Workers plant longleaf pine saplings in the Florida Panhandle ’ s Econfina Creek Water Management Area .
80 million in 2021 to address the impact of printing with HP printers . The partnerships support HP ’ s goal of zero deforestation for HP paper and paper-based packaging . WWF also helped HP develop a groundbreaking methodology to account for not only HP-brand paper but any paper used for printing . HP aims to counteract deforestation for any paper in its products and print services by 2030 .
The scope of HP ’ s reforestation efforts is broad geographically but also targeted regionally , from work in
Brazil ’ s Atlantic Forest with WWF to planting more than 1 million trees in the United States with ADF , including in wildfire-devastated regions in California . technique called assisted migration , where planted seeds have been harvested from areas that make them better suited for hotter and drier conditions than the trees that once stood .
Finding , and funding , the right balance
Even the best science on planting the right trees and enhancing forest resilience will be wasted if planting efforts do not consider the local communities and people . Plenty of well-meaning efforts have proceeded without a knowledge of local ecosystems or what communities want . A 2019 University of Vermont study found , for example , that a quarter of Detroit residents opted out of a city-sponsored tree-planting program because
they didn ’ t trust the city to maintain the trees .
And in the United Kingdom , government efforts to plant trees raised alarms in communities where vulnerable peatlands were affected . Other misguided projects have placed trees on
native grasslands , harming an ecosystem that already stores carbon and water .
“ It ’ s like two sides of a coin ,” says Ben Wilinsky , director , partnerships and innovation , for the
Arbor Day Foundation ( ADF ), which just turned 50 years old and has projects and partners in more than 45 countries . “ One is , where is the ecological need greatest from a climate , community , and biodiversity standpoint ? The other is , who ’ s ready to [ plant ]?”
The science , outreach , and preparation needed to reforest responsibly , not to mention the projects themselves , require significant funding . Since establishing its Sustainable Forests Cooperative in 2019 ,
HP has forged forest-stewardship partnerships with environmental organizations including ADF , WWF , and the Jane Goodall Institute . HP is WWF ’ s largest partner to date ,
pledging
On-the-ground partners
Copaíba , to build relationships with landowners and others on the ground . A fifth-generation coffee farmer who rehabilitated degraded areas to connect patches of existing forest on her land
told WWF , “ Living in a balance between coffee production and the environment provides a benefit not only for our family but for all the other people who will enjoy these resources .” The farmer also wants her three-year-old daughter to inherit land that will be prosperous over the long term .
“ There ’ s a recognition that every single landowner might have a different interest in doing this restoration ,” Walker says , mentioning objectives including soil erosion prevention , pest management , and ecotourism . “ Some landowners are not interested , and we respect that .”
In many regions , forests fall because locals have an economic incentive to sell or use the timber or clear the land for agriculture . ADF ’ s Wilinsky echoes Walker in pointing out that reforestation efforts depend on local support and a plan for future management to change that paradigm .
“ It ’ s definitely more than just planting a tree ,” he says . “ These are livelihood programs . ‘ If it pays , it stays ’ is a term that we hear a lot . How are these communities set up for long-term success ?”
Ensuring the survival of fresh saplings for decades to come goes hand in hand with protecting the forests we already have . That ’ s because , for all our urgency to plant trees , forested land is a finite resource . We can ’ t magically make more of it .
“ In my 30 years of conservation work , this is one of the most exciting , but sobering , times ,” says Walker . “ The urgency has never been greater , but also the interest has never been greater .”
PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF THE ARBOR DAY FOUNDATION
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