Planting forests to help the planet

Only one fifth of the world's forests remain, and current deforestation rates in some parts of the world threaten this small percentage to become even smaller. In many parts of the world trees are being cut without any sustainable management. This of course does great damage to our planet since forests, and especially rainforests play vital role in regulating earth's climate by sinking carbon emissions from the atmosphere. The more forests there is the bigger amount of carbon they would sink, and this would on global level significantly contribute in fight against climate change.

The latest study by the Global Partnership on Forest Landscape Restoration (GPFLR), which includes the WWF, Britain's Forestry Commission and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), said a billion hectares of former forests, equivalent to six percent of the world's total land area, could be restored, without affecting the global food supply.

The most forests could be restored in Africa where deforestation rates have been running loose last couple of decades. Among other places where lot of new trees could be planted are China, India, and Brazil. The areas that would be most suitable for planting new trees is agricultural land with very low productivity.

It is difficult to tell whether deforestation will be high on agenda at the climate summit in Copenhagen. It should definitely be since is estimated that 30 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions come from deforestation and agriculture. Each new tree can help our planet becoming more green, and prevent the worst of climate change.