Tony Rinaudo

Tony Rinaudo served as an agriculturalist and missionary with ‘Serving in Mission’ in Niger Republic from 1981 to 1999. There, he oversaw long-term rural development and periodic, large-scale relief programs. Through these, he contributed to a transformation in how Nigeriens farm, and the reforesting of over six million hectares of land, which still inspires re-greening movements globally. For his 18 years of service to humanity and the environment, the government of Niger awarded him its highest honour for an expatriate “The Order of Agriculture with Merit” (Merite Agricole du Niger).

Since joining World Vision Australia in 1999, Tony initiated and/or oversaw important land regeneration projects, worldwide. Serving now as Principal Climate Action Advisor, he promotes forestry and agro-forestry initiatives globally within the World Vision partnership, and beyond.

He is widely recognized for his influential contribution to heightened international awareness of the impact, efficacy, and uptake of simple, low-cost, scalable methods of reforestation known as FMNR (Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration). Among major awards Tony and FMNR have recently received are the 2018 Right Livelihood Award “for demonstrating on a large scale how drylands can be greened at minimal cost, improving the livelihoods of millions of people”, and the World Future Council Agroecology Award. In 2019, Tony was appointed as a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia