach in SDG #5 (Gender Equality) empowers both men and women in conservation and climate adaptation.

We drive economic growth through SDG #8 (Decent Work) by fostering climate-smart jobs and innovation. Our work with eco-innovators supports SDG #9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), creating sustainable industrialization and infrastructure. We reduce inequalities (SDG #10) by promoting equal opportunities for all. Through SDG #13 (Climate Action) and SDG #15 (Life on Land), we restore ecosystems, mitigate climate change, and combat desertification. Lastly, SDG #17 (Partnerships for the Goals) unites diverse stakeholders for shared socio-economic and environmental sustainability.

Our integrated parcel level restoration of degraded landscapes programme in 27 devolved governance units (Counties) is structured into four broad thematic areas:

• (i). Advocacy aimed at increasing political commitments to promote large-scale restoration programme at each of the devolved governance units.
• (ii). Promotion of mosaic transformational climate-smart agroecological practices that enhance carbon resilience, carbon sequetsration, and lower carbon footprint (including introduction of on-farm respectful agroforestry and ex-situ botanical gardens; promotion of dual-purpose investments that contribute to ecosystem services and resilient livelihoods such as bee farming, cricket, black soldier fly and silkworm rearing; soil health and organic carbon management using biofertilizer, farmyard manure, biocharged biochar, renewable energy, land use planning, smart livestock management, water conservation, smart crop production).
• (iii). Cross-cutting issues such as indigenous peoples biosystems technical knowledge and gender transformative approaches.
• (iv). Programme administration and coordination.