Op-Ed: Beyond The Ceremony: Why Tree Planting Is Not Enough

Every rainy season in the Gambia, associations, organizations, and diverse groups take part in tree planting activities acrossdifferent parts of the country – from Kartong to Koina. It becomes the only period during which almost everyoneunderstands and promotes climate change and environmental stewardship. During this period, various individuals and groups take pride in the number of trees they plant. So blue apps (Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn) turn green, as environmentalists cum volunteers flood the internet with pictorials of their worthy engagements.

Of course, tree planting can never be bad, and no one ought to negate the essence of sharing pictorials on the internet. However, we need to rethink our tree planting campaigns by putting sustainability mechanisms in place. It is imperative to note that planting trees is not enough, nor is counting them immediately after planting.

Do we reflect on the number of trees we planted months or years ago and compare them with those alive? This is where most of us get it wrong. While the correct or estimated figure is unavailable, campaign reports and observations suggest that tree-planting efforts have recently increased in the Gambia. The fact remains that many of the trees we plant end up dyingdue to diverse reasons.

Often there is less or no care after planting. It is rare for volunteers to dedicate some time to water the planted trees or protect them from harm. Thus, plants rely on the limited rainfall for its survival. In fact, it is against this backdrop that many organizations plant trees only during the raining season. However, the truth is, rainfall alone cannot give a plant all it needs. Sadly, community members who are the potential sole beneficiaries also rarely take ownership, especially if the project owners do not involve them. With all these, we do nothear from individuals and organizations about the result of their tree audits. We should now shift our focus from the number of trees we plant to the number of trees that survive, and ensure we avoid wastage albeit our interest in the quantity.

One of the ways through which we can increase the survival rate of plants is to promote tree adoption. It may sound unusual, but this is an effective way of involving people, promoting ownership and fostering environmental responsibility. For example, in schools, a class can adopt a tree, thereby protecting and monitoring it with passion and pride. In communities, individuals or families can adopt trees that are near their houses. Notwithstanding, this can only be effective if we involve the people and make the process more participatory.

Another strategy is providing tree guards, especially in places where animals pose a threat. Because when we leave trees exposed and unprotected, the chance of them surviving is very low. This is the reason most of the trees planted on roadsides and in our communities rarely survive the attack from animals. We should reduce the funds allocated for seedlings and other items and increase our spending on tree guards.After all, what matters is not the quantity, but the quality.

Most of the bastions of tree planting initiatives are solelyenticed by the concept of climate change and donor-oriented approaches to fostering environmental responsibility based on takeaways from conferences and similar convergences. However, we should also invite the locals with the indigenous knowledge and understanding of the trees we plant. Despite our confidence in our views, the indigenous people can better identify tree species and some key characteristics more than we do. Largely, they deal with the environment more than we do. So who should take the lead? Not necessarily them, but none should be left behind either.

We should monitor the trees we plant and record the challenges and successes we detect. This has the potential of ensuring informed decision-making, thereby shaping the ways forward for a greater impact. Monitoring and evaluation are too important to be left only on paper in our project proposals. In fact, while well-established organizations have monitoring and evaluation (M&E) officers, rising CBOs and many associations championing green initiatives do not have it. Even for the M&E officers of the well-established organizations, the focus is not on the trees we plant. Therefore, it is time to fill this gap now.

With another season here, I hope many organizations will learn from the past mistakes and challenges, and make improvements in the green arena. Our environment, of course, should be everyone’s concern.