ECOLOGY
Green Dreams can come true
Human retreat from natural habitats is a possibility. Here are four regions who are bucking the trend of global deforestation, each one ushering in an age of human retreat for their own special reasons.
At a time when the world should be reducing CO2 emissions, deforestation is the single most CO2-impacting activity, when one factors in both the burning and the removal of the carbon-fixing capacity of forests. Across Russia, Brazil, Indonesia, and even in countries like the US, trees are felled at a rate amounting to the global equivalent of 3 football stadiums of forest per second.
Amid this backdrop, there is hope. There are brilliant examples of reversal of forest habitat loss that could become blueprints for a global reforestation effort.
Furthermore, each example has arisen under different circumstances, different types of economies and in different climatic regions. This proves that reforestation is possible under many different scenarios, as long as there is determination.
This is a quick summary of some of the most noteworthy reforestation efforts around the world.
Europe: A case of nature simply moving back in
Europe is experiencing a nature renaissance that has been in the making for many decades. Across Europe, an area of forest the equivalent size of Switzerland has been added, in many occasions this being a case of “simply nature moving back in”.
An unlikely paradox of human development is responsible for this: urbanisation meant that many countryside villages across Europe were gradually deserted, along with farmland and other infrastructure. It is not unusual at all to drive through the countryside in many European countries and find abandoned old villages, being reclaimed by nature.
At the same time, strong conservation and reforestation efforts in countries like Sweden have began to boost the proportion of forested land. As it now stands, according to the World Economic Forum two-fifths of Europe’s land area is forest.
Costa Rica: living proof that a Green Economy can become a reality, as long as there is bold forward-thinking and innovation
The government of Costa Rica has done what Brazil should be doing: realising the immense value of rainforests. In fact, the Costa Rican people realised more than that: that the living forest is an economic asset. An asset that can be exploited in many different ways if it is protected.
The government introduced measures to stop deforestation, but it did so along with viable incentives to encourage economic activities that depend on a healthy forest: eco tourism, pharmaceuticals and sustainable agriculture just to name a few. The result was a boost to the economy with new jobs and new wealth creation.
As for the forest itself, within 30 years Costa Rica has doubled the size of its forested area, reversing decades of destruction. The proportion of forest cover has increased from 26% to 52% of its land area, slowly making its way up to the 75% it was in the 1940s. Costa Rica has showed the rest of the world what some thought was impossible: conservation along with economic growth.
Ethiopia: simply a matter of survival
A country facing the double threat of climate change and the expansion of the Sahara desert, Ethiopia has in the past gotten us used to news about famine, poverty and internal conflict.
This week however Ethiopia made headlines for something very different: breaking the single-day tree-planting record, with 350 million trees planted in a day. We should all be taking notes from a country that continues to be poor. If Ethiopia can do it, anyone can.
Ethiopia’s efforts are part of The Great Green Wall, a pan-African project to halt the advance of the Sahara at its southern border, known as the Sahel region. Tree planting has so far restored soil, humidity and natural habitat in many formerly degraded areas, boosting local economies that can once again sustain themselves through agriculture.
12 countries who are part of the Sahel are participating in the Green Wall. When completed, The Wall will be larger in size than the Great Barrier Reef.
China: Learning through trial and error how to turn desert into forest
Many decades of land degradation under Communism have led to vast areas of northern China being termed “China’s Dust Bowl”: former fertile agricultural land that is now being further degraded through desertification associated with climate change.
Flooding, erosion and dust pollution reaching all the way into Beijing were some of the effects that led China to a massive tree-planting and restoration program that has been ongoing for many years. Although much of the forest planted is of low-quality single-species monocultures, China is slowly restoring these habitats. As soil conditions improve, and over time, monocultures can hopefully give way to “wild” forest.
Reforestation is a new science and there is a degree of experimentation involved in trying to achieve what nature normally does in 50–100 years. But there is no doubt that China will use its formidable scientific expertise and decisiveness to try and make this a success.
George is a plant biologist, food scientist, author and researcher. You can follow him on Twitter @99blackbaloons
