In an era of rapidly advancing climate change, reducing deforestation and undertaking critical reforestation efforts has become a key goal of both the international community and many national governments.

As the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) urged his followers: “When the last day comes, if someone has a palm shoot in his hand, he should plant it.”

AKDN has planted over 130 million trees as part of activities that include land reclamation in arid and despoiled lands. Trees serve to sequester carbon, which mitigates climate change and contributes to biodiversity while providing farmers with long-term assets for food, fodder, fuel and construction materials.

AKDN’s efforts have been successfully undertaken in a variety of environments, ranging from the coastal plains of Kenya – where droughts have posed extraordinary challenges – to the high mountain zones of northern Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan.

These activities include construction or repair of irrigation systems and the creation of check dams, “recharge” wells and related conservation measures, including rainwater harvesting systems and drip and sprinkler irrigation systems.

In an era of diminished horizons and doomsday scenarios, projects such as these remind us that there are solutions – that everyone can, and perhaps should, “plant a tree”.

“Each generation must leave for its successors an enhanced and sustainable social and physical environment.”
Address by His Highness the Aga Khan at the Ninth Award Cycle of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture (New Delhi, India) - 27 November 2004