Biodiversity
Planting trees in mass swathes amidst claims of sustainability and conservation is all well and good but as is so often the case, the devil is in the details. Eucalyptus or pine plantations, or any other mono-culture woodlot for that matter, are not natural forests and are in fact barely forests at all.
In the same way that a field of corn or millet or wheat does not constitute a meadow, or an orchard of oranges a jungle, we should be cautious about confusing woodlots with forests. A field of corn will only represent about 1% of the species diversity and richness that a natural meadow will boast and similarly, a eucalyptus woodlot will not come close to the enormous biodiversity found in a natural tropical rainforest.
Uses for Indigenous Tress
It is on this basis that we strive to promote the planting of indigenous tree species wherever possible, and not only a few fast-growing ones but a whole plethora of species that have a multitude of uses such as:
- Medicinal
- Construction or furniture
- Firewood or charcoal
- A source of nectar for bees to help boost honey production
- Fodder for livestock to increase milk and meat yields
- Shade provision to water ways and crops to reduce evaporation and transpiration
- A source of nutrients to increase soil fertility as their leaves are turned to compost by soil organisms
- To act as the foundations of our soils, holding firm in even the heaviest of downpours, ensuring the stability and longevity of agricultural lands.
And this without even mentioning their most useful of functions; providing us with the air we breathe! By removing the carbon dioxide our cars, fires and power stations pump out in such abundance they help us to breath freely by instead supplying us with freshly converted oxygen.
The Heart of our Work
Biodiversity is at the heart of our work. Maintaining high levels of biodiversity wherever possible creates a win-win situation for both the communities, who depend upon the forests and trees for their diverse uses, but also for the natural world, so interwoven in its relationships and dependencies that without such diversity a balanced homeostasis would be lost.