Tree planting, or reforestation, is one of the many solutions to climate change due to the ability of trees to sequester substantial amounts of carbon as they grow. Governments worldwide are backing ambitious initiatives, encouraging people to donate time and money to reforestation projects. However, many tree planting projects designed to offset carbon emissions have faced criticism for failing to create sustainable forests.

A History of Failure
Numerous reforestation efforts have ended in failure. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley found that a large-scale government-organized tree planting project in Northern California had insignificant impact on carbon sequestration or tree cover.

Similarly, a study by the Nature Conservancy questioned the environmental benefits of a government-funded tree-planting program in Mexico, concluding that forest loss rates were higher in states implementing the plan than in those that did not. In the Philippines, the National Greening Program was deemed a failure by its own government, achieving only a fraction of its intended forest cover increase.

These failures often stem from a lack of environmental knowledge and experience, as well as rushing to finish the job with insufficient aftercare. Planting inappropriate tree species, using land not previously forested, and neglecting extremely basic tasks such as watering saplings contribute to wasted time and resources.

The Power of Partnership
Fortunately, some environmental organizations are dedicated to effective land restoration and protection. In addition to protecting existing forests and their biodiversity, the Carbon Balanced Paper program supports numerous forest restoration projects, repairing damaged ecosystems, benefiting local communities, and combating climate change.

Through its partnership with World Land Trust (WLT), Carbon Balanced Paper collaborates with local ecological organizations to select sites rich in biodiversity for long-term conservation. These sites are monitored at every stage of the reforestation process, from collecting native tree seeds and tending to saplings to planting and monitoring them for at least 10 years. If a tree dies, it is replaced.

An oft-overlooked but critical step in habitat restoration is proper restoration ecology – which is the rehabilitation of cleared and degraded habitat. WLT Ecosystem Services projects are specifically designed to benefit biodiversity by using a mixture of avoided deforestation, planting, and assisted natural regeneration techniques to protect and re-establish critically endangered habitat. Typically, WLT restoration ecology projects are used to extend, buffer, or connect existing reserves.

Avoided deforestation is the protection of forests which are under the imminent threat of clearance. Through this protection, the carbon dioxide emissions which would have been released to the atmosphere through combustion and decomposition are prevented. Woodland rehabilitation involves removing the factors (grazing cattle, fire, logging, or wood harvesting) that are degrading forest cover. Assisted natural regeneration takes place where the land has already been completely cleared, consisting of removing the constraints preventing re-establishment of natural vegetation. It is now preferable to plant native trees only where assisted natural regeneration would not be successful or would benefit from enrichment – for example, on eroded soils or where natural seed sources are further away.

Planting with Purpose
To date, the World Land Trust Plant a Tree campaign has planted over 2.7 million trees across 5,930 acres in several countries. These initiatives not only restore critical land but also provide employment and education for local communities.

When considering tree-planting projects to offset your carbon footprint, ensure the entire process is sound and that the project has local community support to nurture and protect the saplings until they become resilient, carbon-absorbing trees.

When companies choose to balance their carbon footprint with Carbon Balanced Paper, they are taking a holistic approach to not only help protect forests rich in biodiversity – but also the local communities that these lands support.

For more information on Carbon Balanced Paper, go to www.carbonbalancedpaperna.com 

For more information on World Land Trust, go to www.worldlandtrust.org