Why tree growing is more important than tree planting

President William Ruto plants a tree at Eldoret Arboretum, Uasin Gishu County, in August 2023. [Christopher Kipsang, Standard]

Various studies seem to confirm that tree planting is a very popular initiative with companies, billionaires, politicians and others.

Some studies, however, such as the one by Duguma and colleagues, argue that there should be a distinction between tree planting and tree growing.

According to Duguma's study, tree planting focuses mainly on the acquisition of seedlings and the planting process but shows little concern for the quality of the seedlings and what happens after planting whereas tree growing is a process which involves the identification of the right planting materials, planting trees in appropriate places, and nurturing seedlings so that they mature to become grown trees.

The emphasis of tree growing is on care and management after planting. For some tree species, this can take five years or more. Care and management after planting are missing from most tree-planting schemes.

For the last two decades, there have been various initiatives to plant trillions of trees, most of which have been marked by mixed results. Large-scale tree planting has failed in some locations in Sri Lanka, Turkey and Canada because trees were either not watered or fertilised.

The preoccupation with merely digging a hole and putting a seedling in the ground is exemplified by a city in northern Turkey that set the Guinness world record for the number of saplings planted in one hour in a single location: 303,150. But according to The Guardian newspaper, less than three months later, up to 90 per cent of the saplings were dead. The trees were planted at the wrong time and received insufficient rain.

We all need trees because they suck up carbon emissions naturally while providing resources for wildlife and humans. But they need to be the right trees for the area; a monoculture plantation cannot do the work of a species-rich forest. While we agree that planting more trees is not the panacea for solving the climate change crisis, trees are part of the solution. The study done by Duguma highlights the following factors to consider for successful tree growing.

First, most of the tree planting exercises assume the work required to be of short duration but this is not the case. For trees to mature and to be useful economically and for carbon sequestration, they require at least three years of growth in the right environmental conditions. Most tree planting across Africa and beyond fails to consider and correct for growth constraints such as poor soils, drought, and disease. In most cases, the focus is political and a photo opportunity.

Second, as trees take time to grow we should not destroy the existing ones just because we have planted new ones. Planting trees is not a silver bullet for solving complex environmental and societal problems. For trees to provide benefits, they need to be planted correctly and nurtured to productive maturity.

Third, most of the tree planting across Africa and beyond is undertaken without the support of the local communities. According to a study done by World Agroforestry, the success of trees requires proper stakeholder engagement, taking the community values into consideration in the planning process. Trees, especially those in open places without ownership or people assigned to nurture them, can be subject to abuse or destruction.

Ideally, trees should be planted near communities and those communities should be involved in the entire life-cycle of tree growing, from planning to management and protection of the mature trees. Moreover, communities often have local environmental knowledge and should be consulted when selecting the right seedlings to be planted - if not, the project is bound to fail. In short, involving local communities will help to avoid a disconnect between what the donors or sponsors of tree planting want with what the communities want.

Fourth, experience from many countries across Africa shows that tree planting is an exercise that is uncoordinated because too many actors are involved. They include donors, governments, the private sector, individuals and schools. Some studies have suggested that without coordination of the various actors, there will be insufficient long-term investments in water, fertiliser, and protection to ensure the planted seedlings are nurtured into mature trees.

A fifth suggestion is that tracking systems be integrated into tree planting programmes to provide accurate information on tree survival rates. Vietnam provides an excellent example of how forest cover tracking combined with community support can accurately monitor tree planting programmes. Since 1975, forest cover has increased from 17 per cent to 40 per cent.

In short, while some scholars have argued that planting trees is not the best solution for carbon storage, it is the best solution available to us at the moment. By involving local communities at all stages in tree-growing activities, we can strengthen bonds, promote environmental stewardship, and build a sustainable future together.