Earth Today | 100K and done
Three million trees initiative nears its end
Published:Thursday | July 18, 2024 | 12:07 AM
AFTER CLOSE to five years since it was announced, and with some 100,000 trees to go, the national initiative to plant three million trees in three years is closing on the finish.
“The initiative has less than 100,000 trees to be planted to reach the target. As of July 8, we are now at 2,900,936 and we are confident we will complete the outstanding amount this year,” revealed Ainsley Henry, conservator of forests and chief executive officer at the Forestry Department.
The initiative was launched in 2019 by Prime Minister Andrew Holness to help mitigate the effects of climate change, and represents a tree being planted for every Jamaican.
Climate change, in addition to nature loss and pollution make up the triple planetary crisis facing the world.
Climate change – for which the human consumption of fossil fuels, including coal and gas, is a main driver – is prompting a series of risks and threats, from extreme hurricane and drought events to rising sea levels and coastal erosion, the accelerated warming of the planet and associated increases in mosquito-borne diseases, such as dengue.
Periods of drought have been among the challenges faced by the initiative up to now, according to the conservator of forests.
“It must be recognised that there have been significant periods of drought and extreme heat which have constrained our efforts; the achievement to date is therefore significant,” Henry said.
“Prior to the passage of Beryl, the survival rates for those which we planted directly and were monitoring was also reasonably high,” he added.
Packing winds of 145 miles per hour and more, Hurricane Beryl, which passed Jamaica as a Category 4 event, pummelled sections of the Caribbean recently, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. This includes a number of downed trees in Jamaica.
Meanwhile, up to September last year, a reported 2.7 million trees had been planted under the initiative, including with the support of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica and other stakeholders, such as the Jamaica Public Service Company and Environmental Solutions Limited, along the way.