Teresia Zavala

A Tanzanian environmentalist who pioneered community-led reforestation and women's empowerment in East Africa.

Teresia Zavala emerged as a leader in Tanzania's environmental movement during the 1980s. She co-founded the African Forest Forum in 1992, advocating for indigenous land rights and sustainable forest management. Her work with rural women's groups transformed degraded landscapes into productive agroforestry systems, creating income streams through tree planting and non-timber forest products. Zavala's 'Women for Trees' initiative empowered 200,000+ women across 14 African countries by 2000. She challenged colonial-era forestry policies that marginalized local communities, publishing groundbreaking research on gender and environmental governance. Her 1998 report Forest Rights: Women's Voices from the Kilimanjaro Region became a blueprint for community forestry programs worldwide. Zavala's legacy includes over 1.5 million hectares of restored forests and inspired the UNCCD's gender action plan.