Kenya’s Mangrove Restoration Projects are a Blueprint for Successful Sustainability
Sustainability is more than a buzzword. It’s the balance between environmental care, social well-being and economic growth, ensuring that progress today doesn’t compromise the future. Around the world, the challenge is to turn this principle into practical results. In Kenya, this vision is becoming a reality through the successful large-scale mangrove restoration initiative funded by Husqvarna Group in partnership with veritree and Earthlungs.
By planting over 300,000 mangrove trees along Kenya’s coastline, the initiative is redefining environmental stewardship in practice, bringing together the three essential pillars of development: environmental restoration, community empowerment and economic renewal.
“Sustainability is not an abstract concept. It’s something we build, protect and live every day,” says Jonas Willaredt, Vice President of Sustainability Affairs at Husqvarna Group. “Through these projects, we’re showing that when we rebuild nature, we can simultaneously restore livelihoods and strengthen communities. You can’t have one without the other; they must work in tandem to create lasting change.”
Mangrove forests are among the planet’s most powerful natural protectors. They stabilise coastlines, shelter marine life, and store up to four times more carbon per hectare than most tropical forests. Yet in Kenya, urbanisation at unprecedented rates, coupled with mangrove forests being converted for other land use, has severely impacted these vital ecosystems.
The Husqvarna–veritree–Earthlungs partnership is helping to reverse this damage by replanting degraded mangrove forests using community-grown seedlings, with each tree tracked through veritree’s transparent monitoring platform.
“Every tree we plant is verified, monitored and linked to measurable impact,” explains Derrick Emsley, CEO and Co-Founder of veritree. “Our goal isn’t just reforestation, it’s regeneration. We want to bring back full ecosystems that thrive for generations.”
Already, newly planted areas are showing improvements in soil stability, biodiversity and carbon capture, proving that revitalising ecosystems also restores resilience.
In Kenya’s coastal communities, residents are leading the restoration work - from nurturing seedlings to planting mature saplings along damaged shorelines. Women’s groups and youth cooperatives play a major role, earning income while developing new environmental skills.
“True responsible development restores both the land and the people who depend on it,” says Flora Awiro, Chief Operations Officer at Earthlungs. “When communities are empowered to manage and protect their natural resources, conservation becomes part of everyday life.”
The project also builds local expertise in nursery management, coastal monitoring and ecological stewardship, ensuring long-term ownership beyond the planting phase.
Mangrove restoration strengthens local economies, too. Healthy mangroves nurture fish nurseries, protect coastal infrastructure from erosion and storms, and support eco-tourism. In this way, nature itself becomes a source of stability and growth.
“Healthy ecosystems are the foundation of healthy economies,” notes Willaredt, “and investing in mangroves supports food security, livelihoods and climate resilience. Sustainability works best when people see the benefits in their own lives, which is what makes this project so powerful. It is local action with global significance.”
The work underway in Kenya demonstrates how sustainability principles can be turned into tangible results when environmental, social and economic goals align. This is not short-term philanthropy; it is long-term, measurable impact driven by partnership, innovation and accountability.
For Husqvarna, sustainability is part of its DNA - shaping innovation, guiding social responsibility and strengthening its connection to the landscapes its products serve. “Preserving green spaces is central to our purpose as a company,” says Willaredt. “Through our partnership with veritree and Earthlungs in Kenya, we’re translating that purpose into tangible impact, promoting environmental knowledge, empowering local communities, as well as advancing our global long-term impact commitment to plant one million trees.”
The Kenyan Mangrove Restoration Project marks Husqvarna’s first large-scale restoration initiative in Africa and is a key step in its global mission, with progress tracked publicly through veritree’s transparency platform at impact.veritree.com/husqvarna.
And for more information about Husqvarna's sustainability initiatives, please visit https://www.husqvarnagroup.com/en/sustainability.