Deserts, however continue to spread, especially on the African continent; tropical forests are still dwindling away; and since the introduction of capitalism in Russia, clear-cut felling for quick profit has made ever greater inroads into the Siberian forests. In Europe, meanwhile, more and more trees are affected by disease, usually the result of air pollution and acid rain, but often caused by disturbance of magnetic fields by power lines. In the United States, environmental legislation is being greatly weakened under Republican pressure. And in the rest of the Americas, "skinning the Earth alive" continues unchecked.
Some more cheering items do reach us from time to time, though their impact on worldwide environmental deterioration would seem to be negligible.
For example, an international conference is being held in Jaipur, India, December 17-21, on the theme, "Living in Harmony with Nature: Survival into the Third Millennium." For those five days, people of good will are to meditate on possible responses to environmental crises resulting from unrestrained consumerism, unnatural lifestyles, social disintegration, decadence of ethical values, inner disharmony, poverty and war. We wish this gathering well, realizing fully that its participants are not to be blamed for the state we are in, and that responses to the global crisis will have to come from other quarters. No doubt, some excellent resolutions will be produced, a declaration will be signed by all, and off we go to the next conference.
More encouraging is bulletin No. 54 of New Planet, a Swiss monthly news-sheet, telling of highly successful volunteer projects. In Haiti, a tree-planting scheme is underway, and, God knows, there is hardly a tree left on those eroding hills. In Burkina Faso, local farmers and volunteers from Europe have enlisted the help of ants, rather than chemical pesticides, in battling termites that threaten newly planted forests. At Pleiku, Vietnam, volunteers are establishing nurseries of medicinal plants in conjunction with tropical forest preservation initiatives. Similarly useful efforts are taking place in Peru, in the Amazon regions and in the Philippines. All appear to be well-oriented acts of solidarity, inspired by wisdom. But each is occurring on a very small scale.
The great need is tree cover. The responsibility for a reasonable tree cover-no less than 30-40 percent of a given area-is a local one, at least in nations where the concept of local government is known. In this respect many countries could learn from the Swiss Confederation.
Not long ago, I visited the hills above the valley of the Toess, a region of small homesteads. It was most impressive to find 60 percent of the land covered by dense and healthy forest bedecked in autumn splendor. The local folk obviously enjoy their natural surroundings and are proud of their sound management.
But what can be done on a continent like Africa, where the Sahara spreads southward at a frightening rate while the Kalahari matches this devastating pace in a northerly direction?
We feel encouraged by an effort in Benin and Togo which has caught our attention. A highly skilled and concerned agronomist has, for some years now, been combining the education of youngsters with the teaching of a new approach to agriculture. The project introduces trees into fields as a vital partner in providing shade, creating a micro-climate, and contributing diversity to crop production. Even more importantly, trees bring up trace minerals and enrich the humus. Youngsters are impressed at an early age that trees are vital for food production. Nurseries are now being established on a modest scale (modest financial help is called for!) and farmers of the region are being encouraged to take up this new and successful method of husbandry.
We ask all world citizens to help in the ongoing effort to raise world consciousness about the importance of trees.
Buying up forests, as is done by the Worldwide Fund for Nature, or setting up national reserves and protecting them by armed guards against settlers or poachers-these are vital emergency measures needed while tree sense is being spread to all citizens. Undoubtedly, a world economic system based on greed and a monetary system based on debt must be replaced by something more sane and far-sighted. And this replacement is required in the very near future.
Badi M. Lenz is coordinator of the World Forestry Commission.