(Joyce Kilmer)
What is so special about trees?
According to the Woodland Trust “Trees are our most powerful weapon against Climate Change.”
They also:
- Prevent flooding
- Play an important role in the world’s water cycle
- Reduce city temperatures
- Reduce pollution
- Keep soil nutrients rich (thus encouraging biodiversity)
- Can provide shelter, food and oxygen
I would add that they are also beautiful and calming. For example, the Japanese have come up with the concept of “Forest Bathing”. This article describes it as “ the gentle art of turning to nature to recharge your mind, revitalise your body, and come home to yourself.” Apparently doctors in Japan are now prescribing time spent in the woods instead of medication or therapy.
“Trees have been revered in many cultures and spiritual traditions as symbols of life, wisdom and transformation,” according to an article in Our Spirit Animal. They can also be symbols of life, death and rebirth. The “Tree of Life” has a powerful meaning in many cultures and religions. It is seen as representing the interconnectedness of all life.
Does our modern world recognize the interconnectedness of all life?
Sadly, that is not something that we often remember in our present world. We continue to treat Nature as if it is there for our convenience. We pollute our waters, cut down our trees, destroy our coral reefs and overfish our once abundant oceans. Now most of us know that is what we are doing, but we shut our eyes to the destruction because it suits us. Ignoring these things allows us to continue our lifestyles of over-consumption.
Trees are Magic
Scientists have recently discovered that trees can communicate with each other through a network of tiny threads called a mycorrhizal network. This connects individual plants together to share water, nitrogen, carbon and other minerals. It has been shown that saplings in shady areas (where there is not enough sunlight to allow photosynthesis to provide the plant with nutrients) can rely on a supply from older, taller plants nearby. This wonder allows the forest to thrive when it might not otherwise do so. Clear-cutting of forests destroys those networks and makes it harder for newly planted trees to survive.
A Solitary Tree in the Namibian desert
Do We Care for Our Trees?
You would think that if Nature had provided mankind with a method of controlling our climate and biodiversity, we would use it well. Do we? Not at all!
We forget their vital importance in our human world. According to the WWF 1.6 billion people depend on forests for food or fuel. In addition, it seems some 70 million people worldwide call forests home. WWF also explains that human health is inextricably linked to forest health: “Deforestation has serious consequences on the health of people directly dependent on forests, as well as those living in cities and towns, as it increases the risk of diseases crossing over from animals to humans.”
Mahatma Ghandi agreed, “What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another.”
Are some forests more important than others?
Forests cover about one third of all land on Earth and all are significant. But, yes, some are more critical than others, especially for helping absorb carbon dioxide, the main gas responsible for Climate Change. These particular forests are also vital in their support for a wide range of miraculous biodiversity.
There are three main types of forest:
Tropical forests are found near the equator and have a hot and humid climate throughout the year. They are often known as “the lungs of the world”, due to their ability to absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen.
Temperate Forests grow in regions of the world that have distinct seasons, a warm summer and a cold winter. They are drier than tropical forests and contain mainly deciduous trees. They have a lower biodiversity than tropical forests.
Boreal Forests, sometimes known as Taiga, are found in colder parts of the world, mainly Canada, Russia and parts of Scandinavia. The trees they contain are normally conifers which are well adapted to both a cold climate and a lot of snow.
All these forests are important for different reasons, and we need to protect them all.
This article shows that there are a number of major forests in the world. The two largest ones are the Amazon Rainforest in South America and the Congo Rainforest in Africa, both with incredible biodiversity, and which act as enormous carbon sinks. (i.e. They absorb and store a vast amount of carbon dioxide which keeps it out of the atmosphere.)
These forests are under severe threat (as are many of our other forests). They are threatened by deforestation, mining activities, agriculture and Climate Change.
The Amazon Rainforest
COP 30
The reason I have chosen to talk about forests is a) I love trees, and b) COP 30 starts in one week in the Amazonian city of Belém in Brazil. I have written about COPs before, but this one seems rather special as the Amazon Rainforest is so important to the future health of the world. It is also severely under threat.
As a reminder, a COP (Conference of the Parties) is an international meeting sponsored by the UN to allow world leaders to get together to make decisions about Climate Change and how they might create a better and more sustainable future.
It is particularly important at this time because most countries are not sufficiently commited to lowering their carbon emissions to keep the temperature rise to 1.5° C (an agreement that was made by world leaders 10 years ago in Paris). Any temperature rise above 1.5° C is seen as very problematic for humanity.
Challenges faced at the upcoming COP
The President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known to the world as President Lula, has been doing his best to cut down illegal logging in the Amazon rainforest. An article from 2024 shows that under President Lula deforestation fell significantly, which is wonderful, obviously. However, it is still under considerable threat from cattle ranchers, loggers and corporations who have other intentions than to save the forest. Also, there are now parts of the rainforest that emit more carbon dioxide than they absorb. So the position is very serious.
What Can We Expect from COP 30
The situation for this particular COP looks rather bleak. Parts of the world seem to be facing in different directions as regards the Climate at the moment. Clearly the USA is facing a very difficult challenge and may not have much to say, but we will see. Other parts of the world seem to be back-tracking on their climate targets and no doubt there will be many delegates there from the oil and gas industries with different goals. My hope is that the forest problems can be tackled in a constructive way.
What can you do?
- Now is the time to write to your government to demand that they fight harder for the world’s future.
- Now is also a good time to write to major media outlets to insist they tell us more about what is really going on and what we can do about it.
- As always giving up eating beef would be a great idea. Even if you can’t give it up then at least eat a lot less.
- Every part of a degree of Global Warming will make our future more dangerous so carry on fighting Climate Change.
- Keep up your hope, look for the good things happening, and talk to your friends and neighbours about it.
- Buy renewable energy heating and electric cars if you can.
- Only fly if you absolutely have to.
- Buy food from farmers who practice regenerative agriculture.
- Plant a tree anywhere you have space.
I hope you enjoyed my blog. If you did, could you please sign up to receive it regularly and definitely share it. I would like as many people as possible to read it in the hope that they will then act.
Thank you.
If you are not yet on my mailing list and wish to be on it, please use the form on the Home page, this will help our administration and ensure you receive your own copy.
Photos by Erik Witsoe on Unsplash, by Doreen Hosking and by Lingchor on Unsplash