Our friends at Trillion Trees, UNEP's Faith for Earth Initiataive and WWF's Beliefs and Values Programme have published the first comprehensive guide to tree growing for faith communities.
Launched today at the UN Biodiversity Conference COP15 in Montreal, Canada, the Tree growing for conservation and ecosystem restoration: A guide for faith-based actors outlines a straightforward step-by-step approach to assist faith groups in planning and implementing tree-growing initiatives and engaging in restoring their local environment to benefit people, nature, and the climate.
It's a fantastic – and beautiful – resource for those who want to conserve biodiversity and take action on climate change.
The guide sets out six clear steps providing a practical framework for any faith-based organisation or group to adapt to its own community and context.
Each step was developed in consultation with faith actors on the ground already planting millions of trees, using evidence-based and proven approaches to restore multiple benefits through successful tree growing.
The guide includes detailed guidance and a checklist for each step, ranging from agreeing the purpose and partnership for tree-growing, developing, and implementing the plan and finally, caring for trees as they grown and sharing knowledge with the global restoration community. It's very clearly laid out, as you can see from the example pages below.
Tree growing for conservation and ecosystem restoration: A guide for faith-based actors will be available in 10 languages and emphasises the importance of growing the right trees in the right places and taking a rights-based approach, working in collaboration with local communities and Indigenous Peoples.
Fran Price, Lead, WWF Global Forest Practice, said: 'Faith groups play a powerful role as stewards of nature. And nature is a uniting force for all of us. By working together, we can build a force to help green our planet.'
Dr. Fachruddin Mangunjaya, Head of the Centre for Islamic Studies, said: 'In Islamic teachings, humans shall act as Guardians (Kalifah) of our shared planet. I think this Guide will inspire Muslims in Indonesia, as so many communities are planting trees and can benefit from the technical understanding of how their trees can survive over the long term so that all can benefit.'
Iyad Abumoghli, Director of UN Environment Programme's Faith for Earth Initiative, said: 'Faith communities are far-reaching and are exposed to every different type of ecosystem. We offer this Guide to help ensure that tree growing efforts incorporate the best available science of the landscape, its impacts, and above all, that an all-of-society approach is undertaken to scale restoration efforts locally.'