Plant for the Planet: Billion Tree Campaign
The United Nations Environment Programme has launched a major worldwide tree planting campaign. Under the Plant for The Planet: Billion Tree Campaign, people, communities, businesses and industry, civil society organizations and governments are encouraged to plant at least one billion trees worldwide.
South Africa.
The Trees for Food Programme
In South Africa the Minister of Water Affairs has initiated the Trees for Food Programme that will see one million trees being planted annually starting with the current financial year. The Programme will focus more on the planting of fruit trees. We at SA Fruit Farms have pledged our support for this initiative.
The planting will be done in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture, Department of Education and the Department of Local Government and Housing. Preference will be given to schools and households. Tree planting will give food security to people-they will have access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. Tree planting will also increase the output potential of the nursery industry, thus creating jobs and contributing to economic and social development. The project will inject more than R12 million into this industry excluding the cost of the trees required for planting.
Progress Report
In Soweto an innovative programme was launched in early 2008 to green their environment, produce fruits and vegetable and build recreational facilities. The project is a joint venture between the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment, City Parks and the Johannesburg City Council.
Free fruit trees
On a national level, the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry has pledged about one million trees, the majority fruit trees, for planting as part of the Mission Green Earth global campaign. The aim is to plant a million trees by July 2009.
The Mission Green Earth Campaign is run by the Art of Living Foundation, The United Nations Environment Program, World Alliance for Youth Empowerment and the Sri Sri Agricultural Institute for Science and Technology.
You can either plant a tree or shrub and register it by July 2009 at their website, or make a pledge to plant trees or shrubs by the same month, register it by July 2009 or send an email to green@artofliving.org.za.
underway worldwide under the auspices of the United Nations Environmental Programme.
The campaign's tally of trees grows by the minute with pledges and trees planted across the world streaming in. And it is not just large tree planting campaigns being counted. Contributions are welcome from companies and individuals alike, even if you plant only one tree.
World wide the campaign has over 4,1-billion tree pledges of which some 2,5-billion have already been planted.
South Africans have planted 317 988, the majority by City Parks in Johannesburg and the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. By comparison, the United Kingdom and Ireland combined have planted over 2,1-million trees and the United States over 64-million.
In Lamontville a campaign was launched which will see over two thousand five hundred trees being planted in this community. Already more than a thousand trees have been planted..
In 2007 the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality planted 2 300 trees in Ga-Rankuwa extension 21. A year later 90 percent of the trees are still surviving and the community there is happy and enjoying the green environment of Ga-Rankuwa.
The Launch of the Kgalagadi Food Massification Programme in the Northern Cape are critical stepping stones in arresting hunger. It is an intervention in the prevalence of under-nourishment and malnutrition.
In Limpopo based DWAF wants to capacitate rural communities in forest management. DWAF would educate communities all over the Limpopo Province to plant trees. RDP house owners will benefit from fruit trees as part of food security.
The shortage of fruit trees from the previously disadvantaged community owned nurseries was a challenge. In the face of this challenge, the youth and women should establish nurseries.
DWAF would support these nurseries, therefore jobs would be created and poverty alleviated. The 2008's theme was 'Plant a tree-Save our planet' which highlights the need to continue protecting the earth, conserve natural resources to sustain life for the current and future generations.
The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) had set aside 20 000 trees which members of the Public may collect without paying a cent. DWAF has indicated that these trees have been distributed to 24 temporary tree depots which are open for tree collection.