TreesForDev - Maria Ehrnström-Fuentes and Forrest Fleischman - Is tree planting really a good idea everywhere?

EXALT Podcast

In this episode we are joined by Forrest Fleischman from the University of Minnesota and the project principal investigator, Maria Ehrnstöm-Fuentes from Hanken School of Economics.

Forrest gives us insight into the work he has done in the Indian context in relation to tree planting and the long-term outcomes of tree planting schemes. India has had a long history of tree planting programs, but are they always successful? In the western Himalaya, where Forrest is working about half the planting takes place in areas where trees are already growing and about half takes place in areas where trees are not currently growing and most probably will not successfully grow due to environmental or land use reasons. There is sometimes a disconnect between what the government programs want to accomplish (or what looks good on paper) and the experience on the ground of the best land use—both geographically and for the community living in place. One key in indicator of success is the inclusion of the community and getting their buy-in and participation in the tree planting program. However, more research is needed to figure out how to generate that local participation and where it roots from.

Forrest gives us insight into the mythology of the modern concept that trees everywhere are a good thing. As more people are divorced from earning their living from the land this concept become more and more common. However, this lionization of the forest landscapes devalues the natural and vital landscapes that naturally do not have trees or have only scattered trees. These landscapes are currently being destroyed in support of tree planting to match this prominent environmental narrative.

Resources mentioned in the episode:

Veldman, J.W. et al., Tyranny of trees in grassy biomes. Science 347,484-485(2015). DOI:10.1126/science.347.6221.484-c

Bai, Y., & Cotrufo, M. F. (2022). Grassland soil carbon sequestration: Current understanding, challenges, and solutions. Science, 377(6606), 603-608.

Forget Tree Planting, Start Tree Growing a Q & A with Lalisa Duguma https://forestsnews.cifor.org/61174/forget-tree-planting-start-tree-growing?fnl=en