By Anja Oussoren, Tearfund Canada

As the climate crisis continues to cause increasing harm and uncertainty to local communities, Christians and Christian organizations have a duty to step up as stewards of Creation. Kentro Christian Network and Tearfund Canada both believe that poverty is more than simply financial in nature and are committed to supporting Jesus-inspired efforts that build on local innovations and forge partnerships that lead to environmental restoration while repairing and cultivating relationships between people and Creation.

The Nature Positive Program began as a Tearfund, ADRA and CFGB-led response to the increasingly eroded and damaged landscapes in Afromontane and sub-Afromontane regions of sub-Sahara Africa. It is now a collaboration of 28 Kentro and non-Kentro members, jointly addressing the effects of climate change using nature-based solutions with funding from Global Affairs Canada with CFGB serving as the secretariat.

In addition to the effects of climate change, overgrazing and agricultural practices including over-tilling and mono-cropping have led to highly eroded lands where livestock and crop farming is no longer possible and where life-endangering landslides occur. 

Nature-based solutions are designed to restore these once-fertile areas, prevent further damage and erosion of the land and increase household climate resilience. Tearfund and its local partners, Fadhili Trust and the Terepeza Development Association (TDA) in Kenya and Ethiopia, respectively, have been using a bottom-up approach to restoration. This includes learning from the locals about native and indigenous hardy plant species to restore soils, and ancient water-retention structures to manage water and soil runoff.  Piloting and scaling these efforts with the local villagers, government and churches restores watersheds, farmlands and livelihoods.

In 2024, TDA and Fadhili Trust with the local communities together planted 2,127,131  tree and shrub seedlings of over 30 different varieties, built 1,060 meters of erosion-halting check dams, planted 20.3km of water-retention hedges on soil bunds and contours, and dug water and soil retaining half-moons on 25 acres of abandoned lowland. This impact will be doubled in 2025. This work recruits and supports local farming households while reaching thousands of individuals including more than 50% women and people with disabilities that may have otherwise lacked access to support. Farmers are trained on biodiversity and Climate Smart Agriculture by leaders from their own communities who are supported and recruited by local partners. Through these localized and intentional efforts, relationships with local churches continue to grow these impacts and ensure long-lasting benefits.