South African-based environmental organisation, Greenpop, calls for a focus on forests, this Arbor Month.
South Africa celebrates Arbor month in September each year. It’s a month to focus on tree planting across the nation.
This Arbor Month, Greenpop is highlighting the importance of conserving our forests, the multitude of life-giving services that forests provide to people and what can be achieved when we work together, and stand strong like a forest.
Like all the living things in a forest ecosystem, we need to work together to create a strong, sustainable and resilient planet for the future health of us all.
Restoring our forests aligns with the Build Back Better approach – now, more than ever, conserving our natural heritage is of vital importance.
Conserving forests across Sub-Saharan Africa
Forests provide vital services to both people and the planet, bolstering livelihoods, providing clean air and water, conserving biodiversity and responding to climate change.
However, in Sub-Saharan Africa, forest cover is decreasing at an alarming rate. From unregulated logging (often by foreign companies), to clearing for cash crops, to overuse of trees for fuel, human activity is putting increasing and devastating pressure on forest and woodland ecosystems.
“The world’s response to climate change – in terms of adaptation, mitigation and resilience – must focus more on forests.” (FAO, 2018)
Greenpop’s Forests for Life programme aims to connect small-scale organisations across Sub-Saharan Africa with funding and support to plant trees, restore forest and woodland habitats, effectively manage critical catchment areas, and improve the lives of communities who rely on forest resources.
Increased diversity for a stronger, more resilient planet
“The past decade—including the COVID-19 crisis—has revealed the systemic nature of risk and the cascading impact of disasters, crossing economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development and affecting countries in all corners of the globe.” 2030 Agenda, UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.
“The natural environment is humanity’s first line of defence against hazards of all kinds, and nature-based solutions (NBS) enable us to protect and work with nature to build resilience and reduce risks at all scales.”
Conserving our planet has never been more important. On a national, local and individual level we can all contribute to Building Back Better and creating more resilience.
Invest in, and grow, South Africa’s “green economy”
“Human development and wellbeing cannot be achieved without simultaneously safeguarding and investing in nature — otherwise development gains will be short-lived and unequally distributed” – 2030 Agenda, UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.
Greenpop calls for support of their forest programmes that aim to:
- Restore our forest ecosystems,
- contribute towards increased local biodiversity and ecosystem services,
- provide pro-community support that builds capacity and addresses local threats to reforestation success,
- build awareness about the local and international benefits of reforestation
- use reforestation as a tool for sustainable development and increased connection with nature
- monitor the impacts of reforestation projects to inform best practices and lesson-sharing
- shift mindsets from seeing environmental work as too large and impossible to solve towards a culture of action, inspiration and hope.
Inspire collective action and hope
“We have planted more than 127,000 trees over the last 10 years, but what makes me more excited than the trees are the thousands of hands that have helped us plant them.” Misha Teasdale, Greenpop founder & Tree-E-O.
Greenpop has seen first hand the impact that individuals can make when they work together, and stand strong like a forest. The organisation believes in positivity to inspire action.
Their catchphrase “get active, not anxious for the future of our planet” informs their work and contributes to their ultimate goal of contributing to the emergence of a regenerative culture where societies protect the natural world we still have left and rehabilitate what we’ve lost.
Donate to trees, this Arbor Month!
Donate to trees this Arbor Month. Your tree will join thousands of other trees funded in forest restoration projects across Sub-Saharan Africa.
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller.
Donate here: https://greenpop.org/donate/
About Greenpop
The Greenpop Foundation NPC is an award-winning registered non-profit organisation (NPO#: 151-411 NPO; PBO#: 930050622) headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa.
We work to restore ecosystems and empower environmental stewards through reforestation, urban greening, sustainable development, and environmental art projects across Sub- Saharan Africa.
Greenpop was founded in 2010 and has since planted over 127,018 trees and inspired over 132,000 active citizens across South Africa, Zambia, Malawi, and Tanzania.
Learn more about their work here: www.greenpop.org/our-work
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Website: www.greenpop.org
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