Takudzwa Ashley Mlambo is a Zimbabwean environmental leader and social entrepreneur dedicated to land restoration, youth empowerment, and technology-driven sustainability. Awarded the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Land Hero, he champions youth empowerment, climate resilience, and scalable restoration in Zimbabwe and beyond.

As Managing Director and Founder of Forestry & Citrus Research (FACIR), he leads the 1 Billion Tree Initiative — a community-based reforestation campaign using AI and blockchain to restore degraded landscapes.

There is a lack of transparent monitoring and value transformation mechanisms for afforestation in Zimbabwe, resulting in low efficiency and poor sustainability of ecological restoration. This program aims to advance technology-driven ecological restoration, establish an afforestation monitoring and value conversion system, and generate green benefits. The initiative mobilizes youth, farmers, and tech partners across Zimbabwe to plant and monitor trees, leveraging AI, GIS, and blockchain. Through the Plant Master Platform and Green Card system, participants purchase and track trees with geotagged and verified records. The program has restored over 5,000 hectares of degraded land and created 300 green jobs. Its development model has been showcased at multiple international exhibitions and has gained global attention.