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'Buying time'
"The real battle shifted from a technical one of fighting the Sahara desert, to a social one," he said. "How can we convince people that it’s in their best interest to allow these stumps to regenerate?"
The benefits of letting trees regenerate are many, ranging from providing fodder and firewood, and curbing soil erosion from wind and rain, to reducing soil and air temperature from shading.
Tree regeneration near Humbo in Ethiopia.
Photo: World VisionResearch in Burkina Faso has found midday soil temperatures can be reduced by a whopping 36 degrees and air temperatures under the trees by 10 degrees, Mr Rinaudo said.
The benefits are going to become more important as climate change lifts average temperatures and the risks of extremes such as more intense rain events and heat spikes.
"What these trees are doing for African farmers is buying them time until the greenhouse gas emitters get their act together and stabilise things," he said.
A satellite image of the Humbo region of Ethiopia, showing tree cover in 2005 (left) and in 2017 (right).
Photo: World VisionOther big successes from FMNR have come in African nations such as Senegal and Ethiopia, as the idea has been picked up elsewhere including Timor Leste, Myanmar and India.
Mr Rinaudo, who grew up near Myrtleford in Victoria's north-east, said some of the same lessons could apply to Australia, where farmers are often keen to clear more vegetation than is in their farms' best interest. Saving habitant can not only serve as a benefit to wildlife but can harbour pest-eating insects and birds, for instance.
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"There’s a happy medium between the industrialisation of agriculture that we’re hell-bent on and a gentler approach that works with nature rather than hitting it on the head all the time," he said.
Mr Rinaudo says the award, established in 1980 by Swedish journalist Jakob von Uexkull, belonged to the many colleagues he had worked with over the years in often trying circumstances. He plans to use the prize money of about $140,000 and the award to help promote the regeneration work further.
"I’m blessed ... to go back to those regions where people are benefiting, to me that’s the greatest reward," he said. "It’s made a difference both to the environment and people’s lives."
Those interested in donating to promote the regeneration work further can visit FMNR.com.au.
Peter Hannam is Environment Editor at The Sydney Morning Herald. He covers broad environmental issues ranging from climate change to renewable energy for Fairfax Media.