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'''The Green Earth Appeal'''
'''The Green Earth Appeal'''


The UK based Not For Profit Organisation works with businesses who want to demonstrate their Corporate and Social Responsibility and offset the carbon footprint of their products/services, through the planting of trees. The Green Earth Appeal Operates initiatives such as Carbon Free Dining and Food For Thoughts, both within the hospitality sectors. Participating venues include The Playboy Club London, Celebrity Chefs James Martins Leeds Kitchen Restaurant and Marco Pierre Whites Nottingham Bar and Grill all of which plant a single tree for each bill presented to diners.
The UK based Not For Profit Organisation works with businesses who want to demonstrate their Corporate and Social Responsibility and offset the carbon footprint of their products/services, through the planting of trees. The Green Earth Appeal Operates initiatives such as Carbon Free Dining and Food For Thoughts, both within the hospitality sectors. Participating venues include The [[Playboy Club]] London, Celebrity Chefs [[James Martin]]s Leeds Kitchen Restaurant and [[Marco Pierre White]]s Nottingham Bar and Grill all of which plant a single tree for each bill presented to diners.
The Green Earth Appeal work with a network of Non Government Organisations and Charities across the Developing world to provide education and fruit trees to some of the world’s poorest communities.
The Green Earth Appeal work with a network of Non Government Organisations and Charities across the Developing world to provide education and fruit trees to some of the world’s poorest communities.


Revision as of 15:12, 6 August 2012

File:Billion Tree Campaign logo.png
Logo of the Billion Tree Campaign

About the Billion Tree Campaign

The Billion Tree Campaign (www.unep.org/billiontreecampaign) spearheaded by UNEP, was unveiled in 2006 as one response to the threat but also the opportunities of global warming, as well as to the wider sustainability challenges from water supply to biodiversity loss.

The campaign, which was placed under the patronage of His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate the late Professor Wangari Maathai, had an initial target of registering, through its dedicated website one billion trees in 2007.

In 2008, the campaign’s objective was raised to seven billion trees – a target to be met by the climate change conference that was held in Copenhagen, Denmark in December 2009. By September 2009, the seven billion planted trees mark had been surpassed.

Inspiration

The Billion Tree Campaign was inspired by the late Professor Wangari Maathai, founder of the Green Belt Movement. When an executive in the United States told Professor Maathai their corporation was planning to plant a million trees, her response was: “That’s great, but what we really need is to plant a billion trees.”

Response

Under UNEP’s leadership and through proactive advocacy by the patrons and the partners, the Billion Tree Campaign catalysed tree planting action on all continents. The billionth tree, an African Olive, was planted in Ethiopia in November 2007. The two billionth tree took root as part of the United Nation’s World Food Programme agroforestry initiative. The campaign’s target was then raised to seven billion trees. In 2009, UNEP mobilized action across the globe through the Twitter for Trees campaign on www.twitter.com/UNEPandYou. The initiative was driven by a simple yet powerful idea: UNEP pledged to plant one tree to feed into the Billion Tree Campaign, for every follower who joined from 5 May 2009 to World Environment Day on 5 June 2009. The campaign was a runaway success, with 10,300 people following the UNEPandYou page by World Environment Day weekend.

The World Organization of the Scouts Movement also planted trees under the campaign in line with its mandate to study and protect Nature across several countries.

The United Nations Peacekeeping missions also joined the campaign and planted trees with its field missions in East-Timor, Ivory Coast, Darfur, Lebanon, Haiti, Congo, and Liberia amongst others missions.

Partners

The Green Earth Appeal

The UK based Not For Profit Organisation works with businesses who want to demonstrate their Corporate and Social Responsibility and offset the carbon footprint of their products/services, through the planting of trees. The Green Earth Appeal Operates initiatives such as Carbon Free Dining and Food For Thoughts, both within the hospitality sectors. Participating venues include The Playboy Club London, Celebrity Chefs James Martins Leeds Kitchen Restaurant and Marco Pierre Whites Nottingham Bar and Grill all of which plant a single tree for each bill presented to diners. The Green Earth Appeal work with a network of Non Government Organisations and Charities across the Developing world to provide education and fruit trees to some of the world’s poorest communities.


Support from the corporate world

Toyota Monaco, the campaign’s inaugural partner, together with the Prince Albert II of Monaco’s Foundation, planted 21 trees for every hybrid vehicle sold in 2007. Since then, nearly 1,000 private sector companies — from large multinationals to small scale enterprises — have been planting trees under the umbrella of the Billion Tree Campaign. AAR, Bayer, Citi, Coca Cola (East and Central Africa and South Latin Business Unit), Malaco in Scandinavia, Tesco Thailand and the Toyota Fund for Europe all undertook proactive tree-planting initiatives. Business and corporations have continued to lend support to the campaign through a wide variety of tree-planting programmes.

Principal Strategic Corporate Partner LG Display

“Better World” is the title LG Display gives to its environmental initiatives, which the company also believes improve its economic viability. An innovator in technology, LG Display joined the Billion Tree Campaign to contribute to protecting the environment through tree-planting. Through this partnership, LG Display hopes to convey a message to all stakeholders on environmental degradation concerns, and how we can be part of the sustainability solution. “LGD is greatly honoured and is truly lucky to be fulfilling our corporate social responsibility by participating in tree-planting in India, where afforestation is needed,” says Mr. Hyunhwoi Ha, Executive Vice President of LG Display. “We look forward to continuing our relationship with UNEP to green the world and we hope to keep supporting future meaningful activities.”

“Preserving biodiversity means preserving humankind and its future.” Jacques Rocher, Honorary President, Yves Rocher Foundation. The Yves Rocher company, through its Foundation, has supported the Billion Tree Campaign since 2007 when Jacques Rocher met the late Professor Wangari Maathai in Nairobi. The Foundation allocates funds to organizations specialised in reforestation. The initiative was given new impetus in 2010, when Jacques Rocher committed the Foundation to planting 50 million trees by the end of 2015. Today, the Foundation supports 19 tree-planting NGOs in 18 countries around the world. For its 20th anniversary, the Foundation has taken a step further by launching the “Planting Tribe”, an international mobilisation campaign, a human chain in defense of reforestation. Kenya Commercial Bank, with branches in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan and Tanzania, has set a target of planting one million indigenous trees in 113 sites each year. Oasi Zegna, an environmental project in Italy launched by the Ermenegildo Zegna Group, celebrated the 2010 International Day for Biological Diversity by planting trees with students and families in Trivero.

Avon Products Inc. launched its “Hello Green Tomorrow” – a globally coordinated grassroots effort that will see the planting of one million trees in the Atlantic Rain Forest in South America. Meanwhile, through its Earth Guest Project, the Accor Group plants trees when guests in 1,000 hotels reuse their towels. The savings on laundry have facilitated the creation of seven reforestation projects with tree-planting organisations.

Far Far Away Books

Far Far Away Books’ line of children’s publications aims to develop children’s environmental awareness. The books are printed on recycled paper and for each one sold, a tree is planted in Brazil, Portugal, the UK or the USA, empowering children to know that they can make a difference.

Orlean Invest West Africa, Nigeria

Inspired by the Billion Tree Campaign, Orlean Invest West Africa has, for the past two years, invited the physically challenged children of the Compassion Centre in Port Harcourt to join its staff and volunteers in tree-planting events to encourage participation towards a common goal.

Green Jobs

In Africa, Kinomé movement, in collaboration with the Mozdahir Development NGO, has registered over 300,000 trees planted with communities in Senegal. Kinomé also aims to reduce pressure on existing forest and avoid deforestation by developing income generating activities, capital access via mutual investment funds and micro credit, as well as the transfer of forest ownership to villages.

Pircher Oberland and Cogeme

In 2011, Pircher Oberland supported the planting of native trees in the Municipality of Rolo in Italy — home to its logistics centre. The trees which include ash, oak, field maple and hazelnut, will help in the rehabilitation of an area of open ground where the municipality is creating a new park for the public. Cogeme, also in Italy, has been planting trees to recover a landfill dump in Castrezzato- Trenzano, Brescia, in the northern belt of the Po plain. Over 20,000 trees and shrubs have been planted, bringing back many species and reviving biodiversity.

Grow Trees

In India, Grow Trees gives individuals the opportunity to plant trees to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, festivals or special occasions. Indigenous trees are planted in several projects including in two tiger reserves. The trees are planted on government and community land with the objective of benefiting rural communities (through fruit, fuel and fodder), encouraging wildlife, improving water catchments, preventing soil erosion and reversing deforestation.

Plant my Phone

Mokugift launched “Plant my Phone” which enables people to mail their old cell phones to get refurbished or recycled with the financial proceeds going towards agroforestry projects. The programme not only provides an opportunity to plant trees, but also to reduce toxins from cell phones that would otherwise end up in landfills. Mokugift’s goal is to recycle one million phones and plant an average of 15 trees per phone.

'Private individuals, schools and communities – A gift to Humanity'

The Billion Tree Campaign received support from all sectors of society – individuals, children and youth groups, schools, community groups, non-governmental organisations, farmers, private sector organisations, local authorities, and national governments – who have planted trees for the innumerable benefits derived from them.

Trees for climate

Trees purify the atmosphere by absorbing pollutants including nitrogen oxide, sulphur dioxide, ozone and particulate matter. In addition to improving air quality, trees absorb carbon dioxide – a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming.

Green Belt Movement’s approach to climate change

The Green Belt Movement (GBM) has over 30 years experience in rehabilitating degraded lands in Kenya through tree planting and supporting smallholder farmers to increase yields and sustainability. The organisation works with its network of over 4,000 community groups across Kenya to respond to environmental problems and improve people’s lives. The GBM engagement approach empowers rural poor people to plant trees which soak up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere mitigating the effects of climate change and creating buffers and resilient systems to cope with climate change.

Born Green

For the fourth consecutive year, the City Hall of Monaco with the support of the Town Hall of Cap d’Ail and National Office for Forests in Southern France, planted one tree for each registered birth in the Principality. The programme is part of the municipality’s commitment to sustainable development for environmental conservation and future generations.

Stop Talking, Start Planting!

In Germany, 14-year old Felix Finkbeiner of the Plant-for-the-Planet students’ initiative launched “Stop talking, Start planting”: an initiative to mobilise children to plant a million trees in each country of the world. The campaign is now a global children’s initiative through which children empower other children through Plant-for-the-Planet Academies. While the adults keep on talking, the children say: “Stop talking, Start planting!” The children have been campaigning tirelessly to push for further action on climate change. They are also taking action themselves by planting trees. The initiative has recruited children from over 100 countries

Reducing global warming

The people of Kerala State in India have planted over 17 million trees under a tree-planting initiative titled “Global warming. Trees are the answer”. Under the state-wide afforestation programme, trees are planted through various schemes that target different groups in the society including schools.

Trees for healing

Nearly 80% of the world’s population uses plants for healing purposes. Tree species such as Azadirachta indica (neem), Abies balsamea (balsam fir), Cinchona pubescens (quinine), Ulmus rubra (slippery elm), Ginkgo biloba (maidenhair) and hundreds more provide ingredients for medicines.

Green Ambulance In India, students of Environmental Sciences at A.P.S. University in Madhya Pradesh launched the ‘Green Ambulance’ initiative. Through this programme, trees that are rare, vulnerable or have medicinal importance, are selected for planting at various educational institutions, office campuses and private plots. Doctors of the Indian Medical Association have planted trees in communities and hospital grounds. One of the species selected by the medics is the neem tree which is believed to have medicinal and curative properties.

Trees for water

Trees play an important role in the water cycle by extracting ground water through roots and releasing it into the atmosphere creating a wetter climate. When an area has no trees, there is reduced water content in the soil and atmosphere.

Recovery of the Circuit of Four Lakes

In Peru, the NGO Yachay Wasi is working on a tree-planting and water and sanitation project dubbed “Recovery of the Circuit of Four Lakes”. Local biologists recommended the planting of high-altitude native trees on banks of the four lakes and around villages in the provinces of Acomayo and Canas in the Andes.

Trees for food

Forests serve as a source of food for many communities. Wild fruits and berries, meat and honey can all be obtained from forests. In Kenya, the Youth Building Green Programme has focused on planting fruit trees with environmental clubs in schools around Nairobi.

Trees for sustainable development

Many communities depend on forests for subsistence and income. In fact, forests are considered a critical link in the transition to a green economy – one that promotes sustainable development and poverty eradication.

A Billion Trees for a Billion People

In India, the All Human Integrated Meritorious Social Awareness project (AHIMSA) launched a tree-planting programme in June 2011 with the objective of planting 65 million trees – one for each inhabitant of Tamil Nadu. The programme aims to green India, address the issue of global warming and at the same time create employment opportunities in the community. Greening communities In the USA, the organisation Keep America Beautiful is planning to increase its tree-planting efforts by 5% each year. Meanwhile in Belgium, October 2011 saw the planting of the millionth tree by the Organisation for Forests in Flanders. The trees are planted in partnership with grassroots organisations, private sector companies and private land owners under the One Million trees for Flanders campaign.

Trees for habitats

Forests are home to 80% of our terrestrial biodiversity, providing habitats for flora and fauna while hosting a wide variety of genetic resources. Conserving ecosystems

The Ndura Agricultural Development Agency in Kenya works to conserve the Tana River Basin ecosystem, a region high in biodiversity, through planting trees and teaching good farming practices. The Tana River Delta is considered to be one of the most important wetlands in Africa, supporting several bird species, fish, amphibians, primates and other animals. Ecological restoration

The society for Ecological Restoration is dedicated to promoting the ecological balance and recovering damaged ecosystems in Nepal’s Kathmandu Valley. The organisation has a goal of planting a million trees over a period of ten years. In Kenya, the Kadhune Friends of the Earth Environmental Preservation and Care organisation has been planting trees with great enthusiasm across three provinces. The organisation works through a network of community groups at the grassroots level.

Trees fight deserts

Desertification is a major economic, social and environmental problem in many countries. Forests and tree cover help to alleviate land degradation and desertification by stabilising soils, reducing water and wind erosion and maintaining nutrient in soils.

Greening the desert

The Emirates Environmental Group has planted over two million trees in the United Arab Emirates. The organisation’s objective is to motivate NGOs and government departments to include greening policies in their agendas. So far several groups have responded to the call and have launched tree-planting campaigns across the country.

Green Day

The Students’ Challenge programme brings together students mainly from France to rally around environmental issues. Through the Green Day initiative students travel to Morocco where they plant date palms in an effort to revive agriculture and fight desertification.

Trees for soils

Rain water is intercepted on leaves, branches and trunks of trees, slowing down surface runoff, and thus ameliorating soil erosion and flash flooding.

Protecting soils

In Indonesia, the Ordo Fransiskan Sekuler Fraternity of Pandan – Sibolga is planting trees along the Sibuluan River bank to minimise landslides and soil erosion during heavy rains. The organisation involves students from local schools in its activities to sensitise them on environmental issues and instill in them love for the environment. In East Africa, farmers from Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda working under the SCC-Vi Agroforestry project have planted millions of trees and more than three million metres of hedgerow around the Lake Victoria Basin.

Quotes and Testimonials from Participants

“There can never be too many trees. Although Vienna is a pretty green city, one more oak sure made it greener. I am so happy whenever I visit it and witness its growth. My joy is shared by all.” Oana Botez, Austria

“The Billion Tree Campaign means a lot to me as I really enjoy planting trees and caring for them. Planting a tree is the easiest way to contribute to the well-being of humanity and the beauty of the landscape.” Frédéric Clerc, France

“Many friends, relatives and neighbours wanted us to cut down the trees and cement the empty area in our home so that it looked cleaner. But with the trees having borne fruit, and many trees providing greenery, they are now envious. Our home seems unique and cool especially when the neighbourhood is reeling under the scorching sun.” Sidiqua Sayed, India

“I planted a tree on 8 March 2008 to celebrate the birth of Anna. The aim is that they will grow together even if they are growing near a dangerous street.” Mario Pattavina, Italy

“The trees have really brought a serene, peaceful, restful and tranquil surrounding to the look of our church. The trees have also given our congregants shade to shield themselves from direct sunlight.” Peter Maina, Kenya

“Our operations are now expanding to other regions and we are proud to be part of the Billion Tree Campaign. The global reach and impact of the campaign has greatly increased awareness when it comes to the dire state of forests across the globe. This increased awareness has positively changed attitudes among individuals, companies and governments.” Tree-Nation, Spain

“Joining this campaign makes me feel proud.” Dao Thi Nguyet Minh, Viet Nam

“A giant electronic tree counter installed in our headquarters at La Molina (Lima) registered daily the progress of the campaign that united the whole country for an ecological cause. It was commendable to see the great organisation capacity of the rural communities.” Rodolfo Beltran, Agrorural Programme, Peru

Roll of Honour Top Ten Countries

  • China 2.8 billion
  • India 2.1 billion
  • Ethiopia 1.6 billion
  • Mexico 785 million
  • Turkey 716 million
  • Nigeria 612 million
  • Kenya 455 million
  • Peru 246 million
  • Myanmar 191 million
  • Cuba 137 million

“Around a flowering tree, one finds many insects.” African saying

December 2011, five years since the campaign’s launch, the campaign’s website www.unep.org/billiontreecampaign proudly registered over 12.5 billion planted trees across 193 countries.

New management

The Billion Tree Campaign was in December 2011 handed over to the Plant-for-the-Planet Foundation an organisation that has been participating in the Billion Tree Campaign since 2007. The foundation will keep the momentum of the campaign.

Quote from UNEP

“Looking back over the Billion Tree Campaign’s greatest successes, what is most remarkable is not its scale, but its spread. People from all around the world have enthusiastically joined the campaign and planted trees in their own communities.” – Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director.

Quotes from the Patrons

“I believe in the symbolic strength of the Plant for the Planet: Billion Tree Campaign and I sincerely hope it will meet our expectations, far beyond the welfare linked to replanting trees, to benefit future generations.” – H.S.H Albert II, Prince of Monaco

“When we plant trees, we plant the seeds of peace and seeds of hope.” – Professor Wangari, Maathai, founder of the Green Belt Movement and 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.

Essential Links: Trees and Forests

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