Plantations vs. regeneration: why we must keep monocultures out of land restoration and climate mitigation schemes

21 Sep 2021
Zoom webinar in English with Spanish and French interpretation

Webinar invitation: 21st September at 13:00 UTC, in English with Spanish and French interpretation. Register here.

Every hectare of commercial tree plantation is a hectare that won’t be restored to its original ecosystem, or used to grow food in a sustainable way. Every monoculture plantation project is therefore a choice to prioritise profit over climate mitigation potential, biodiversity conservation and food sovereignty.

On International Day of Struggle Against Monoculture Tree Plantations we’re launching new case studies that shed light on two closely linked tree plantation expansion threats – landscape restoration in Africa through the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100), and the Green Climate Fund-backed Arbaro Fund projects in Latin America and Africa.

This new research, which will be published during the webinar, reveals the extent to which plantations are being pushed through AFR100. Although the initiative was devised to restore forests, it could see plantation areas nearly doubled across Africa. At least half of the countries that have pledged to AFR100 have targets for commercial plantation expansion, including examples in Mozambique and Ghana that show how plantation projects go hand-in-hand with conflicts over land.

Linked to this are the Arbaro Fund’s plans to expand plantations across four AFR100 countries, plus another three countries in Latin America. A recent investigation into Arbaro’s two investments in Paraguay shows how exotic eucalyptus is being planted in areas with a long history of conflict with Indigenous and peasant communities. This is an indicator of what their plantation projects will look like in other countries.

Speakers:

• Lucy Mulenkei, Indigenous Information Network/Kenya (moderator)
• Daniel Ribeiro, Justiça Ambiental/Mozambique
• Elvis Oppong-Mensah, Civic Response/Ghana
• Omar Yampey, Centro de Estudios Heñoi/Paraguay
• Almuth Ernsting, Biofuelwatch/UK
• Oliver Munnion, Global Forest Coalition/Portugal

Join us on 21st September at 13:00 UTC for a critical discussion on how commercial tree plantations are increasingly being relied upon as a land restoration and climate solution. Presentations will include a detailed look at examples of tree plantation expansion linked to AFR100, and Arbaro’s plantation projects in Paraguay.

Please register in advance to participate, and share this invitation with your networks and colleagues. We look forward to seeing you there!