Tree planting campaign from Export Initiative Environmental Protection takes root

More and more projects are responding to the appeal from the Export Initiative Environmental Protection to plant trees in their funded project’s target country. Spades have now been wielded in fourteen countries so trees can take root there.

More and more projects are responding to the appeal from the Export Initiative Environmental Protection to plant trees in their funded project’s target country. Spades have now been wielded in fourteen countries so trees can take root there.

The idea behind EXI’s tree planting campaign was to supplement project activities with a lasting contribution to countering climate change in the respective country. The tree and project can therefore grow together and make the engagement of ‘Made in Germany’ green tech visible on a global scale.

14 countries, 14 tree species and two participations in tree planting initiatives

Since the launch of the campaign, thirteen German Chambers of Commerce Abroad (AHKs) and two projects have participated in the campaign. From Azerbaijan to Chile, Cuba and Indonesia to Sri Lanka, Thailand and Uruguay, these are the countries where the natural carbon sinks have now been emplaced in the soil.

The AHK Brazil opted to plant Moringa oleifera, for example, often referred to as the ‘miracle tree’ or ‘tree of life’. Widely considered the world’s most nutrient-rich tree, it originally comes from the Himalayan region in northwest India. The seeds of the ‘miracle tree’ are particularly special, as they can help purify water by filtering out bacteria and particulates. Reason enough, then, to select this tree for the project in the EXI priority area of water and waste water management.

Bombacopsis cubensis, by contrast, is an endangered tree species in Cuba. Native to this island country, the tree is found particularly in westernmost Cuba, in the mountain ranges of the Viñales Valley in Pinar del Rio province. The AHK Cuba therefore decided on this tree species for their tree planting activities.

The ECO-FCGen project contributed 100 trees to an unusual tree planting initiative in India, the ‘Trees for Tigers’ project, which was implemented on the edge of the Simlipal National Park in the state of Odisha. The Simlipal National Park also encompasses the only known habitat for the rare melanistic or black tiger. Set up in 1973 as part of the Tiger Project, Simlipal is one of India’s oldest tiger reserves and covers 2,750 square kilometres of forest, offering an outstanding habitat for tigers, prey animals and elephants.

All fourteen tree species at a glance:

• Bombacopsis cubensis (Cuba)
• Ceylon cinnamon tree, Cinnamomum verum (Brazil)
• Chal-chal, Allophylus edulis (Brazil)
• Oak (Latvia)
• Guama, Inga edulis (Brazil)
• Guettarda uruguayensis, Jazmin del Uruguay (Uruguay)
• Resin trees (Indonesia)
• Himalaya pine (Bulgaria)
• Pine (Kazakhstan)
• Mango tree (Sri Lanka)
• Moringa oleifera, ‘miracle tree’ (Brazil)
• Pompom tree (South Africa)
• Lemon tree (Chile and Cap Verde/Portugal)
• Cypresses (Azerbaijan)

Other projects are also invited to participate in the tree planting campaign from the Export Initiative Environmental Protection.