There have been many stories of successful examples in the news. The big one is the "Loess Plateau" in China, the "Altiplano" in Bolivia and the "Green Belt Movement in Kenya.

1980s In the heart of the Sahel, vast, barren lands in West Africa once surrendered to the creeping desert. But the people fought back. With no more than basic tools, they resurrected an ancient practice known as “Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration” (FMNR), coaxing life from buried tree roots long dismissed as dead. Over decades, this quiet revolution has transformed more than 5 million hectares, birthing forests where once there was wasteland. Trees now cradle the soil, rain returns, and farmers harvest again—living proof that landscapes, and futures, can be reborn.