Peru has already been experiencing acute environmental effects and has become the subject of climate change for researchers who are investigating why the country’s long strip of coastal desert has been getting colder while the rest of the world is heating up.
An average of 512,820 pines, eucalyptus, pine, cypress and pepper trees are being planted in 18 Peruvian departments (states) over the course of three months and are expected to capture more than 570,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. Projects such as these are geared toward increasing the number of living trees and linking remaining forests together to combat the habitat loss that occurs as a result of deforestation.
The success of these replanted habitats relies on a delicate balance of ecological factors. The trees being planted in Peru are quick-growing, exotic species that can address immediate problems such as elevated carbon levels and soil erosion. However, while reforestation efforts have significant value and a definite place in helping to combat climate change, they don’t replace the critical need to preserve our planet’s existing rainforests.
In the near-term, reforestation projects such as Peru’s can help countries reap economic benefits by enabling them to sell carbon credits and participate in carbon cap-and-trade initiatives once these programs catch on in developing countries. And, according to the Peruvian Work Ministry, the reforestation campaign will create 128,000 temporary jobs and over time generate 600,000 permanent woods guardian positions. Peru is spending approximately $20 million U.S. dollars to invest in the campaign.
The United Nations has a way for all of us to become involved in worldwide reforestation projects by entering tree planting pledges online through its Plant for the Planet: Billion Tree Campaign. They hit the one billion mark in just eight months and have a new goal of planting one billion trees by the end of 2009.
