So begins the story of the Giving Tree that many of us read as children. As the boy grows, the tree is always there to provide: delicious apples, branches to swing from, lumber to build with, and – in the bittersweet end – a quiet place to rest.
In the real world, trees are just as generous – not just to one little boy, but to all life on Earth.
- Birds of all kinds nest in trees, from songbirds and birds of prey to owls and seafowl.
- Butterflies and honeybees rely on native flowering trees like dogwoods, oaks and crabapples to provide nutrient-rich pollen and nectar, and as host plants for caterpillars.
- Fish like trout and salmon depend on tree roots that control erosion of river banks, preserving critical egg-laying habitat.
- Foraging herbivores from deer to giraffes rely on trees for nutritious food.
- Understory plants like shrubs and herbs benefit from the shade and protection from winds and harsh rains that a mature tree canopy provides.
- Microscopic fungi even get in on the action, living in mutually beneficial symbiosis with tree roots.
John, will you make an Arbor Day donation to protect our trees?
Unfortunately, just as the Giving Tree was but a stump at the story’s end, we haven’t always used trees responsibly or sustainably. Misaligned economic incentives have created the perception that trees are worth more dead than alive. They aren’t.
And they aren’t just a bounteous source of shelter and food. As trees grow, they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it as carbon in their trunks, branches, leaves and roots – mitigating the climate impacts of our pollution.
Alive, trees are one of our strongest allies in the fight against climate change. But when those trees are cut down and burned to clear forest for cattle pasture or crops, that carbon is released back into the atmosphere. Globally, tree cover loss in tropical forests accounts for about 16-33% of climate emissions – more than all transportation sources combined!
EDF is working to transform the profit motive and capture the value that living, breathing trees provide. We helped pioneer a global policy framework known as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation, or REDD+, to create financial incentives for tree conservation. And we’ve spent more than 20 years working with Brazil’s indigenous communities to protect the rainforests they call home.
Thanks to REDD+, Brazil received $96 million last year from the Green Climate Fund’s (GCF) results-based payment pilot program for preventing 19 million tons of emissions by reducing deforestation. More country proposals are in the pipeline, and the GCF has allocated a total of $500 million for those proposals.
Make a donation in honor of Arbor Day to help one of Earth’s most priceless resources – our living, breathing trees – not just survive, but thrive and flourish.
Thank you for caring for the trees that take such good care of us,
Emily Stevenson
Manager, Online Membership
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