Why can't we 'just plant trees'?

Afforestation projects are being used worldwide as a nature-based solution to climate change.  Afforestry is the practice of planting trees on otherwise arid, barren land. Harvard scholar Rosetta Elkin explains how large-scale tree planting in otherwise treeless environments rarely makes ecological sense. In many instances throughout history, these projects have also been used as instruments of colonial forestry, used by the coloniser as a way of staking claim to the land. Elkin argues for a better understanding of our ecosystem on the scale of one single tree rather than whole forests.

Further Reading

• Buy "Plant Life: The Entangled Politics of Afforestation" from Minnesota Press 
• "The Long Shadow of Colonial Forestry is a threat to savannas and grasslands"
• "Hygienic Nature: Afforestation and the greening of colonial Hong Kong"

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