By Liliana Usvat
Blog 240-365
The Billion Tree Campaign was launched in 2006 by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) as a response to the challenges of global warming, as well as to a wider array of sustainability challenges, from water supply to biodiversity loss.
Its initial target was the planting of one billion trees in 2007.
One year later, in 2008, the campaign's objective was raised to 7 billion trees – a target to be met by the climate change conference that was held in Copenhagen, Denmark in December 2009. Three months before the conference, the 7 billion planted trees mark had been surpassed. In December 2011, after more than 12 billion trees had been planted, UNEP formally handed management of the program over to the not-for-profit Plant-for-the-Planet Foundation, based in Munich, Germany.
The Billion Tree Campaign was inspired by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Wangari Maathai, founder of the Green Belt Movement. When an executive in the United States told Professor Maathai their corporation was planning to plant a million trees, her response was: “That’s great, but what we really need is to plant a billion trees." The campaign was carried out under the patronage of Prince Albert II of Monaco.
The Green Belt Movement (GBM) is an indigenous grassroots non-governmental organisation based in Nairobi, Kenya that takes a holistic approach to development by focusing on environmental conservation, community development and capacity building. Professor Wangari Maathai established the organisation in 1977, under the auspices of the National Council of Women of Kenya.
The Green Belt Movement organises women in rural Kenya to plant trees, combat deforestation, restore their main source of fuel for cooking, generate income, and stop soil erosion. Maathai has incorporated advocacy and empowerment for women, eco-tourism, and just economic development into the Green Belt Movement.
Since Maathai started the movement in 1977, over 51 million trees have been planted. Over 30,000 women trained in forestry, food processing, bee-keeping, and other trades that help them earn income while preserving their lands and resources. Communities in Kenya (both men and women) have been motivated and organised to both prevent further environmental destruction and restore that which has been damaged.
In 2004, Wangari Maathai received the Nobel Peace Prize – becoming the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize
India
India's Rural Development Ministry has decided to try to tackle two problems at the same time: Youth unemployment and bad air quality. It has unveiled a plan to hire youths - potentially up to 300,000 - to plant 2 billion trees along the country's highways.
One quaint village in India has adopted a wonderfully eco-conscious tradition that is actually helping to ensure a greener future with each new generation.
For every female child that's born, the community gathers to plant 111 fruit trees in her honor in the village common.
This unique tradition was first suggested by the village's former leader, Shyam Sundar Paliwal, in honor of his daughter who had passed away at a young age.
llinks
http://www.greenearthappeal.org/united-nations-billion-tree-campaign/billion-tree-campaign
Blog 240-365
The Billion Tree Campaign was launched in 2006 by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) as a response to the challenges of global warming, as well as to a wider array of sustainability challenges, from water supply to biodiversity loss.
Its initial target was the planting of one billion trees in 2007.
One year later, in 2008, the campaign's objective was raised to 7 billion trees – a target to be met by the climate change conference that was held in Copenhagen, Denmark in December 2009. Three months before the conference, the 7 billion planted trees mark had been surpassed. In December 2011, after more than 12 billion trees had been planted, UNEP formally handed management of the program over to the not-for-profit Plant-for-the-Planet Foundation, based in Munich, Germany.
The Billion Tree Campaign was inspired by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Wangari Maathai, founder of the Green Belt Movement. When an executive in the United States told Professor Maathai their corporation was planning to plant a million trees, her response was: “That’s great, but what we really need is to plant a billion trees." The campaign was carried out under the patronage of Prince Albert II of Monaco.
The Green Belt Movement (GBM) is an indigenous grassroots non-governmental organisation based in Nairobi, Kenya that takes a holistic approach to development by focusing on environmental conservation, community development and capacity building. Professor Wangari Maathai established the organisation in 1977, under the auspices of the National Council of Women of Kenya.
The Green Belt Movement organises women in rural Kenya to plant trees, combat deforestation, restore their main source of fuel for cooking, generate income, and stop soil erosion. Maathai has incorporated advocacy and empowerment for women, eco-tourism, and just economic development into the Green Belt Movement.
Since Maathai started the movement in 1977, over 51 million trees have been planted. Over 30,000 women trained in forestry, food processing, bee-keeping, and other trades that help them earn income while preserving their lands and resources. Communities in Kenya (both men and women) have been motivated and organised to both prevent further environmental destruction and restore that which has been damaged.
In 2004, Wangari Maathai received the Nobel Peace Prize – becoming the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize
India
India's Rural Development Ministry has decided to try to tackle two problems at the same time: Youth unemployment and bad air quality. It has unveiled a plan to hire youths - potentially up to 300,000 - to plant 2 billion trees along the country's highways.
One quaint village in India has adopted a wonderfully eco-conscious tradition that is actually helping to ensure a greener future with each new generation.
For every female child that's born, the community gathers to plant 111 fruit trees in her honor in the village common.
This unique tradition was first suggested by the village's former leader, Shyam Sundar Paliwal, in honor of his daughter who had passed away at a young age.
Fast Facts
- Trees are the largest and longest living organisms on earth.
- To make up for the loss of trees in the past decade, we would need to plant 130 million hectares (or 1.3 million km2), an area as large as Peru.
- Covering the equivalent of 130 million hectares would entail planting approximately 14 billion trees every year for 10 consecutive years. This would require each person to plant and care for at least two seedlings a year.
- Rehabilitating tens of millions of hectares of degraded land and reforesting the Earth is necessary to restore and maintain the productivity of soil and water resources.
- Expanding tree cover on denuded lands will reduce pressures on remaining primary forests, helping to preserve habitats and to safeguard the Earth’s biological diversity. It will also mitigate the build-up of atmospheric carbon dioxide.
- Rainforests cover only 7 per cent of the land on earth but they contain nearly half of all the tree on earth. They generate about 40 per cent of the world’s oxygen.
- In one year, an average tree inhales 12 kilograms (26 pounds) of CO2 and exhales enough oxygen for a family of four for a year.
- One hectare of trees can absorb 6 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.
- A long haul flight will produce 3.75 tonnes of CO2 (or one tonne of carbon)
How much of the world is forested?
- Forests cover 30 per cent of the planet’s total land area. The total forested area in 2005 was just under 4 billion hectares, at least one third less than before the dawn of agriculture, some 10,000 years ago. (100 hectares is the same as 1 square kilometre).
Where are most forests found?
- Forests are unevenly distributed. The ten most forest-rich countries, which account for two-thirds of the total forested area, are the Russian Federation, Brazil, Canada, the United States, China, Australia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Peru and India.
llinks
http://www.greenearthappeal.org/united-nations-billion-tree-campaign/billion-tree-campaign
