On track to plant one million trees by 2024 with an 80%+ survival rate, financed through a tokenised 'pay-to-grow' tracking platform; a 2023 Earthshot Prize finalist.
Figures reported by the city programme, verified against published case-study sources.
Background
Rapid growth stripped Freetown of an estimated 70% of its tree cover, worsening heat, landslides, and flooding — including 2017 floods and landslides that killed around 1,000 people. In 2020, Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr launched #FreetownTheTreetown to plant a million trees.
The intervention
- A “pay-to-grow” model: community “tree guardians” are paid as trees survive and grow, not just when planted
- A digital tracking platform geotags each tree and issues impact tokens that channel results-based finance to growers
- Funding assembled from the World Bank, the Bloomberg Global Mayors Challenge, and other partners
Results
The city is on course to hit one million trees by 2024 with a survival rate above 80%, and the initiative was a 2023 Earthshot Prize finalist. The tokenised-finance approach is designed to be replicable in other cities.
Lessons
Tying payment to tree survival — verified digitally — aligns incentives and unlocks climate finance, turning reforestation into a measurable, self-sustaining programme.
