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What’s so important about trees? Can you imagine what the world would look like without trees? We wouldn’t have to because we simply wouldn’t be around to see it. Here’s a simple infographic to remind us why trees are critical to sustaining life on earth. 30.8% of the earth’s surface is forests 1 , which is an average of 6,200 m 2 per capita 2 Trees help mitigate human impact on climate change Deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels have caused an increase in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that has caused the Earth’s temperature to rise. Trees help break the cycle Scientists believe that this has led to more extreme and damaging weather as well as the melting of polar ice caps at a greater rate than ever recorded before. of poverty and malnutrition But we can do something to slow this down! Plant trees! Because trees absorb and store CO2 from the atmosphere, the more trees we plant, and the more we slow down and reverse deforestation, the greater the Earth’s ability to lock carbon out of the atmosphere and slow global warming. What is Agroforestry? Agroforestry is a farming method combining trees with crops. This often improves soil fertility as the trees provide nitrogen releasing nutrients that the crops need to grow. It’s a win/win! Did you know? Forests contribute to the lives of 1.6 billion people (1 in 6 people) 1 • 1,300,000 square km of forest cover was lost between 1990 and 2015 globally 1 • 1/2 of the topsoil on the planet has been lost in the last 150 years due to the transition from natural vegetation to agriculture 6 • 1.2 billion people rely on agroforestry farming systems that help to sustain agricultural productivity and generate income 1
Did you know? Forests across our planet are estimated to filter high quality water for 50% of the population (3.5 billion people) 9 Deforestation accounts for almost 20% of all human-made greenhouse gas emissions • Estimates indicate that converting forests to agricultural land can cause a 40% reduction in soil carbon levels 3 • On a global scale, vegetation and soils are estimated to trap 2.6 gigatonnes of carbon annually 8 • Forests are the 2nd largest stores of carbon after oceans 7 Trees provide essential habitats for diverse wildlife Forests and trees provide vital habitats for the majority of the world’s plant and animal species. The density of biodiversity in forests acts as a gene reservoir, and as logging and agriculture divides large areas of forest into small sections, members of the same species become isolated. ITF plants, promotes and protects trees and forests in order to prevent the extinction of species and promote biodiversity. Did you know? • Forests contain more than 80% of the world’s terrestrial species but the survival of many of them is threatened 8 • It is estimated that deforestation over the last century has led to a 30% reduction in the number of forest species 8 • There are almost 40,000 animal species in the world’s forests 8 • Rainforests – just one type of forest – cover less than 2% of the Earth’s total surface area and yet are home to 50% of the Earth’s plants and animals 5 Forests are a largely untapped medical resource Much of today’s medicine contains extracts from forest plants, some of which could be irretrievably lost through deforestation. Did you know? 1 in 4 ingredients in our medicine come from rainforest plants 3 • Aspirin was originally derived from a compound found in the willow tree • Less than 1% of all plant species have been screened by chemists to see what bioactive compounds they may contain 6 • Some parts of the world could lose over 4000 plant species by 2050 as a result of climate change 8 . Sources Key: 1 World Bank 2 FAO 3 www.rainforestconservation.org 4 www.tropicalforestnetwork.com/biodiversity-02.html 5 nature.org 6 WWF 7 UN (world forest day) 8 Vital forest graphics: http://www.unep.org/vitalforest 9 conservation.org
Page 1 and 2: International Tree Foundation Journ
Page 3 and 4: Foreword The convention in modern a
Page 5 and 6: In memory of Dorothy Freeland The l
Page 7 and 8: My 20 Trees and Me - Growing up Tog
Page 9 and 10: Global Trees Campaign Global Trees
Page 11 and 12: Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration
Page 13: A Group Photograph A Group Photogra
Page 17 and 18: Baker: founder Not a fantasy, but a
Page 19 and 20: of Konna and Borondougou. Furthermo
Page 21 and 22: Fruit-full Communities provides an
Page 23 and 24: Tanzania’s forests also provide o
Page 25 and 26: Tackling Food Poverty In a country
Page 28: AS WE’RE NEARING 100 YEARS OLD, I

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