Could the UK Help of the World’s By Compost Direct - www.compostdirect.com
As the deforestation crisis continues, world tracker the World Counts reveals that in 78 years, rainforests will cease to exist if we continue the harmful practices we have been relying on for decades.
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t goes without saying that in the last decade, the Amazon rainforest has had more than its fair share of crises. Plus, the ongoing events of the COVID-19 pandemic have even wrought havoc on the planet’s lungs. Through increased illegal clearance operations that exploited the distracting circumstances of the global pandemic, deforestation in the Amazon increased by 55 per cent in the first four months of 2020. Recent reports suggest that only three per cent of the world’s ecosystems remain healthy and intact, therefore it is crucial we all band together to tackle this crisis. With 22nd June marking World Rainforest Day, we need to question how we can save the Amazon. But just how bad is the rainforest crisis? Here, we explain the scale of the problem by posing this question: could the UK plant enough trees to help tackle the deforestation crisis in the Amazon?
ONE TREE FOR ANOTHER Let’s look at the numbers. Between August 2019 and July 2020, 11,088km2 (2,739,904.5 acres) of rainforest was destroyed. In comparison to the previous year, this had increased by 9.5 per cent. There are around 200 trees per acre in the Amazon. Taking this as a base, to replace what was lost in 2020 alone, 547,980,900 trees would need to be planted to cover those 2,739,904.5 acres lost.
SO, IN THEORY, WOULD THE UK BE UP TO THE CHALLENGE? Let’s say, hypothetically, we could get all 68,000,000 UK residents on board with the idea. We would all have to commit to planting eight trees each - which doesn’t sound too much. Even if half the UK got involved, 16 trees is manageable, depending on if we have the space. 180
LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE
SO, DO WE HAVE THE SPACE? In short, yes, we do. The UK covers 242,495km2, which is enough space to plant 2,739,904.5 acres of additional trees (which would cover 11,088km2, or 4.57 per cent of the UK). We wouldn’t have to knock down any of our homes or buildings either, with Northern Ireland, England, Wales, and Scotland each comprising of less than 10% “built-up” areas. As for farmland, however, it might be a struggle to fit in all 72 per cent of it in England – and that’s before the following year when we would need to plant another 547,980,900 trees.
THAT LEADS US TO THE REALISTIC PROBLEMS: • Deforestation is increasing every year – so much so, recent reports by the Woodland’s Trust found that only seven per cent of the UK’s native woodlands are in good condition. • Eventually, we would run out of space in the UK to counter the yearly loss of trees in the Amazon. • Cutting down trees and replacing them with new ones does not provide an equal counter. With this in mind, we discuss why planting a tree to make up for cutting or burning one down is not an equal counter.
OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW One great example of age bringing experience to a job is with trees. In an interview with the BBC, Dr Erika Berenguer of Oxford University explained: “The older and larger the tree, the more carbon it stores.” The doctor continues to explain that a family car that emits three to four tonnes of carbon over the course of four years that can be stored in a tree with a three-metre circumference. As for young trees, they absorb around 5.9kg of C02 per year. So, the problem isn’t just losing one tree and replacing it with another, rather, it is the fact a newly planted tree cannot store the same amount of carbon as the large, older tree it is replacing. Dr Berenguer explains: “Many people believe that to make up for what we’ve lost in the Amazon, we just need to plant trees elsewhere. But that is not the case”. www.lancmag.com
