Environmental News

Op Ed: Fighting global warming with trees
By Jeff Masarjian

Providence Journal
March 3, 2007

WATERTOWN, Mass.--WITH THE RECENT U.N.-sponsored Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, the question we all face has become even clearer: What should we do to reverse the effects of increasing temperatures? Uniform emissions standards may help, but are best suited for countries with vast resources. Is there a better path forward, especially for developing nations?

Yes, the answer is micro-enterprise. For example, in Kenya, Wangari Maathai’s Greenbelt Movement helps local communities learn to run micro-businesses, saving forests and improving standards of living. Other non-governmental organizations employ similar on-the-ground, community-based tactics, yielding tremendous results. In Haiti, Sun Ovens International trains villagers to operate bakeries using solar power instead of coals made from wood.

Similarly, we at Armenia Tree Project (ATP) are implementing two closely linked micro-enterprise and alternative natural-gas initiatives. To address Armenia’s environmental and economic challenges, we have established micro-enterprise tree nurseries in the backyards of over 330 families—leading to both the doubling of household incomes and producing 250,000 seedlings each season to replenish the forests.

Deforestation, in fact, is the second leading contributor to global warming—making planting trees and conserving forests one of the most important steps to be taken in the developing world. Trees absorb and “sink” carbon from the atmosphere and produce oxygen—reducing the impact of emissions from burning fossil fuel—leading to cleansing rain, cooler temperatures, and preventing drought, famine and disease.

As an extension of our program, in the next year ATP plans to create a matching fund through which the villagers can invest part of their profits in extending natural-gas lines to their homes, thereby reducing their need for forest fuel.

Also worth noting, in Brazil, Suzana Machado Padua’s Instituto Ipe is working in Nazaré Paulista, a relatively impoverished area that borders the coastal forest and is a major water source for São Paulo. There, Instituto Ipe is establishing deep roots through micro enterprises that conserve forests and protect wildlife while preserving traditional agricultural activities, the key to programs with true staying power and long-term impact.

Environmental crises in poor nations demand a micro approach that addresses the two starkest problems in the developing world: poverty and deforestation. This means working at the local level to teach the rural poor energy alternatives and provide practical solutions to reduce their over-reliance on wood for fuel. NGOs are leading the way, showing that modest investment and the right educational programs can produce high social and economic returns.

If we are truly serious about taking action on climate change, we must address developing economies—village by village.

Jeff Masarjian is executive director of the Armenia Tree Project.

http://www.projo.com/opinion/contributors/content/CT_mas4_03-04-07_D04KIQG.231df7e.html

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