How do you plant a Biodiverse Rainforest?
How do you plant a Biodiverse Rainforest?
When is a forest biodiverse?
First of all, we need to define what a biodiverse rainforest is. Under “Protecting Biodiversity”, we have already established that 90% of all afforestations worldwide are of low diversity. A primary rainforest in West Africa however has an incredible degree of biodiversity – 30 to 60 tree species grow depending on the location. We have therefore decided to plant at least 30 local rainforest trees in our new forests.
Where do the seeds come from?
The next challenge: how do we get hold of the many different seeds? In Sierra Leone, as in most West African countries, there is no market for these seeds. Our employees therefore travel long distances to find a tree of the appropriate species and then closely monitor the time when the seeds ripen. A nearby community is commissioned to collect the seeds as soon as they are ripe and we then buy them from them. This creates a very valuable seed bank.
How do the seeds germinate?
There is an incredible wealth of seed forms and, of course, germination strategies for trees. Some seeds need to be sown as fresh as possible, others need to be stored for longer, some are best left to soak in warm water for a few days, others only germinate when a quick fire has passed over them… Our team has painstakingly acquired knowledge about the different seeds over the years and is constantly updating our database.
The tree nursery
Now the seeds are sown in bags filled with a mixture of soil and natural fertilizer. And they are watered regularly. That’s why our nurseries are located near rivers that carry water all year round. Particularly small seeds are sown in a small field, pricked out after germination and placed in planting bags. The seedlings also grow at different rates.
Only the tough ones make it...
Before planting out in June, the seedlings are hardened off a little, watered less and sun protection is reduced. This gives them a better chance of surviving in the field.
Planting finally!
And then it’s finally time for planting! After marking the ideal distance between the new trees with pegs, our employees carry the tender plants in bowls to the planting site, where our planting manager ensures the best arrangement of the trees. This happens at the beginning of the rainy season so that the young trees have enough time to form deep roots.
Aftercare
All seedlings must be in the ground by the end of July so that they have enough time to root well. The rainy season ends in November at the latest and the young trees have to manage on their own for the next 5 months. For this purpose, a weed-free ring is kept around them and fire belts are created to keep the bush fires away from the young forests.
Who will survive?
When the rain finally starts again, we can record the survival rate. In our first years, an astonishing 85% of all trees planted survived. We don’t fill in the gaps, but let nature continue planting – it is better at it.
Resilience through own forests
Sierra Leone is a country that is heavily dependent on agriculture. As a result, climate change is hitting the rural population particularly hard. It gets very hot, the groundwater level sinks, droughts are the result, the rainy season comes later but then with such force that the rain causes flooding and the soil is depleted by erosion.
The farmers are very aware of the changes, there is no one not suffering. And they are also aware of the benefits of forests to protect themselves against the consequences of climate change. They just don’t know how they can restore the forests that have been lost. With our tree planting trainings, we empower the rural communities to reforest their forests on their own.
The German non-profit organization greenlimba gGmbH is planting a new rainforest in Sierra Leone / West Africa, rich in biodiversity and with only native trees. On the one hand, this new secondary forest will serves global climate protection, and on the other, it helps people in one of the poorest countries in the world to cope better with the consequences of climate change. Climate protection and climate justice are two sides of the same coin.
Our commitment is based on four pillars:
Participation
We work with the indigenous population, not against them. With the help of various trainings, we empower them to actively fight the consequences of climate change themselves. The main aim here is to provide people with the knowledge they need to successfully reforest their rainforest on their own. Without the involvement of local people, any reforestation project is doomed to failure from the outset. Only if the respective community makes the reforestation its own project will it have a future. There is a great willingness to take the initiative, as everyone is now personally affected by climate change in the form of heat, flooding, falling groundwater levels and reduced harvests.
Biodiversity
To ensure the necessary biodiversity in the new community forests, we run our own forest tree nurseries. In our partner villages, it is usually only possible to grow a few tree species; experts are needed for most of the others. However, as only a biodiverse forest can bring about all the desired positive effects, we provide our partners with the missing seedlings free of charge, provided that the framework conditions we specify are met (including the establishment of a local forest management committee, documentation of sustainable land use and the adoption of a legally binding ordinance for the long-term protection of the new forest).
Education
Only those who know the value of a tree for themselves will be prepared to protect it. greenlimba therefore promotes environmental education in Sierra Leone at various levels. One focus is on raising awareness among the youngest through our children’s book “Fatu & the Magic Tree”, which we distribute in tens of thousands of copies in elementary schools with our own trainers. In addition, there are low-threshold information campaigns in the areas of forest and climate protection as well as educational initiatives on the highly problematic issue of charcoal production and use. Finally, we engage in strategic political dialogues at national level in cooperation with international partner organizations.
Protection
Sierra Leone’s remaining rainforest enclaves are the purest gene pool for biodiversity and store vast amounts of climate-damaging carbon. Protecting these remaining primary forests is worth all the effort, as reforestation is much more time-consuming and expensive. The value added by deforestation is significantly lower than the cost of renaturation. We therefore pay interested communities monthly compensation payments for the lost profit from logging if they leave their forests untouched. These “Payments for Environmental Services” are of course also based on thefree, prior andinformed consent of the local population.