I think that for anybody who has worked in the civil society, government bureaucracy moves very very slowly.

Quite often when you help poor people, they don't think about the environment. They think about survival.

One of the reasons why we started the Green Belt Movement is to work with these ordinary peasant farmers so as to educate them that, despite the fact that they are poor, it is in their interest to protect the soil that they have, to protect the forest they have, to protect the land that they have, because if they don't do it, things can be only worse tomorrow for them for them and for their children.

Once people see that you improve you life if you are educated, then education becomes a valuable tool and people want it.

Using trees as a symbol of peace is in keeping with a widespread African tradition. For example, the elders of the Kikuyu carried a staff from the thigi tree that, when placed between two disputing sides, caused them to stop fighting and seek reconciliation. Many communities in Africa have these traditions.

You can make a lot of speeches, but the real thing is when you dig a hole, plant a tree, give it water, and make it survive. That's what makes the difference

The issue of carbon is one area where we really need to work together and if people don't have the technology they need, that technology needs to be made available and affordable.