Bringing the “underground forest” of over 200 million trees back to life
    Tony Renard, an Australian-born agricultural scientist, graduated from the Department of Rural Science at the University of England. In 1981, he moved his family to one of the poorest countries in the world—Niger in Africa—to launch his afforestation project.
 
    Tony spent two years tirelessly planting trees in this drought-prone country, but his efforts yielded no results… The failure of this reforestation project was primarily due to the unfavorable environmental conditions in the region.
 
    As the reforestation project was on the brink of collapse, Tony persevered through his Christian faith and his childhood desire to change the world, ultimately discovering the “Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration” (FMNR) technique, which enabled the barren lands of Africa to regenerate.
 
    This FMNR technique is so simple it's hard to believe. It doesn't require frantically planting trees or spending millions of dollars. The solution lies in the earth itself—nature heals itself, as long as humans stop harming it!
 
    On the surface, the trees appear barren, but the roots remain alive underground, forming an “underground forest.” After spreading this natural resource regeneration technology to every rural area in Africa, the only thing people need to do is give the land adequate breathing space and perform minimal pruning.
 
    Tony has always insisted on turning the dream of saving the Earth into action. He traveled to Africa to reclaim wasteland and launched the “Tree Planting for Food Program” in 1984—each family receiving food aid must regenerate and nurture at least 40 trees per hectare on their own land. At the time, over 100 villages in Niger responded, and the first round of afforestation resulted in the rebirth of over 500,000 trees and a bountiful grain harvest.
 
    Tony promoted the “Farmer-Managed Natural Resource Regeneration Technology,” which gradually took root and flourished, increasing the total income of 4.5 million farmers in Niger by 900 million USD annually, inspiring Niger and making waves across Africa.
 
    Tony, under the full support of World Vision, achieved a major breakthrough in Ethiopia in 2004. Together, they launched a nationwide campaign using the “Farmer-Managed Natural Resource Regeneration Technology” to rescue 15 million hectares of desertified land.
 
    In 2012, Tony's “Farmer-Managed Natural Resource Regeneration Technology” stood out among international organizations combating famine, earning recognition from the United Nations, African nations, and non-governmental organizations as an implementation model. Together, we witnessed the power of “planting trees to save the Earth and humanity.”
 
    Since then, Tony has dedicated 39 years to spreading love across borders, befriending trees and farmers, planting hope, and sharing the love of “Farmer-Managed Natural Resource Regeneration Technology” (FMNR). This has revived over 5 million hectares of underground forests in Africa, brought back over 200 million trees, reclaimed wasteland into fertile fields, and ensured food security for African people. Children can attend school, and he has been honored with the Swedish “Alternative Nobel Prize” (The Right Livelihood Award), truly deserving the title of “Australian-born Nigerian Agricultural Expert.”
 
    Our organization warmly welcomes recommendations from all corners of the globe for individuals who embody dedication, compassion, courage, and achievement as true champions of life. (Taiwan Zhou Daguan Cultural and Educational Foundation Global Love for Life Award Recommendation Hotline: 02-29178770, Fax: 02-29178768, Address: 3rd Floor, No. 52 Mingde Road, Xindian District, New Taipei City 231, Taiwan, Website: http://www.ta.org.tw, Email: ta88ms17@gmail.com).
 
Turn the dream of saving the Earth into action.
    As a child, Tony's parents would drive him and his siblings every week to visit their grandfather in the rural town of Wanganui. What left the deepest impression on Tony during each journey was the dense shrubbery on the northern hillsides, the farmlands in the valleys, and the forested slopes to the south.
 
    Whenever they passed the fork in the road at Beechworth, a heartbreaking sight would unfold before his eyes—bare hills. Tony couldn't understand why the early settlers had cleared every tree from the land. Everything he saw revealed the long-standing struggle between humans and nature, especially the trees that had been destroyed. Whether it's modern offshore oil drilling or bulldozers clearing the Amazon rainforest, all of this demonstrates humanity's endless demands and greed toward nature…
 
    Tony grew up in a tobacco-growing region. He had always been amazed that humans had been using toxic chemicals for so long, not only polluting crops and water sources but also endangering people themselves through the contaminated soil.
 
    The children were especially innocent, born into a poor and backward country, going to bed hungry every night.
 
    Tony felt deeply unjust about this and wanted to do something to change the situation.
 
    Tony dreamed of a world that was kind to both people and the environment. Although Tony had done everything in his power to change the world, the results were minimal. At times, he felt overwhelmed and could only pray to God, hoping He would guide him—to make a difference for the world.
 
    Tony's father was a mechanic and businessman who sold and serviced agricultural machinery. Whenever his father went out to repair machinery, Tony always liked to go with him.
 
    One day, his father visited a friend who was having a library clearance sale. In his friend's shed, there was a pile of books that had been set aside. Tony loved books, so he went over to take a look. As Tony flipped through the books, two caught his interest: one was I Planted Trees, and the other was Sahara Conquest.
 
    Both books were written by Richard St. Barbe Baker, a British colonial forestry officer. He was an international advocate for environmental conservation, dedicated to protecting pristine forests and promoting sustainable management and use of trees. The book originated from his love for trees and his belief that they are essential to life. Baker was a reflective person who learned from history. He predicted that if people continued to deforest recklessly, it would lead to disaster.
Baker passed away at the age of 93, and his arguments have been widely recognized. He was a rare motivator. Everything he did was driven by his unwavering belief.
 
    However, his boldness, eccentricity, authority, and pure vision left a deep impression on presidents, kings, technocrats, and tribal members alike.
 
    Tony read Beck's works and felt comforted, knowing that there are still many visionaries in the world who care about nature and are dedicated to meaningful causes, following Beck's example and call to action. Tony also came to understand that deforestation is not an inevitable consequence of progress.
 
    Tony believed that by following in the footsteps of those who came before us, we too can do something to combat environmental destruction while providing a balance between protection and production.
 
    Considering ecological balance, Tony enrolled at the University of New England in New South Wales, Australia, to study agriculture after graduating from high school. During his time at university, Tony met his current wife, Liz. After graduation, they got married and joined the international Christian organization serving in Mission.
 
Traveling to Africa to reclaim wasteland
    In 1980, Tony and his wife moved to Niger in Africa with their six-month-old son, Benjamin. There, Tony managed a group of employees responsible for implementing measures to stop desertification—planting trees.
 
    As a recent graduate, Tony was shocked by what he saw—the region was on the brink of ecological collapse, barely able to sustain life.
 
    Over the past few decades, as the population grew, people cleared more land for farming and sold firewood to earn income and sustain their livelihoods, leading to the disappearance of forests.
 
    This not only led to widespread land degradation and desertification but also brought about multiple devastating consequences.
 
    Here, winds exceeding 60 kilometers per hour sweep across the barren land, burying or blowing away newly planted crops, increasing the frequency and severity of droughts, and causing frequent crop failures.
 
    There is almost no food available to feed livestock, and even the habitats of insects, birds, lizards, and spiders are dwindling, leading to an increase in pests and further damage to crops.
 
    Women and children must travel long distances to find firewood, and sometimes they also search for straw and fertilizer in the fields, further depleting the soil's fertility.
 
    Farmers can grow only a limited variety of crops on their land, leaving them with no choice but to gradually descend into poverty… All these circumstances present a significant challenge for Tony, who is struggling to find solutions to these interconnected problems…
 
    Tony is a local resident and expert who has dedicated himself to addressing these issues. Tony concluded that deforestation is the most fundamental problem that must be addressed and that reforestation is the best solution.
 
    Tony dedicated himself fully, reading extensively, consulting all relevant experts, and participating in every feasible project.
 
    He tried various techniques—introducing foreign species, planting native species, sowing seeds before rain, community nurseries, private nurseries, and more—but none offered a suitable or economically viable solution.
 
    Approximately 80–90% of the saplings died in the first year after planting… Worse still, the residents Tony and his team cared about did not care about their efforts.
 
    In fact, the locals even referred to Tony as a “crazy white farmer.” They believed that a rational person would not plant trees on valuable land and questioned whether Tony could see that the residents wanted food and cash crops…
 
    Tony's efforts were like trying to push the sand of the Sahara Desert back with a broom and shovel—utterly futile… If he continued using the conventional afforestation methods, Tony knew he would never solve the massive desertification problem, and it would threaten human survival.
 
    Like a failure, Tony was ready to give up and leave, but deep down, he kept hearing a voice telling him, “I am meant to be here.”
 
    Tony believed in God's benevolence—to bring good things to the people of the earth.
 
    He also firmly believed that God would answer his prayers, and he prayed for God to forgive humanity for destroying the beautiful creation given by the Creator. Because of this series of destructions, humanity would eventually reap what it had sown—hunger, poverty, and fear.
 
    Tony prayed to God, “God loves us. Please help us and guide us.”
 
God's revelation and response
    Two and a half years later, Tony stopped his car mid-drive to reduce tire pressure—to avoid getting stuck in loose sand. When he saw the nearly barren, exposed landscape, he thought to himself that using conventional tree-planting methods would never accomplish this task.
 
    This would require millions of dollars, years of effort, and might even result in the trees being completely destroyed. At that moment, the shrubs by the roadside caught Tony's attention.
 
    In the past, Tony had always been in a hurry to plant trees, but today he realized what was right beside him.
 
    In Tony's previous understanding, shrubs were merely desert shrubs or weeds. However, when he examined the shape of the plant's leaves more closely, he realized that this was not a shrub but a tree that had been cut down and was sprouting anew from the stump.
 
    In this seemingly barren landscape, there was a vast underground forest composed of felled trees and living stumps that had sprouted anew.
 
    During each dry season, the shrubs grow to 1–2 meters tall, and only when farmers need to cultivate the land do they cut down these tall shrubs. Tony realized that these underground forests, mistaken for shrubs, held the key to a potential solution.
 
    Tony knew that there must be millions of such “underground forests” scattered throughout this landscape. So Tony decided to visit the Sahara Desert.
 
    Tony believed that the problem here was no longer a matter of budget or which technology to use but a crucial battle against long-held misconceptions, negative attitudes, and destructive actions toward trees and the environment.
 
    Because human destructive actions had forced the environment to submit, people must now take action to restore the trees.
 
    In fact, these trees capable of restoring the environment had always existed, but they had remained underground, undiscovered.
 
    Tony believed that if he could convince individuals and communities that this initiative aligned with their best interests and that their children would have a better future, then the rest would be relatively easy to implement, as all the necessary conditions for reforestation already existed underground.
 
The regenerative magic of nature
    In 1983, Tony recruited 10 farmer volunteers from 10 villages. These farmers agreed to implement Farmer Managed Natural Resource Regeneration (FMNR) in the corners of their own farmlands.
 
    Even after just a few months of implementation, it was clear that this technique was feasible.
 
    This technique is a low-cost, sustainable land restoration method with an extremely high success rate. It eliminates the need to propagate seedlings in nurseries, transport them to planting sites, plant and protect them, and then face the problem of most transplanted seedlings dying despite all efforts.
 
    With FMNR, seedlings have a 100% survival rate. However, over time, some people began to disrupt the program…
 
    Some people cut and steal the young tree branches to use for firewood, and some even go as far as stealing the entire old trees.
 
    There are many opponents who believe that protecting new tree sprouts violates traditional customs, and the farmers participating in the experimental program were mocked as a result.
 
    Tony remained convinced that the program would succeed, but in 1983, a disaster struck the region, leaving the volunteers disheartened, and the program was ultimately declared a failure.
 
    In 1983, the rainy season brought insufficient rainfall, resulting in poor harvests. Thousands of people in the Niger and Sahel regions suffered from hunger and displacement.
 
    In early 1984, severe food shortages led to famine, with residents suffering from hunger and some even leaving their homes.
 
    Once again, Tony found himself struggling, deeply feeling that all of this was beyond his capacity to handle...
 
    Initially, Tony had to worry about not having funds to purchase grain, and he also faced the dilemma of not being able to buy any, as there was no government-authorized distribution of food in the area, which created significant obstacles to timely relief efforts.
 
God's Second Revelation and Response
    As time passed, people began to camp outside Tony's home, hoping for assistance, which placed immense pressure on both Tony and those living in the compound.
 
    One morning, as Tony was eating breakfast, tears began to well up in his eyes, and a lump formed in his throat. He looked down at the open Bible and read 2 Chronicles 20:15: “The Lord says to you, ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army, for the battle is not yours, but God's.’”
 
    Tony didn’t know when or how to move forward, but he knew that God would do something amazing.
 
    About two weeks later, those who had tried to stop Tony died. Even more amazingly, food became available in the market and government food reserves!
 
    Twelve months later, Tony received $500,000 in income, purchased and distributed 1,800 tons of grain, and assisted over 50,000 people.
 
    Tony's team established a work-for-food program, requiring each family receiving food aid to regenerate and maintain at least 40 trees per hectare on their own land.
 
    At first, most farmers were reluctant but reluctantly agreed.
 
    Due to the low cost and quick results of tree planting, combined with the participation of families from 100 villages in the program, approximately 500,000 trees were planted.
 
    Finally, they had a feasible method to restore the degraded landscape of the Niger River, but things did not always go as planned.
 
    The rainy season of 1984 brought abundant rainfall, resulting in a good grain harvest for the farmers.
 
    When harvest began in September, Tony's team ceased food aid while continuing to emphasize the importance of trees and encouraging farmers to continue promoting natural resource regeneration techniques.When Tony's team stopped distributing food, farmers cut down 75% of the regenerated trees!
 
    They believed they no longer needed to rely on Tony's team for survival and could return to their previous way of life. Only 25% of the farmers were willing to continue the program, as they had seen that planting trees did not reduce crop yields but instead led to bountiful harvests.
 
    They also gradually understood the benefits of tree planting—access to firewood, reduced wind speed and temperature, shade for rest, and, as regenerated tree species grew, wild fruits and traditional medicines.
 
    Over the next 20 years, the farmers who had learned natural resource regeneration techniques began to expand their practices to other regions of Niger.
 
    Tony's project facilitated exchanges and visits, allowing farmers, foresters, Peace Corps volunteers, and other organizations to witness the program firsthand.
 
    Tony's team sent farmers and staff to other regions to spend a week with communities, teaching them how to revive the “underground forest.”
 
    During this time, Tony knew that the natural resource management techniques were popular and even spreading by word of mouth in the local area, but he had not yet received any response from other regions of Niger.
 
5 million hectares of wasteland turned into forest
    Tony and his family left Niger in 1999 to join World Vision Australia.
 
    Tony often wondered if these efforts would make a difference. It wasn't until 2004 that he had the opportunity to return to Niger.
 
    During his journey, Tony met Chris Reij, a human geographer from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. Chris had been visiting West Africa regularly for 30 years, documenting changes and adoption of agricultural innovations.
 
    Earlier that year, Chris had taken a cross-country road trip and was amazed by the extent of afforestation.
 
    Later, he verified his findings through collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey—using satellite imagery, he discovered that approximately 5 million hectares of barren land in Niger had been transformed into forests due to farmers' use of natural resource regeneration techniques, with an average tree density of 40 trees per hectare, equivalent to approximately 200 million trees brought back to life!
 
    Tony was amazed and excited because, in the early 1980s, the average tree density in Niger was only four trees per hectare.
 
    At that time, under such harsh conditions, restoring tree cover through afforestation was almost an impossible task.
 
    Tony believes that he and his team played a catalytic role in the plan, and the key to success was that, in some areas, farmers designed and adopted farmer-managed natural resource regeneration techniques based on their own observations to address the deteriorating agricultural conditions.
 
    Dutch human geographer Chris believes that the capital of Niger, Niamey, and surrounding cities have experienced the largest positive environmental changes in the Sahel region due to the successful implementation of farmer-managed natural resource regeneration techniques.
 
    Thanks to increased tree coverage on farms, average crop yields have doubled. By implementing farmer-managed natural resource regeneration techniques, farmers in Niger have increased grain production by 500,000 tons annually, enough to feed 2.5 million people.
 
    On the surface, this program seems to offer no benefits to farmers—trees occupy space that could be used for crops, so how can crop yields increase?
There are multiple reasons for the increased yields, including lower temperatures, wind speeds, and evaporation rates, as well as higher soil fertility, more insect predators seeking shelter in the trees, and protection from pests.
 
    Since then, Tony has studied two native tree species whose root systems draw water from deep below the soil surface and release it through the shallow roots of annual crops.
 
    As tree cover increases, livestock feed supplies grow, livestock become healthier, and mortality rates during droughts decrease.
 
    The increasing availability of edible wild fruits, nuts, and trees provides people with more food and nutrient-rich foods.
 
    With these trees, farmers have a constant resource to sell, making communities more resilient in the face of disasters.
 
    Thanks to farmers' management of natural resource regeneration techniques, the total income of 4.5 million farmers has increased by $900 million annually. As farmers' incomes rise, women spend less time collecting firewood, and more children can attend school.
 
    World Vision: Practicing Great Love
 
    World Vision operates in over 100 countries and regions, where children and communities are negatively impacted by deforestation in most areas.
 
    Tony knew that World Vision is a professional development organization dedicated to children's well-being, making it an ideal choice for promoting farmers' management of natural resource regeneration technologies.
 
    As usual, in the early years, Tony's plans did not proceed as expected.
 
    Tony realized that he needed to learn how large organizations operate, implement changes, listen to others, and become a better team player.
 
    All along, Tony only saw the opportunities ahead, but he couldn't figure out how to make them happen.
 
    Even though Tony's passion burned inside him, he went through a period of deep frustration and soul-searching.
 
    Tony collaborated with World Vision's overseas office to teach, advocate, and establish projects on natural resource management techniques for farmers and followed up in various countries.
 
    In 2004, a major breakthrough was achieved in Ethiopia with the establishment of the Humboldt Community-Managed Afforestation Project.
 
    Within less than two years, the changes were significant enough to catch the attention of the Ethiopian government.
 
    With less than 4% of the original forest remaining, the government adopted the farmers' natural resource regeneration techniques, and based on the success achieved in the Humboldt community, the government committed to rehabilitating 15 million hectares of degraded land.
 
    Through World Vision, Tony organized a workshop in Mekelle, the capital of Ethiopia's Tigray region.
 
    Within eight months, World Vision, local governments, and other NGOs conducted field visits, training, demonstration zones, and school programs.
 
    Over the years, Tigray has been the only region Tony knows of where farmers' natural resource regeneration techniques have been incorporated into the local government's annual plans and budget.
 
    In Niger, farmers' natural resource regeneration techniques are primarily passed down through word of mouth; in Ethiopia, farmers and professionals are promoting the benefits of these techniques in villages and sharing them with educators, policymakers, researchers, and other relevant stakeholders.
 
    Tony's colleague Robert Francis recognized the simplicity and high impact of farmer-managed natural resource regeneration techniques and saw how Tony was working to spread the information more quickly to more people.
 
    Therefore, Robert conceived a website for farmer-managed natural resource regeneration techniques, aimed at raising awareness and funds to support work in this area.
 
    Thanks to this website, the technology has spread more quickly, with more people supporting the initiative, conducting project evaluations, developing online training courses, creating informational booklets, raising funds, and disseminating information to the public.
 
    The 2012 Fight against Hunger Conference brought the technology into the spotlight, leading to significant progress in the field and enabling research into its benefits.
 
    Following the 2012 conference, subsequent meetings were held in Lilongwe, Malawi, and Bamako, Mali, from 2015 to 2019.
 
    The conference has gained global recognition and support, laying the foundation for new approaches to promoting FMNR and attracting participation from other relevant organizations.
 
    If farmers' management of natural resource regeneration technology can be implemented over the next 20 years, transforming Niger into a movement involving everyone from grassroots communities to the government, then the revival of the 5 million hectares of underground forest will serve as a testament to the significant insights and transformations that all stakeholders—government decision-makers and extension services, civil society, non-governmental organizations, faith-based organizations, United Nations agencies, and donors—can gain from this initiative.
 
    Technically, Tony believes that no country can achieve a 500,000-hectare reforestation rate within five years.
 
    Tony feels deeply honored to have the opportunity to teach and promote farmer-managed natural resource regeneration technology in many countries!
 
    When people first understand the significance of farmer-managed natural resource regeneration technology, they often express their joy through dancing, clapping, singing, and laughter. Subsequent visits to communities implementing this technology are another delightful experience.
 
    Through farmer-managed natural resource regeneration techniques, communities have witnessed the transformation of landscapes from degraded, barren states to healthy, productive ones.
 
    Those who once bore heavy burdens, lived in uncertainty and fear of the future, or were victims of climate change and poverty have gained the ability to determine their own futures through foreign aid, expertise, and goodwill.
 
    By 2050, the world population will reach 9.1 billion, an increase of 34% from today, with nearly all population growth occurring in poor and underdeveloped countries.
 
    As farmland degrades and disappears, climate change leads to the marginalization of production areas, makes farming difficult, and causes the loss of biodiversity. Food production must increase by at least 70% if humanity is to feed the world and maintain a decent quality of life. We must learn to live in harmony with nature.
 
    The speed at which humanity is destroying nature is breathtaking!
 
   From chainsaws replacing axes to trucks replacing donkey carts... the past few centuries have seen rapid change.
 
    Despite this, Tony remains hopeful because farmers' knowledge of regenerative natural resource management offers simple, low-cost, and rapid solutions to complex, challenging, and long-standing problems.
 
Words of Hope, Faith, and Love
    Finally, Tony shared some words of encouragement:
 
    Believe in yourself: As a child, Tony struggled with self-worth and identity. However, he believes that everyone is valuable and has unique abilities to help others.

• People often doubt themselves, so few strive to do great things. But remember: God does not make mistakes. Tony believes that God loves us and has already prepared something wonderful for each of us. Throughout his life, Tony learned to accept himself and believe that God had prepared something wonderful for him. Even when faced with difficulties, Tony persevered, and through his efforts, he was able to contribute to the world.
• Face challenges bravely: In life, problems and setbacks can arise at any time. You can choose to avoid them and let them control your life, or you can overcome them and achieve success, using them as stepping stones to solutions and to hone your perseverance and patience.
• Unity is strength: John Calvin Maxwell, a well-known American author, once said, "One is too few to achieve greatness.
• • "Collaborating with others and accepting their help is crucial. Through collective effort, we can achieve greater impact. Often, people enter our lives at critical moments—helping us shoulder heavy burdens or guiding us toward better paths. Without others' assistance, Tony believes he might never have achieved what he did. Most importantly, acknowledge, encourage, and invest in others. Thus, when we unite, everyone benefits.
• Humble listening: Listen to God's words—God speaks to people in many different ways, but what matters is to take it to heart. Listen to the voice within yourself and ask yourself, “What would happen if I followed this intuition?” If you don't give up on that recurring idea, have you followed through? Listen to others—because we don't have all the wisdom or experience needed for success. We can't see ourselves, and we can't see what others see, so take the time to ask others for their opinions. Listen to nature—even though nature has no voice, it speaks directly to us through its language, so we can learn a great deal from observation and interpretation.
• Lifelong reading and learning: Learning continues throughout life, and new knowledge can inspire our life experiences. Read technical books in relevant fields for entertainment, relaxation, recovery, preparation, growth, and inspiration, and share what you learn.
• Empathy: Stay sensitive to others' needs and do your best to help them. You will be amazed at the rewards your kindness brings back to you.

Top | Back