Everything we do at Play it Green is guided by our unique 3-step solution to climate change: Reduce, Repair, Regive. This week, we take an in-depth look at step two and what repairing the planet really means.
When people think about climate change, they often think about all the possible catastrophic things that could happen in the future. Yet, its effects are already here and impacting millions of people around the globe.
For example, droughts, heatwaves, and wildfires are all becoming increasingly common in some areas of the world, including the current heatwave in India and Pakistan, which has led to blackouts, crop failure, and even deaths.
The problem is, we’ve been releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere for over a century now, and that doesn’t just go away. However, that doesn’t mean the damage is irreversible or that the problem can’t be fixed.
It’s up to all of us to be a part of the solution and work together to repair our planet.
Repairing the planet, of course, is no simple task. Governments, organisations, and individuals around the globe will have to make concerted efforts to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and help bring nature back to pre-industrial levels.
The best way to do this, according to the International Panel on Climate Change, is to restore key ecological areas such as forests, wetlands, and prairies. Together, all of these can pull billions of tons of carbon out of the atmosphere every year, delivering as much climate benefit as almost 2 million windmills.
It will also involve protecting and managing our oceans and adopting more sustainable farming practices that could help turn farmland from a carbon source into a carbon sink.
Ecosystem recovery also protects wildlife, defends against heat and flooding, cleans the air and water, and even improves people’s mental health.
While fixing the whole world can seem like a big task, every single one of us can get involved and, together, our efforts can make a difference.
The easiest and one of the most effective ways to be a part of the solution is through afforestation and reforestation efforts.
At Play it Green, we plant trees in Madagascar through our tree-planting partner, The Eden Reforestation Project, who puts local people and sustainable practices at the heart of their environmental efforts.
They connect with the local community and provide economic incentives and simple planting techniques to support them in restoring both their environment and the economy.
By putting the local community at the heart of the reforestation effort, it inspires a sense of ownership and a greater commitment to protecting their forests long-term.
The programme has been so successful that they are on their second generation of farmers and have developed extensive infrastructure such as guardhouses, fire towers, seed banks, and a training centre for local nursery managers to gain hands-on experience in seedling management and effective reforestation techniques.
All of this not only benefits the local economy and helps the people there afford daily necessities but also helps restore an incredibly vital and already damaged ecosystem.
These reforestation methods have helped restore local rainfall patterns, improve water and soil quality, and restore habits for local wildlife, with progress only expected to continue in the future.
The best part? Anyone can get involved and do the same to start helping repair our planet today.
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