Mohamed Yusuf Nur

A Somali environmentalist who single-handedly planted a forest larger than Manhattan in a war-torn region

Mohamed Yusuf Nur is a visionary environmentalist from Somalia who transformed 1,300 hectares of barren land into the largest community forest in Africa. Starting in 2000 during the country's civil war, Nur began planting acacia trees on his family's land in the Haud region. Over two decades, his Biuwiyos Forest grew to become a 35km green belt that stopped desertification and provided livelihoods for 500+ families.

His TED Talk revealed how he used traditional knowledge combined with modern agroforestry techniques. The project now hosts over 30 million trees that sequester 1.2 million tons of CO₂ annually, creating a model for post-conflict environmental recovery. Nur's work inspired the Great Green Wall initiative and earned him the Right Livelihood Award in 2020.