Who is going to be interested in planting trees?
In a sense it should be everyone, because it is so important. But everybody can’t be involved! Why not? Trees are vital in protecting tropical soil (D 1), so that without them most supplies of food, water and materials are at risk. Surely that’s an exaggeration! Actually, it is not. It could even turn out to be an understatement. A serious situation has developed in many parts of the tropics, in which: • Traditional methods of food production that used to be sustainable now often involve extensive loss of trees and soil degradation (D 3, D 12–13, D 21–23); • Introduced large-scale plantation and grazing systems are sometimes having similar effects (D 2, D 14–16, D 30, D 50); and • Rising human populations mean extra mouths to feed each year. What does sustainable use mean? Being able to continue using a piece of land to grow food and produce materials in perpetuity. Unsustainable use means that today’s yields are undercutting tomorrow’s capacity to produce. But people must have food to
