I am aware that the average Black Muslim seems more indoctrinated than average Arab Muslim are by the deceit that all Muslims are effectively people committed to the fate and bound by the fate in brotherhood above the nation state, but mister president could do with showing more affection for Nigeria and Nigerians.

Buhari could boost his faltering image by initiating some simple Social Feel-Good(-come-actually-really - good) projects such as beating Ethiopia's 350 million trees in a day record.







Deforestation: Did Ethiopia plant 350 million trees in a day?





Ethiopia says it planted more than 350 million trees in just one day which, if verified, would be a world record.

But is such a feat even possible?

We've been looking at the numbers.
Why plant trees?

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched the £1.1bn tree planting project earlier this year to tackle deforestation and climate change.

The United Nations says forest cover in Ethiopia fell from 35% of total land area in the early 20th Century to a little above 4% by the 2000s.

The initial target was to plant 200 million tree saplings in 12 hours on 29 July, but Dr Getahun Mekuria, the Innovation and Technology minister, said the country ended up planting more than 350 million tree seedlings.

Ref: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-49266983

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/08/africa-is-set-to-get-its-first-vertical-forest/



The Egyptian desert is set to host the African continent's first vertical forest.

Italian architect and urban planner Stefano Boeri has unveiled designs for three buildings covered with pollution-absorbing trees and plants in Egypt's New Administrative Capital, which is under construction in the desert east of Cairo.

Boeri’s Milan-based practice, Stefano Boeri Architetti, has designed vertical forests for cities around the world - but the Egyptian project will be the first of its kind for Africa.

He is collaborating with Egyptian designer Shimaa Shalash and Italian landscape architect Laura Gatti on the trio of cube-shaped, seven-storey buildings that will comprise the development in the nascent city.






The buildings will have planted terraces containing 350 trees and 14,000 shrubs of more than 100 different species. One of the three buildings will be a hotel, while the other two will house apartment units.

The planned new capital will eventually host ministries, embassies, residential neighbourhoods and a financial district. It will replace the current capital, Cairo, which suffers from severe overcrowding, traffic congestion and air pollution.

Why do they matter?

Vertical forests pack thousands of square metres of greenery into just a few hundred square metres of urban space, providing shade and creating habitats for birds and insects, according to Boeri.

The trees, shrubs and plants absorb carbon dioxide, produce oxygen and filter dust from the air.

The concept took off in 2014, with Milan’s Bosco Verticale, a pair of residential 110- and 76 meter tower blocks, designed by Boeri, with around 900 trees and more than 20,000 smaller plants and shrubs.
Have you read?

Why living near forests can benefit your mental health
Yes, you really can plant trees all over a city to make it cleaner and better
China is about to get its first vertical forest

In recent years, large-scale green architecture projects have been taking root in major cities, from Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay to Sydney’s One Central Park.





Meanwhile, Liuzhou Forest City - another Boeri project- is under construction in the southern Chinese province of Guangxi. It will have more than 40,000 trees and 1 million plants covering its buildings.

The trees and plants in Liuzhou Forest City are expected to annually absorb 10,000 tonnes of CO2 and 57 tonnes of pollutants, while producing about 900 tonnes of oxygen.

In the Netherlands, Boeri has also designed the 19-story Trudo Vertical Forest, which will house 125 affordable units targeting low-income families.

In addition to tackling pollution, vertical forests also help to prevent sprawl and provide more housing – a growing issue as the world continues to urbanize at a rapid pace. By 2050, 68% of the global population will be living in towns and cities, compared to 55% today, according to the UN.

..... Wetin carry religion enter Tree Planting kuma ? Kai Nairaland

The south east should first plant trees to curb their erosion then if it works we will plant trees to curb desertification shikina.

Charleys:
The south east should first plant trees to curb their erosion then if it works we will plant trees to curb desertification shikina.

Erosion and afforestation??
Don't let your obsession with a geographical location pass this stage o

President Muhammadu Buhari has said as part of plans to enhance Nigeria’s carbon sink, the federal government will mobilize its youths to plant 25 million trees across the country.

Buhari said this while addressing world leaders at the United Nations Climate Action Summit tagged “A Race We Can Win. A Race We Must Win” on Monday.

According to his media aide, Femi Adesina, the president told attendees at the summit that his administration will embark on different initiatives aimed at reversing the negative effects of climate change in the country.

Adesina said Buhari shared the sentiment expressed by the UN Secretary-General that the world was on the verge of climate catastrophe, noting that “undeniably, Climate Change is a human-induced phenomenon.”

Buhari said, “It is in this regard that I wish to reiterate Nigeria’s commitment to its obligation under the Paris Agreement, the aspirations enshrined in our Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and ensure a resilient future that mainstreams climate risks in our decision making

“I want to announce that the Government of Nigeria will develop a more robust sectorial action plan, and expand the scope of our Sovereign Green Bonds in line with our intended upward review of Nigeria’s NDC’s towards the inclusion of the water and waste sectors by 2020,” he said.

The president also said the country would issue a Green Bond for irrigation and construct multi-purpose dams for power, irrigation and water supply.

“We will strengthen solid and liquid waste management systems to attract more private sector investors.

“We will take concrete steps to harness climate innovative ideas by including youths in decision making processes as part of our over-all climate governance architecture.

“We will mobilize Nigerian youths towards planting 25 million trees to enhance Nigeria’s carbon sink,” he said.

Adesina said President Buhari disclosed that Nigeria had embarked on diversification of its energy sources from dependence on gas-powered system to hydro, solar, wind, biomass and nuclear sources.

The president said the country was progressively working to realize 30 percent energy efficiency and renewable energy mix by 2030, saying this is envisaged to lead to 179 million tons of carbon dioxide reduction per annum by 2030.

“In addition, our Administration intends to develop a shelter belt across 11 States of the Federation spanning a distance of 1,500 km and 15km across through the Great Green Wall initiative.

“Furthermore, the Federal Government has commenced the implementation of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Programme in Ogoniland, to recover the carbon sink potential of the mangrove ecosystem of the one thousand square kilometers (1,000 KM2) polluted site in the affected area.

“I should also inform the summit that our Government has introduced Climate Smart Agricultural Practices to unlock Seventy-Four (74) Million tons of carbon dioxide per annum, through relevant technologies, advocacy and best practices,” he added.

President Buhari also noted that the Lake Chad Basin, which used to be a region of productivity, food security and wealth for an estimated 40 million citizens living around the Chad Basin, had shrunk significantly from its original size due to Climate Change.

https://punchng.com/climate-change-is-a-human-induced-phenomenon-buhari-says-at-unga/amp/

Cletus77:

Erosion and afforestation??
Don't let your obsession with a geographical location pass this stage o

Pls tell him

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2019-50440867

The Conservative Party has said it will plant 30 million trees a year by 2025 if it wins the general election - as the Liberal Democrats pledged to plant twice as many trees in the same period.

The Tories' £640m fund would be used to plant trees and restore peatland.

Labour dismissed the scheme and said the prime minister had an "atrocious environmental record".

The Lib Dems would plant 60 million trees a year across the UK by 2025, leader Jo Swinson said.

Under the Conservatives' scheme, branded the Nature for Climate fund, the party said it would treble the tree-planting rate to cover 30,000 hectares - meaning approximately 30 million trees - every year by the end of the next Parliament in 2025.

One hectare is 100m x 100m in size.

The Conservatives' fund would cover England, but the party said it would work with devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to increase tree planting.

It means plans for the Northern Forest in north-west England and the Great Northumberland Forest would be expanded, while trees would also be planted in urban areas and in new forests, the Tories said.

Tree planting rise 'needs to happen quickly'
Tree planting: Your questions answered

The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) - an advisory group of experts in science, economics, and business - recommends 30,000 hectares of woodland should be planted annually.

Less than half that amount was planted in the UK in the year to March 2019.


Experts in forestry say a huge programme of tree planting is needed if the UK is to have any chance of reducing its carbon emissions to effectively zero. They also say that the aim, though difficult, is feasible but will depend on careful planning - "to get the right trees in the right places", as one specialist put it to me.

Finding enough land may be one of the toughest challenges. Farmers will want incentives to convert their fields to forests, not just to help with the cost of planting trees but also to compensate them for the long decades before they can earn an income from them.

Conservative leader Boris Johnson said there was "nothing more conservative than protecting our environment".

He said the measures would "sit alongside our world-leading commitment" to cut greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.

The Conservatives look set to use the "Vote Blue, Go Green" slogan in this election, which was first adopted by David Cameron in 2010, but which critics say he abandoned once he got into power.

The Lib Dems said their "ambitious" proposals to plant 40,000 hectares - or, they estimated, 60 million trees - every year would increase UK forest cover by one million hectares by 2045.

The "largest tree-planting programme in UK history" would be part of the party's plan to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by the same year.

"Only the Liberal Democrats have a radical plan to make a real impact in the fight against climate change and build a brighter future for our planet," Ms Swinson said.


Labour's shadow environment secretary Sue Hayman said the Conservative Party's failure to meet previous tree-planting targets showed they weren't serious about the matter.

"When Labour comes forward with its own ambitious proposals as part of our Plan For Nature, they will be informed by what the science says is necessary and possible - not by what Boris Johnson thinks he needs to do to greenwash his atrocious environmental record," she added.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, former Conservative environment secretary Michael Gove said the failure to meet the targets was due to the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which he called "unfair, unjust and un-green".

CAP funding is one of the EU's biggest policies with a Europe-wide budget worth more than £50bn a year. The subsidies are designed to support the farming industry and help farmers and landowners maintain their land.

Although the EU does offer grants for planting trees, farmers can lose some of their agricultural subsidy if they increase tree cover and the application processes are complex, conservation groups have said.

The European Commission recently proposed subsidising farmers to plant trees on one hectare per farm under the post-2020 CAP.

Mr Johnson's party also announced a £500m "Blue Planet fund" across the next five years to help support developing countries in protecting oceans.

The sum would be funded by the budget for international aid, the Conservative Party said.

The money would go towards, for example, UK satellites monitoring marine environments and ensuring protected areas were not subject to illegal fishing.

Did Ethiopia plant four billion trees this year?



Ethiopia undertook a major national reforestation programme this year, with the ambitious target of planting four billion trees in just three months.

The highlight was a single day in July, on which people across the country turned out to help with planting 350 million tree seedlings.

At the end of August, the government claimed to have just about achieved these goals. But is it really possible to plant that many trees in such a short time and what evidence is there that the overall target has been met?

[img]https://news.files.bbci.co.uk/include/idt2/assets/d0b3d0a9-8b19-4812-9c57-db88d9eb9be7[/img]
We have reached both targets that we have set for ourselves....We have also learned a lot from this project in terms of agro-forestry for the country.
Seleshi Bekele
Ethiopia'

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-50813726

Cletus77:

Erosion and afforestation??
Don't let your obsession with a geographical location pass this stage o

the guy is right.
Lemme enlighten you so u won't do same mistake.
Most erosion are caused by surface run off water or wind which sweep the surface of the earth.
One tree won't stop erosion but when you plant many trees, each tree will play a major role in stopping the velocity of the water, with this, before the water will go far, its destructive capacity will greatly be reduced.
Also trees has canopies, which could stop the water from directly hitting the soil to cause erosion.
Wind also can cause erosion but trees do reduce the impact, for instance most beaches has palm trees which reduce the velocity of wind before reaching the closest village.
Farmers who plant on steep land do what is called 'planting across the slope to reduce erosion.
How many times do you hear of forest suffering erosion? Its rare or has never been heard of.

Back to the Op's question, Nigeria can't beat that.
But if its about saying Buhari is a cow 10million times everyday till 2023, it will be easy, we really have a long way to go.

Lalasticlala, seun, mynd44, Dominique, I think this thread deserve FP.

ursullalinda:

Pls tell him

check the post above this post

dukeprince50:
the guy is right.
Lemme enlighten you so u won't do same mistake.
Most erosion are caused by surface run off water or wind which sweep the surface of the earth.
One tree won't stop erosion but when you plant many trees, each tree will play a major role in stopping the velocity of the water, with this, before the water will go far, its destructive capacity will greatly be reduced.
Also trees has canopies, which could stop the water from directly hitting the soil to cause erosion.
Wind also can cause erosion but trees do reduce the impact, for instance most beaches has palm trees which reduce the velocity of wind before reaching the closest village.
Farmers who plant on steep land do what is called 'planting across the slope to reduce erosion.
How many times do you hear of forest suffering erosion? Its rare or has never been heard of.

Back to the Op's question, Nigeria can't beat that.
But if its about saying Buhari is a cow 10million times everyday till 2023, it will be easy, we really have a long way to go.

Lalasticlala, seun, mynd44, Dominique, I think this thread deserve FP.

Have u ever been to south east ?
Vegetation is not lacking in the eat ....the erosion is caused by the landscape water tuning from high lands to low lands

dukeprince50:
the guy is right.
Lemme enlighten you so u won't do same mistake.
Most erosion are caused by surface run off water or wind which sweep the surface of the earth.
One tree won't stop erosion but when you plant many trees, each tree will play a major role in stopping the velocity of the water, with this, before the water will go far, its destructive capacity will greatly be reduced.
Also trees has canopies, which could stop the water from directly hitting the soil to cause erosion.
Wind also can cause erosion but trees do reduce the impact, for instance most beaches has palm trees which reduce the velocity of wind before reaching the closest village.
Farmers who plant on steep land do what is called 'planting across the slope to reduce erosion.
How many times do you hear of forest suffering erosion? Its rare or has never been heard of.

It should be obvious grass and trees hold the soil. The other major issue to address is drainage. Building storm drains and flood control channels. If all these things were done Nigerians would definitely have a higher standard of living.

mrvitalis:

Have u ever been to south east ?
Vegetation is not lacking in the eat ....the erosion is caused by the landscape water tuning from high lands to low lands

my post was not directed to SE, he was asking how erosion and afforestation could come together in the same statement.

I have not been to SE but erosion is not a big problem that will be happening frequently.
The way I hear about erosion in SE on nairaland, it seems it occurs every month, if that's the case, then both the government and the people are not trying cos no geographic location suffers the same natural disaster monthly, I stand to be corrected, but if it happens ones or twice a year, then there is no problem, its just probably due to the earth rotation, man could do nothing about it.

Blue3k:


It should be obvious grass and trees hold the soil. The other major issue to address is drainage. Building storm drains and flood control channels. If all these things were done Nigerians would definitely have a higher standard of living.

No sir grass and trees do not hold the soil together.
Rather trees loosen the soil
Drainage pattern is something we can't have a pass mark, Rivers State has good and massive drainage that could sweep someone off, I saw one that is capable of flushing a car, the drainage was massive and frightening.
Bayelsa state on the other hand can't even boast of a drainage, what they have is what I call gutters(those 30cm wide things that you find in front of peoples shop) and those gutters are dirty with grasses growing in it or household item dumped in it, small rain, the state don flood.
I just made an example of these two state cos these are the state I have spend a lot of time in

dukeprince50:
my post was not directed to SE, he was asking how erosion and afforestation could come together in the same statement.

I have not been to SE but erosion is not a big problem that will be happening frequently.
The way I hear about erosion in SE on nairaland, it seems it occurs every month, if that's the case, then both the government and the people are not trying cos no geographic location suffers the same natural disaster monthly, I stand to be corrected, but if it happens ones or twice a year, then there is no problem, its just probably due to the earth rotation, man could do nothing about it.

If u think erosion happens monthly Lmao then you are more miss informed about erosion than I thought

In fact u know nothing about erosion ...so erosion just happen like tsunami ,or earth quacks

mrvitalis:

If u think erosion happens monthly Lmao then you are more miss informed about erosion than I thought

In fact u know nothing about erosion ...so erosion just happen like tsunami ,or earth quacks

Yes sir, erosion can occur frequently, infact it is possible that erosion can occur daily.
Take ur house for example, under your zinc, you can have water hitting the soil directly and could cause a particular spot prone to erosion, that spot will create a water channel less than 0.3m deep, such erosion is called rill erosion, but your knowledge of erosion is the gully erosion so I'll just concentrate on that.
,Gully occurs not in a particular spot anyways but in a geographic location like SE, its easy to have erosion two/three times in three months in Enugu state alone, and erosion doesn't have to be gully, we have rill, sheet, water, scalding, gully etc. Earth quakes are caused by shift and readjusting of the earth, earthquake can give rise to erosion.
Earthquake occur frequency, but only the destructive ones are reported, its just the earth shaking, sometimes this shakes can reshape the arrangement of the land and kaboom, u can have sheet and rill erosion

Prefab Homes as another tool to help fill the housing gap for the masses in Nigeria?

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-51613917

Renewable Energy in Africa.

https://qz.com/africa/1807518/renewable-energy-investment-takes-big-strides-in-africa/

3 BILLION TREES TO BE PLANTED ACROSS EUROPE BY 2030 AS PART OF A PLAN TO RESTORE NATURE
By Rosie Frost
21/05/2020

https://www.euronews.com/living/2020/05/21/3-billion-trees-to-be-planted-across-europe-by-2030-as-part-of-a-plan-to-restore-nature

As part of a new strategy to protect nature in the European Union, three billion new trees will be planted across the 27 member states.

The European Commission has laid out the ambitious strategy as part of the European Green Deal. Alongside tree planting, this also includes a number of measures to protect the natural wealth of the region, including commitments to reduce the use of chemical pesticides and protections for vital pollinators, like bees, whose numbers are currently in decline.


“Nature is vital for our physical and mental wellbeing, it filters our air and water, it regulates the climate and it pollinates our crops,” Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius, said in a statement.

“But we are acting as if it didn't matter, and losing it at an unprecedented rate.”

At least 30 per cent of Europe’s land and seas is set to become a protected area. A further third of these areas with very high biodiversity will come under “strict protection” which will keep human intervention to a minimum.

The aim is to raise €20 billion every year to fund the plan. The money will come from public and private funding with a vast amount of the EU’s climate budget used to invest in biodiversity. The European Commission says that protecting and restoring well-functioning ecosystems in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic is “key to boost our resilience and prevent the emergence and spread of future diseases”.

Unsplash
Pollinators like bees are under threat from biodiversity. Unsplash
IS INVESTING IN NATURE ENOUGH?
Some environmental campaigners are sceptical about the measures, claiming they are not enough. “It’s good to see ambition to extend protected areas, boost tree cover and cut pesticide use, and to bring back species in decline,” says Paul de Zylva, nature campaigner at Friends of the Earth. “But there is a huge sense of déjà vu reading this latest strategy because many of the same ambitions have been set out, and not delivered, by previous nature plans.”

There is a huge sense of déjà vu reading this latest strategy because many of the same ambitions have been set out, and not delivered, by previous nature plans.
Paul de Zylva
Nature campaigner for Friends of the Earth
De Zylva believes that Europe needs a “proper action plan” instead of “another strategy filled with warm words”, which should include a commitment to switch from intensive farming to intensive nature conservation.

“€20 billion a year to protect and restore nature is modest compared with the huge costs of inaction,” he says. But even that will be wasted if “taxpayers’ money continues to be given to harmful activities.”

Legally binding nature restoration targets will not be outlined in detail until 2021. But once finalised, the commission hopes to put the EU in a world-leading position to address the critical loss of global biodiversity.

Nigeria needs more trees now especially in the lake Chad and other deforestation sites

Nigerian government don't have time for such positive development, they prefer things that have to do with tribe, religion, zones, political party, oil money, China loan etc.

so just forget about this cos the money will be looted completely and they'll show u about 20 trees after spending double of what other countries spent on the same project.

let every individual in Nigeria plant at least 10 trees every year for 10 years , even if it is mango trees at least person go eat mango tire in the nearest future.

I personally don't support deforestation.

our government will promise us 50billion trees but may never plant one. they have taken us to the next level promise-landless.

chuka5000:
Nigerian government don't have time for such positive development, they prefer things that have to do with tribe, religion, zones, political party, oil money, China loan etc.

so just forget about this cos the money will be looted completely and they'll show u about 20 trees after spending double of what other countries spent on the same project.

I don tire for dis country honestly. just imagine the first 5 comments in this thread! who say Nigeria go better if we continue like this? even the mods are not helping matters.

Desertification: Borno State To Begin First Phase of ‘10 Million Trees’ Project





The Borno State Government intends to raise and plant 10 million seedlings in two years to address desertification and deforestation in the State.

The State Ministry of Environment said it had commenced setting up nurseries across the state with experts and facilities to monitor and manage thousands of seedlings.

Mr Kabiru Wanori, the Borno State Commissioner for Environment, told HumAngle that the first phase of the project would involve planting one million trees in northern Borno to control desertification.

Desertification in the state is a major environmental and livelihood challenge driven by climatic variability, and human activities, such as deforestation and high reliance on firewood for cooking.

Arable land turns arid and forage for cattle becomes increasingly scarce affecting the livelihood of both farmers and pastoralists.

It further compounds socioeconomic inequalities, the impact of climate change and the intensity of weather events, including sand storms and heatwaves.

The survivability of the trees is a challenge for the state due to the short rainy season of three to four months, which is not enough to sustain trees to maturity, according to experts.

Ali Busuguma, the Regional Director of African Climate Change Research Center (ACCREC), said that raising seedlings and sustainably maintaining them was beyond making pledges.

He said that the people at the grassroots needed to own the process otherwise nothing would be achieved.

He asked, “if the state is serious on that course, why not encourage our local horticulturists within the metropolis that raise seedlings for their wellbeing?

“In that way, the government would empower the locals and save a lot in raising new ones.”

Busuguma explained that security concerns had prevented the organisation’s ‘tree-planting campaigns from reaching the northern part of Borno.

The ACCREC tree planting campaign includes the propagation of Jatropha for use by farmers to protect their farms from herders’ invasion and minimise conflict amongst them, he explained.

In 2017, Borno State government raised over 300,000 seedlings of assorted tree species to complement efforts of the National Agency for Great Green Wall programme in tackling desertification and degradation, according to the Agency for Great Green Wall.

The state is part of the 11 desertification and desert encroachment frontline states in Nigeria where the ambitious Great Green wall project is designed to combat desertification which threatens the livelihoods of an estimated 40 million and amplifies poverty and conflict between herders and farmers.

The Great Green Wall programme involves the establishment of a greenbelt covering 1,500km from Arewa Dandi Local Government Area in Kebbi State to Abadam Local Government Area in Borno State.

About 60 million drought-resistant tree seedlings are expected to be planted in 38 communities using a flexible mosaic Greenland concept.

The Borno tree planting project is also part of the national 25 million trees to increase the country’s carbon sink and respond to the urgent need for reforestation due to the loss of about 96 per cent of its forest cover.

This was announced by President Buhari during the United Nations Climate Summit in New York in 2019.

Refrence: https://twitter.com/A_Salkida

Refrence: https://humangle.ng/desertification-borno-state-to-begin-first-phase-of-10-million-trees-project/

Fast-Growing Mini-Forests Spring up in Europe to Aid Climate

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/fast-growing-mini-forests-spring-up-in-europe-to-aid-climate?utm_source=pocket-newtab-global-en-GB


``

A Miyawaki forest being planted on the outskirts of Paris, France. Photo by ollo / Getty Images.

Tiny, dense forests are springing up around Europe as part of a movement aimed at restoring biodiversity and fighting the climate crisis.

Often sited in schoolyards or alongside roads, the forests can be as small as a tennis court. They are based on the work of the Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki, who has planted more than 1,000 such forests in Japan, Malaysia and elsewhere.

Advocates for the method say the miniature forests grow 10 times faster and become 30 times denser and 100 times more biodiverse than those planted by conventional methods. This result is achieved by planting saplings close together, three per square metre, using native varieties adapted to local conditions. A wide variety of species – ideally 30 or more – are planted to recreate the layers of a natural forest.

Scientists say such ecosystems are key to meeting climate goals, estimating that natural forests can store 40 times more carbon than single-species plantations. The Miyawaki forests are designed to regenerate land in far less time than the 70-plus years it takes a forest to recover on its own.

“This is a great thing to do,” said Eric Dinerstein, a wildlife scientist who co-authored a recent paper calling for half of the Earth’s surface to be protected or managed for nature conservation to avoid catastrophic climate change. “So this could be another aspect for suburban and urban areas, to create wildlife corridors through contiguous ribbons of mini-forest.”

The mini-forests could attract migratory songbirds, Dinerstein said. “Songbirds are made from caterpillars and adult insects, and even small pockets of forests, if planted with native species, could become a nutritious fast-food fly-in site for hungry birds.”

In 2017, researchers at Wageningen University in the Netherlands monitored newly planted mini-forests and concluded that they “increase the biodiversity compared to the nearby forest. Both the number of species groups and the number of individuals is generally higher than in the reference forests.”

The higher biodiversity is due partly to the forests’ young age and openness, explained Fabrice Ottburg, an animal ecologist who led the Wageningen study. This allows more sunlight to reach flowering plants that attract pollinators. Diversity is also boosted by planting multiple species, which “provide more variety in food and shelter for a higher diversity of animals like insects, snails, butterflies, amphibians, bugs, grasshoppers”, Ottburg said.

In the Netherlands, the conservation group IVN Nature Education has helped cities and households to plant 100 Miyawaki-style forests since 2015. It is on track to more than double that number by 2022 and is working on similar efforts in a dozen other countries. Assorted groups in Belgium and France have recently created at least 40 mini-forests.

The first in France was planted in March 2018 beside a busy four-lane road on the edge of Paris. The dense thicket was intended to reduce noise and filter air for the adjacent neighbourhood. On the day of planting, 40 people gathered with 31 species of saplings to bring new life to ground that had been prepared with compost from local horse stables.

Two years earlier, Enrico Fusto and Damien Saraceni had applied for funding from Paris’s participatory budget, a scheme that asks residents for ideas about how to spend 5% of the city’s funds. The pair proposed mini-forests, saying they could help increase the level of tree cover in the city, which is currently less than 10%, much lower than many other major cities. “Each community can be the protagonist of its own restoration story,” said Fusto.

In Toulouse, a mini-forest group planted 1,200 saplings on a 400 sq metre patch in March.

Nicolas de Brabandère, a Belgian naturalist and founder of Urban Forests, began planting Miyawaki-style forests in 2016, organising volunteers and local authorities to plant 300 saplings on a grassy strip of land near a road. Now his first forest is 3 metres tall, its floor a thick layer of humus.

De Brabandère believes the participatory nature and speed of a mini-forest is what appeals to people, and he predicts a bright future for the movement. “Every time I tell the story, everybody likes it,” he said. “So I have a good feeling the trend will continue.”

Ghana's president plants one of five million trees


Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo has planted a tree in the capital, Accra, as part of a plan to put five million trees in the ground across the country in a single day.

The Green Ghana Project is supposed to become an annual event and aims to reverse the process of deforestation.

It has been going on across the country's 16 regions and everyone from school children to judges have been taking part, the BBC's Thomas Naadi reports.

The focus has been on people planting trees in places where they can easily maintain them, Hugh Brown from the Ghana Forestry Commission told the BBC.

In other words, people have been encouraged to put the saplings in the earth in their homes or in places like school, college and church compounds


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-africa-47639452?ns_mchannel=social&ns_source=twitter&ns_campaign=bbc_live&ns_linkname=60c3805f1c4a6902ecab6229%26Ghana%27s%20president%20plants%20one%20of%20five%20million%20trees%262021-06-11T15%3A58%3A22.608Z&ns_fee=0&pinned_post_locator=urn:asset:a096b9df-c98e-4691-bb68-a6bbab36121a&pinned_post_asset_id=60c3805f1c4a6902ecab6229&pinned_post_type=share