How do you regreen millions of hectares of land without planting a single tree?

World-renowned agronomist Tony Rinaudo knows the answer lies at the grass roots—or at the tree roots—as much as with farmers and communities. Tony shares his insights and inspiring life story in his autobiography The Forest Underground: Hope for a Planet in Crisis.

In his 17 years in Niger, Tony, from Myrtleford in Victoria, discovered an embarrassingly simple and affordable method of regreening land by reviving damaged trees rather than planting new ones. It’s a technique that not only alleviates poverty and soaks up carbon, but also costs almost 36 times less than planting trees from scratch.

This is not some green fantasy. Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) has, from small beginnings, already regreened more than 18 million hectares in 27 countries, reduced our carbon footprint and transformed millions of lives and livelihoods.

The Forest Underground offers tangible hope for climate change, as well as a deeply moving account of one man’s faith-journey. In a seemingly hopeless crisis, this is the good-news story that will move hearts and hands to care for the planet.

The hardcover is available to pre-order at iscast.org/ news/tfu. The eBook version is available to pre-order from Amazon, Kobo and Apple Books.