National Geographic Traveller UK 10.2019

From Borneo to Brazil, the world’s

rainforests remain under serious threat.

In fact, according to the World Resources

Institute, an area of primary tropical forest

the size of Belgium — around 12,000sq

miles — disappeared in 2018.

But despite mass deforestation hitting the

headlines for more than a decade, initiatives

across the world are fi nally taking big steps

to revive our arboreal world. Ecotourism

pioneer Costa Rica is leading the reforesting

revolution, and claims to have more than

doubled its forest cover in the past three

decades. NASA-funded satellite surveillance

has helped the government and landowners

monitor human activity in the rainforest,

such as illegal logging. If the country can

protect its secondary forest (those that

regrow naturally aˆ er being cleared or

degraded), Costa Rica is on track for a

carbon-neutral future by 2021.

It’s fi tting that Brazil, home to most of the

mighty Amazon rainforest, is hosting one

of the world’s biggest reforestation projects.

Since 2016, Conservation International

THE WORLD’S

FORESTS

IN NUMBERS

3.04

trillion

trees in the world

15 billion

trees cut down each year

9%

of tree cover lost since 2000

50%

of the world’s plant and animal

species dwell in rainforests

1.2 trillion

replanted trees would cancel out a

decade of CO2 emissions

IMAGES: GETTY

has been restoring 73 million trees on land

previously cleared for pasture. Seeds from

more than 200 native plants are scattered

on each square metre to ensure a healthy,

resilient mix of species.

Meanwhile in Ethiopia, forests have

dwindled dramatically in the last half-

century. To make amends, Prime Minister

Abiy Ahmed recently channelled the spirit

of AFR100, the African Forest Landscape

Restoration Initiative. In July, what’s thought

to be a record-breaking number of seedlings

was planted in a nationwide e— ort to boost

the country’s tree population — over 353

million, according to the government’s

o™ cial estimate.

And what can travellers do to help?

Planting a suitable mix of saplings is, of

course, just the start. But by donating to a

wildlife charity, volunteering for a forestry

programme or swapping fl ip-fl ops for

hiking boots and exploring a community

woodland with a local nature guide, perhaps

we can all sow the seed of a greener future.

EMMA GREGG

SYLVAN SUCCESS

Reforestation

The world’s forests continue to face unparalleled threats,

yet in some places, these ecosystems are fl ourishing

Fog over the rainforest, Brazil

ABOVE: Toucan, Amazon rainforest

SMART TRAVELLER

October 2019 27