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Saving earth’s lungs: Qnet launches global reforestation initiative
Some of the people that have embraced the initiative in Kenya pictured in early December 2021. PHOTO/ALEX TAREMWA
What you need to know:
- According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), tropical forests are losing more than 30 football fields worth of trees every minute. To curb deforestation by 2050, the world must grow trees five times the size of India.
- More than 1.6 billion people depend on forests for their livelihoods.
Qnet has started a major initiative aimed at enhancing environmental conservation in a bid to combat climate change, the Hong-Kong based multi-marketing company communicated.
“Our commitment to reforestation in these communities goes much deeper. We are in a long-term partnership to ensure these forests thrive long into the future while meeting the needs and desires of each community,” Qnet CEO Malou Caluza said Thursday.
Africa and Asia are the so-called ‘lungs of the world’ as the two continents host some of the world’s major forests.
“We, in partnership with EcoMatcher are building a Green Legacy Initiative to protect the planet for all of us,” Mr Caluza said.
Through this partnership, the first phase of the programme accounts for forests planted- comprising over 1,000 trees in the UAE, Kenya, and the Philippines.
“This is the latest manifestation of our commitment to the environment that stretches back to the past 23 years,” Mr Caluza remarked in Kenya.
Perceived by some many environmental experts as the natural solution to climate change, forests remove and store carbondioxide from the atmosphere and release oxygen, and also make up the most cost-effective solution for mitigating climate change.
The United Nation’s (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) identify reforestation and sustainable forest management as key to combating climate change.
“By reducing forest loss and reforesting what has already been destroyed, we reduce carbon emissions which will help reverse climate change effects,” the UN notes.
This year’s COP26 Climate Summit in Glasgow saw more than 100 global leaders commit to reverse or end deforestation and land degradation by 2030 to solve devastating effects of climate change.
Why forests?
According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), tropical forests are losing more than 30 football fields worth of trees every minute. To curb deforestation by 2050, the world must grow trees five times the size of India.
Forests support more than 80% of the world’s species and protect 75% of our freshwater. They reduce the risk of natural disasters such as floods and landslides, and more than 1.6 billion people depend on forests for their livelihoods.
About the green legacy initiative
The Green Legacy Initiative is now an active action plan to reforest and afforest critical areas of Africa and Asia, according to Qnet.
The initiative which is a partnership between the firm and a certified B Corporation and social enterprise, EcoMatcher, collectively support families of 15 planters in several global regions and will sequester 750 tonnes of CO2 over the lifetime of trees.
Via the EcoMatcher app, QNET can track every tree’s health on a mobile device through ID geolocation, learn each tree’s species, plant date, farmer and more, and even engage with each tree while tracking its carbon impact with easy-to-use dashboards.
Qnet’s latest initiative complements the company’s commitment to sustainability exemplified through its policies, such as being a meat-free organization and banning single-use plastic in all its offices.
