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Tree Planting Is Accelerating. Here’s How It Can Help or Hurt


For example, eucalyptus grows quickly and smoothly, making it a profitable timber product. Native to Australia and several northern islands, its leaves feed koalas, which have evolved to tolerate a strong poison they contain. But in Africa and South America, where trees are grown for timber, fuel and, increasingly, carbon storage, they provide much less value to wildlife. Them He also accused it of depleting water and worsening forest fires.

Experts agree that forest restoration and carbon sequestration are complex and commercial species have a role to play. People need timber, a renewable product with a lower carbon footprint than concrete or steel. They need paper and fuel for cooking.

Planting fast-growing species for harvest can sometimes help preserve the surrounding native forests. And, by strategically adding native species, tree farms can help biodiversity by creating wildlife corridors to connect disconnected habitats.

“This restoration movement cannot happen without the private sector,” said Michael Becker, head of communications for 1t.org, a group created by the World Economic Forum to push for the conservation and growth of one trillion trees with the help of private investment. . “Historically there have been bad players, but we have to bring them in and do the right thing.”

The challenge is that helping biodiversity does not provide the financial returns for carbon storage or timber markets.

Many governments have set standards for reforestation efforts, but these often provide ample room for action.

In Wales, one of the most deforested countries in Europe, the government is offering incentives for tree planting. But breeders only need to contain 25 percent native species to qualify for government subsidies. In Kenya and Brazil, eucalyptus grows in rows on what was once ecologically rich forest and savanna. In Peru, a company called Reforesta Perú plants trees on degraded Amazonian lands, but is increasingly using cloned eucalyptus and teak wood for export.

Enrique Toledo, managing director of Reforesta Peru, said investors prefer them because they bring better prices. “There is an internationally recognized species and an unmet demand for wood.”



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