Reforestation Project Reduces Poverty and Restores Forests

We know that healthy forest systems produce oxygen, sequester carbon, cool land, provide habitats for animals, purify water sources, control flooding and erosion, and help to replenish the soil with nutrients needed for farming. Tragically, about half of the world’s forests have been cut down in the last 100 years, leading to desertification, erosion, and flooding.

Deforestation has increased as communities have higher needs to cut down trees to get wood for construction or clear land for farming or building space. While cutting down trees might solve short-term problems, there are long-term consequences when trees are cut down and not replaced. As the health of the land decreases, so does the health of the people who depend on it for their survival. When the land suffers, people suffer, too.

But Eden Reforestation projects reduce extreme poverty and restore healthy forests by employing local villagers to plant millions of native trees every year. With trees replanted, animal habitats are restored, local rainfall patterns are restored, water purity improves, soil quality increases, and crop yields increase. By 2025 the group aims to be able to plant 500 million trees yearly.