Scott Sabin

Scott Sabin isn’t sure who deserves the credit for bringing environmental issues and the plight of Sub-Saharan Africa to American consciousness — he’s just glad it’s happened.

“People are much more aware of the poverty in Africa and how that affects the environment, which is right where we intersect,” says the executive director of San Diego-based Floresta, a nonprofit aimed at ending deforestation and poverty. “I get excited when I see the momentum.”

In 2008, Floresta’s 100 volunteers will lead people in six countries to plant 400,000 trees, adding to the 3.5 million already planted in the organization’s 23-year history.

“The poor are often responsible for deforestation because they cut the trees for firewood and live on subsistence agriculture,” says Sabin. “We show them how trees improve the two assets poor farmers have, which are water and soil, and we empower them to get out of the vicious cycles they are in.”

Sabin, a former naval officer, has just nine full-time staff and a $2 million annual budget to run his operation. He hopes to increase his budget to $20 million and take Floresta into other ravaged areas.

“There are many, many countries where these issues are huge,” he says.