Playing it Clean and Green – Does Tree Planting Really Make a Difference?
We’ve all heard lots about the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) recently, but what can we actually do? Will planting a tree really make a difference? MDG number seven is all about ensuring environmental sustainability – lots of big words and good intentions, but what does it actually mean?
Samoa is a beautiful country, and, like most Pacific nations, its environment is highly vulnerable. More people visiting Samoa for the Games means a bigger impact on the environment. We can all help reduce that impact by taking responsibility for our rubbish, and reusing and recycling as much as possible.
Put simply, the Play it Clean and Green campaign aims to reduce the impact of the Games on the environment by encouraging simple actions. These actions are something we can do to help and include:
- Putting litter in the bin
- Recycling where possible
- Reusing water bottles and other items
- Bringing your own bag and saying no to plastic bags
- Planting a tree at Fuluasou Reserve, next to Faleata Sports Complex.
That all sounds very easy – there are certainly many more visible rubbish bins around Apia and the surrounding various sporting complexes (here’s hoping they stay around after the Games), as well as recycling stations for plastic bottles and cans. But the tree planting – how will that reduce impact on the environment?
Climate change is a result of too much carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere and warming the Earth. Planting trees will help to compensate for the greenhouse emissions caused by the Games. Greenhouse gas emissions are caused when we burn fossil fuels for energy to travel.
Over 6000 athletes and officials flew into Apia for the Games – that’s a whole lot of fossil fuels being burned and carbon emissions being released into our atmosphere. By planting trees we are reducing our impact on the environment, as well as raising the awareness of the need to replant forests and coastlines to protect Pacific islands against climate change.
Planting trees is a form of “carbon offsetting”. Put simply, trees draw carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and release oxygen.
Image courtesy of New Zealand Climate Change Project
The Play it Clean and Green tree planting campaign is part of UNEP’s Plant for the Planet initiative that aims to plant one billion trees around the world in 2007. Samoa’s aim for their part of the programme is to plant 2015 trees, representing the target year for the Millennium Development Goals.
By 2015, the trees being planted during the South Pacific Games would have off-set 250 tonnes of carbon dioxide - the equivalent of 18 round the world flights, or 38 return trips to Fiji from Apia. Considering there are close to 6000 athletes and officials here from islands all around the Pacific, that is a very small drop in the ocean of carbon dioxide the programme is trying to off-set. But every little bit counts.
By planting native trees during the Games, you are also helping to preserve the treasures that make Samoa unique. Trees and plants native to Samoa are the backbone of our wildlife’s food chain. Native insects, birds and other animals have evolved with them and find it hard to survive without the food and shelter they provide.
So in answer to the question “Does tree planting actually make a difference?” Yes, planting a native tree at the Fuluasou Reserve next to the Faleata Sports Complex will reduce the Games’ impact on our environment, and preserve the treasures that make Samoa unique. Take some time out from the Games and plant a tree today.
Source: Anna Caswell
