Thailand’s ‘Plant for the Planet, Plant for the Future’ campaign was launched on the 19th of July 2008 in Bangkok at the opening ceremony of the Sirindhorn International Environment Park (SIEP).
Nearly 300,000 tree species, including beech and mangrove as well as lowland, wetland and highland forest species are expected to be planted in the new 288-hectare park. The park also features a Regional Centre for Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development and a wind power generation system.
Dr. Sumet Tantivejkul, Chairman of the SIEP Foundation, said: “The Tree Planting Campaign in Thailand aims to promote the restoration of the natural ecology of the country through forestation, thus moving towards creating an environmentally friendly society where people harmoniously co-exist with nature.”
In the Andean country of Peru, an NGO called Yachay Wasi launched a campaign to plant one million native trees in the Circuit of Four Lakes at an altitude of 3,600 meters (11,800 feet) in the Peruvian Andes. The Circuit of Four Lakes comprises Lagunas Acopia, Pomacanchi, Mosoqllacta (Asnacocha) and Pampamarca and is located in the provinces of Acomayo and Canas in the department of Cusco, Peru.
The trees to be planted will include natives such as Escallonia resinosa (Chachacomo) Polylepis incana (Qeuna) and Buddleja coriacea (Qolle) among other species. The Indigenous communities who live around the four lakes and women associations from villages in Acopia, Mosoqllacta, Pomacanchi and Pampamarca districts will nature and take care of the trees.
The Million Native Trees campaign is an outcome of a sustainable development project in the same area which begun in August 2004. The first phase of the project “Recovery of the Circuit of Four Lakes” which started as a water and sanitation project is registered as a Partner for Sustainable Development with the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. Its objective is to stop the contamination of the water and banks of these lakes by modern chemicals, plastics and pharmaceutical discards. The project also aims to educate Indigenous communities residing near the lakes on how to preserve the environmental health and biodiversity of the area.
Every year in June since 2006, in a remote part of India called Sangamner, 45 million trees are being planted under the Dandakaranya Movement initiative. Sangamner is a small town in India and is located at approximately 200 km from Mumbai, in the state of Maharashtra.
During the movement’s first phase, between 23rd June and 2nd July 2006, 50,000 men, women and children worked on hills, dales and fields, and planted a total of 45 million seeds on 28,000 acres of land. The participation was fully voluntary, with no expectation of any kind of remuneration. This was against the original target of ten million seedlings.
Between 23 and 30 June 2007, approximately 50,000 people participated in the Dandakaranya movement, and planted another 45 million seeds and saplings over an area amounting to 21,700 acres of land. In July 2008, a target was set of planting 25 million seeds and 450,000 saplings.
The name Dandakaranya has its origin in Indian mythology. In the epic Ramayan, the sage Agasti turned the arid Dandakaranya into a green heaven through a massive drive of tree planting. Bhausaheb launched this peoples' movement with a view of recreating a modern day Dandakaranya tradition.
| In the severely deforested country of Haiti, Food For The Poor is making major strides to restore the natural balance of the island’s delicate ecology. Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, has experienced a major ecological disaster with the deforestation that has taken place. Approximately 80 percent of the population is unemployed and illiterate. Consequently, a major part of Food For The Poor’s mission is to educate Haitians about the importance of protecting and planting life-saving trees.
Over 100,000 fruit trees have been planted in the housing villages in Haiti constructed by Food For The Poor, providing a source of nutritious food for the residents, and attempting to restore the natural environmental balance.
Haiti frequently experiences life-threatening floods and mud slides because of rampant soil erosion due to the lack of trees. Haiti’s forests were first ravaged to fuel colonial sugar mills, and now due to its grim economic circumstances, the destitute are forced to chop down trees for a meager income selling firewood or charcoal. Food For The Poor believes that through education, people who have been ensnared in generational poverty can be released.
From March through May 2008, the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) and the Ewaso Lions Project (ELP) hosted tree planting projects in Salama (Ukambani) and Samburu schools respectively. In this joint effort, Mary Wykstra (CCF Kenya Director) and Shivani Bhalla (ELP Director) aim to help communities understand that the environment which supports carnivores is the same environment which sustains the livelihoods of the people. Indiginous Acacia sp., Lucena, Cassia saimea, Balanites sp. and decorative Neem and Jacaranda were among the species planted.
In order to reduce conflict with predators that live near settlements and pastoral communities, both CCF and ELP are conducting research in their respective areas. However, the understanding and support of local people is key if these efforts are to succeed and benefit both wildlife and the communities. In this programme the participating schools are competing amongst themselves with an incentive of a field trip for the children who have the most success in keeping their trees alive and thriving. Salama children will be given the opportunity to visit Samburu Reserve and the schools affiliated with ELP, while ELP winners will be brought to the Nairobi National Park and visit the Salama Schools.
The 400 trees planted in Salama are a portion of the Eco-Sys’ pledge to plant 100,000 as part of their Billion Tree Campaign. The 50 trees planted in Samburu are new additions to the campaign.
The student initiative “Plant for the Planet”, a call by the youth of Germany for climate protection by planting trees, has unexpectedly provoked a larger outcome than originally foreseen. Instead of the originally planned 30,000, more than 70,000 trees are expected to be planted within a nationwide action plan. Though the counterbalancing affects the trees have on the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, these youngsters are attempting to affect an enduring contribution to climate protection.
Last year, “Plant for the Planet Germany” was started by 10 year-old Starnberger student Felix Finkbeiner. He, with his classmates, eventually wants to plant a total of one million trees by 2009. Benefactor of “Plant for the Planet” is the former Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme and former German Minister of the Environment Professor Klaus Töpfer.
|
|