BBC News: Climate Change: What is being done around the world to plant trees?
By Manish PandeyNewsbeat reporter, July 6 2019.
Related Topics Climate change
*Disclaimer: Sierra Club Hawai'i believes that tree planting is an effective way to combat carbon emissions, heat waves, and restore our native forests. Though, it is a large undertaking to be affective. Our Tree Planting Program (check website for more info) is an opportunity to be a part of the mission to reduce carbon emissions on our islands. However, we still demand policy change to radically shift Hawai'i towards a carbon neutral economy and society.***
Planting trees is now the best way to tackle rising temperatures and climate change, according to a study this week from a group of scientists.
Trees absorb carbon dioxide which means they can help to stop rising temperatures around the world.
They also keep soil moist and reduce the risk of flooding.
So if this is really "the best climate change solution available today" what is being done around the world to plant more trees?
The Great Green Wall:
There is an 8,000 km wall of trees being built in Africa - making it the largest living structure on the planet once it's finished.
The wall aims to spread across the width of Africa and through more than 20 countries including Senegal, Nigeria and Ethiopia.
A decade on from its launch, the wall is currently 15% complete, with 11.4 million trees planted in Senegal alone.
In Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, more than 2 million seeds have been planted from over 50 different species of trees.
The 10 Billion Tree Tsunami:
In August 2017, way ahead of schedule, Pakistan hit its target of planting a billion trees to combat the effects of climate change.
So in 2018, they decided to launch a new target - planting 10 billion trees in the next five years.
India's tree boom:
Under the Paris Climate Agreement, India has pledged to increase its forests by a massive 95 million hectares by 2030.
In 2017 around 1.5 million volunteers planted more than 66 million trees in a record-breaking 12 hours in the state of Madhya Pradesh.
The UK's planting too:
The UK government announced it wants more than 10 million trees to be planted across England and it would create a £60 million fund to do so.
That includes £10 million to plant at least 100,000 trees in towns and cities.
The Woodland Trust - the UK's leading woodland conservation charity - is aiming to plant 64 million trees in the next 10 years. To meet its aim, it's giving away hundreds of thousands of trees for free to schools and communities to encourage tree planting.
There are even drones planting:
In Myanmar, there are now drones planting trees.
The drone flies over the area where it wants to plant trees, picks the best location to plant and then fires a pod filled with seeds into the ground.
According to Worldview Impact - an organisation involved in the drone planting - two people working with 10 drones can theoretically plant an impressive 400,000 trees a day.