"For me, one of the major reasons to move beyond just the planting of trees was that I have tendency to look at the causes of a problem. We often preoccupy ourselves with the symptoms, whereas if we went to the root cause of the problems, we would be able to overcome the problems once and for all"

Wangari Maathai’s reflection is a call to shift from surface-level remedies to systemic transformation. Tree planting, for her, was never merely about adding greenery; it was a gateway to interrogating why forests disappear, soils degrade, and communities struggle. The metaphor of “root causes” is fitting: trees survive when roots are healthy, and societies flourish when their foundational structures, governance, rights, livelihoods, culture, are sound. Planting trees can stabilize hillsides, but unless the forces that drive deforestation, poverty, insecure land tenure, energy scarcity, corruption, and short-term economic pressures, are addressed, new saplings will fall to the same pressures as the old growth.

Her approach models systems thinking. Instead of treating environmental degradation as an isolated issue, she linked it to women’s empowerment, civic participation, and accountable leadership. If rural women rely on firewood because they lack access to cleaner energy, then solutions must include energy transitions and income opportunities. If forests are cleared due to elite capture or weak institutions, then protecting ecosystems requires legal reforms and public oversight. The environmental crisis becomes inseparable from social justice and democracy. By organizing communities, educating citizens, and challenging authoritarian practices, Maathai sought to rewire the incentives and power dynamics that produce ecological harm.

There is also a pragmatic wisdom here: symptom management breeds dependency and endless firefighting. Tackling causes builds resilience and autonomy, allowing communities to “overcome the problems once and for all.” The lesson travels far beyond forestry. In health, development, education, or business, sustained outcomes demand the discipline of asking why, again and again, until leverage points appear. It also demands courage, because root causes often implicate entrenched interests. Maathai’s insight is both strategic and ethical: effective stewardship of people and planet requires confronting the systems that generate harm, not merely alleviating their visible effects.