Reforestation & Climate Moderation

Rescue Earth System

Developing the knowledge and practical experience required to advance regenerative land and water management techniques, including but not limited to permaculture techniques for soil hydration and natural sequence farming, and rural landscape management techniques aimed at restoring natural water cycles that allow the land to flourish despite drought conditions.

Reforestation & Climate Moderation

Personal Target: 100 trees planted per participant
Initiative Global Target: 100 billion trees planted globally
Ultimate Global Goal: 1 trillion trees planted globally

Reforestation using Agroforestry, Silvopasture, Agrosilvopasture

From a RSD and Rescue Earth perspective, reforestation of large areas of degraded agricultural land using regenerative agriculture practices to re-establish natural & semi-natural forests and savannas are a win-win scenario. In most places, it is the only way forwards. Why? Most of the worlds peoples depend upon access to land for survival. Using the principles of RSD, farmers can increase yields, build resilience and protect nature at the same time. Agroecology is the perfect gateway to extensive ecosystem restoration.

Trees have very deep roots and they can access nutrients and water that are not accessible to more shallow rooted plants. Furthermore, the mutually beneficial association between most plants and ecto & endo mycorrhiza (and others!), is one that has the ability to rapidly increase syntropic accumulation. Pertinently, deep rooted trees help utilise and transpire the ‘out of reach’ water bringing it to the surface, and in the process cool the local environment. Trees actually increase groundwater recharge even though they use a lot of water!

According to the FAO’s updated estimates, there are more than 608 million family farms around the world, occupying between 70 and 80 percent of the world’s farmland and producing around 80 percent of the world’s food in value terms. Let that sink in — peasant farmers dominate food production on 80% of the worlds farmland — most of which is degrading fast. A key goal of the RSD Course is to educate an ‘extension officer corps’ within the ranks of the peasant farmers themselves to enable the rapid restoration of farmlands.

Ultimately, after some time, community managed conservation areas can be established. These areas may be wetlands or forests or even nature reserves. Conservation areas can be grazed / browsed periodically using the principles of Regenerative Grazing Management which includes Adaptive High Stock Density Grazing and Holistic Planned Grazing. Regenerative Grazing Management is a structured way of using animals to regenerate pasture, improve soil health and soil carbon storage of soils and improve profitability.

Roughly 64% of the world’s tropical rainforest has been destroyed or degraded since pre-industrial times, according to a new report by the Rainforest Foundation Norway (RFN). That means that just 36% of global rainforest — from the Amazon to the Sumatra to the Congo Basin — remains fully intact. Since the end of the last great ice age — 10,000 years ago — the world has lost one-third of its forests. Two billion hectares of forest — an area twice the size of the United States — has been cleared to grow crops, raise livestock, etc.

Silvopasture is one of the oldest known forms of agriculture. Just as its name is a combination of the Latin words “silva” (forest or woods) and “pastura” (feeding or grazing), silvopasture is the intentional integration of trees, domesticated animals and forages managed together as a single, multilayered production system. Livestock grazing covers more than 3.3 billion hectares, or 25 percent of the world’s land area. There are approximately 823 million hectares that are theoretically suitable for silvopasture.

A tropical silvopasture system featuring a diversity of trees integrated into a grazing system. If all suitable land was converted to silvopasture, estimates say it would sequester 31 gigatons of CO2 — 3x the potential emissions reduction of a transition to electric cars. Silvopasture systems also moderate local temperatures, increase the soil’s water-holding capacity, stabilise regional water cycles, and provide conditions for higher stocking rates and faster weight gain in grazing animals.

According to the Woodland Trust the infiltration of rain water into tree covered soil is up to 60 times higher than on agricultural land. The root systems form pathways deep into the soil meaning that the water can infiltrate faster and deeper than in the absence of trees. Planting trees on the borders of fields can, therefore, help slow and reduce the run off from farmland. Natural forests have a forest floor teeming with plant life that in itself slows the movement of surface water. Permaculture food forest swales have the same effect.

How can I make a difference?

You can choose any one or more of the interventions listed below and your contribution will make a massive difference to the reforestation of your bioregion. The climate moderation knock-on effects are substantial.

N.B. Your 100 trees can be purchased from a participating retail or community nursery or as an integrated part of a projects bulk tree purchase. Your RE tokens are awarded to you by local volunteer auditors on your proof of purchase.

Plant 100 trees in your garden

If you would like to go for it alone then this is the best option for you. Plant 100 in your garden. 100 trees is achievable in most larger yards.

You can use the Permablitz System to get others to help you. The Permablitz System uses the BZ token for transactions via the RESCUE.exchange.

Join a local project and plant your 100 trees in a community food forest swale system or a treed Rain Garden LID System

Community food forest systems and Rain Garden LID System are often integrated into place making projects. Why? They can easily be landscaped to be treed (forested) multifunctional zones.

Syntropic Farming fits within the disciples of permaculture and vice versa — both being a way to grow food and reforest landscapes simultaneously. By using Syntropic Agroforestry or Permaculture Food Forest design, we can plant a trillion trees, restore ecosystem integrity to 2 billion of hectares, and ultimately, reforest up to a billion hectares without impacting food production. In fact, we may actually be able to increase food production. NOTE: This is reforestation of previously forested landscapes!

Join a local or a bioregional project and plant your 100 trees in a whole landscape scale Reforestation Project

Certain barren areas of Earth that were at some time in the past completely forested, needs to be reforested. Reforestation includes; Natural (native), Agroforestry, Silvopasture, Agrosilvopasture.

Silvopasture is one of the oldest known forms of agriculture. Just as its name is a combination of the Latin words “silva” (forest or woods) and “pastura” (feeding or grazing), silvopasture is the intentional integration of trees, domesticated animals and forages managed together as a single, multilayered production system. Livestock grazing covers more than 3.3 billion hectares, or 25 percent of the world’s land area. There are approximately 823 million hectares that are theoretically suitable for silvopasture.

Reforestation also includes the ecosystems restoration of Mangrove Forests & Tropical Forests.