Then in early 1953 he announced plans to stop the desert’s southern spread and reclaim large portions by planting a belt of trees the breadth of the continent. It began when he led the first ecological survey of the Sahara desert the following year. The World Forestry Charter Gathering in 1951 passed a resolution proclaiming a Green Front Against the Desert. Meeting regularly over 15 years, the London-based diplomatic representatives of as many as 45 governments from around the world came together to discuss the key role of forests in global ecology. Barbe held the first of what he called the World Forestry Charter Gatherings. The United Nations summit on climate change in Glasgow is a case in point. His life’s work is replete with remarkably prescient insights and practical examples that, while ending four decades ago, still read like the trouble shooting chapter in the owner’s manual for our planet. Barbe, as he was known to friends and colleagues, is more relevant now than ever. Barbe Baker’s vision of world forestry as the beating heart of a global enterprise to restore the earth.
When the leaders of more than 100 countries gathered recently in Glasgow, their pledge to end deforestation by 2030 echoed Richard St. My tribute was also included in that publication, and I would like to share it with you. The ITF has just published a special issue of their Trees Journal to mark the centenary, with a foreword by HRH The Prince of Wales. As trees have become widely accepted as central to our current efforts to combat climate change, it is worth exploring the legacy of this remarkable man whom I was privileged to call my friend and mentor for the last six years of his life.
He founded the Men of the Trees in 1922 in Kenya, and the International Tree Foundation (ITF), as it is now known, is celebrating its centenary this year. Barbe Baker (1889 – 1982) was a renowned forester who is recognized as the first global conservationist. In celebration of Earth Month, we offer this guest article by Hugh Locke, President of the Haiti Smallholder Farmer’s Alliance:
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