2021 International Day Against
Monoculture Tree Plantations
September 21, the International Day Against Monoculture Tree Plantations, is a day for organizations, networks and movements to celebrate resistance and raise their voices to demand, “Stop the Expansion of Monoculture Tree Plantations!” These plantations threaten the sovereignty of communities and peoples. The Day was launched in 2004 at a meeting of a community network struggling against industrial tree plantations in Brazil; September 21 was chosen because it is the Day of the Tree in Brazil. For more information, actions and resources visit World Rainforest Movement.
Campaign to STOP GE Trees
In the US right now the US Department of Agriculture is taking a request by researchers for the unrestricted and unmonitored planting of the first genetically engineered (GE) forest tree. This proposal must be stopped if we are going to prevent the onslaught of industrial GE tree plantations. The second public comment period closed on September 7th, but you can still take action by signing the petition to keep genetically engineered trees out of forests.
It is critical that we stop the planned development of GE tree plantations that will intensify groundwater use and lead to hotter, more destructive and more deadly firestorms.
The first step to stopping this disaster is keeping the door shut to GE trees. GE trees have never been approved in the US and we must ensure they never are. For more information and to stay connected visit https://stopgetrees.org
Upcoming Webinars & Discussions
Clubhouse Invitation: 21st September at 2:00PM Eastern US time.
A discussion on the impacts of Industrial Timber Plantations on EcoSystem Integrity with GeaSphere.
As we head into the UN Climate Conference’ COP 26, where the implementation of the Paris Agreement will be negotiated, climate justice advocacy groups and social movements are faced with overcoming a complex array of these false climate schemes, in order to force lawmakers towards a Just Transition framework for tackling this crisis.
From Net Zero Emissions and Carbon Capture to Nature-based Solutions, a number of neoliberal policy agendas and unproven, corporate techno-fixes continue to subsidize the expansion of fossil fuel industries, while further impacting communities on the frontlines of climate chaos.
Join an international panel of climate justice organizers and frontline community leaders in a discussion about the multi-billion dollar climate investments being promoted by fossil fuel industries and other disaster capitalists at various NY Climate Week venues over the next few days.
Webinar invitation: 21st September at 9:00 Eastern US time (UTC-4), in English with Spanish and French interpretation. Register here.
Every hectare of commercial tree plantation is a hectare that won’t be restored to its original ecosystem, or used to grow food in a sustainable way. Every monoculture plantation project is therefore a choice to prioritise profit over climate mitigation potential, biodiversity conservation and food sovereignty.
On International Day of Struggle Against Monoculture Tree Plantations we’re launching new case studies that shed light on two closely linked tree plantation expansion threats – landscape restoration in Africa through the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100), and the Green Climate Fund-backed Arbaro Fund projects in Latin America and Africa.
This new research, which will be published during the webinar, reveals the extent to which plantations are being pushed through AFR100. Although the initiative was devised to restore forests, it could see plantation areas nearly doubled across Africa. At least half of the countries that have pledged to AFR100 have targets for commercial plantation expansion, including examples in Mozambique and Ghana that show how plantation projects go hand-in-hand with conflicts over land.
Linked to this are the Arbaro Fund’s plans to expand plantations across four AFR100 countries, plus another three countries in Latin America. A recent investigation into Arbaro’s two investments in Paraguay shows how exotic eucalyptus is being planted in areas with a long history of conflict with Indigenous and peasant communities. This is an indicator of what their plantation projects will look like in other countries.
Join us on 21st September at 13:00 UTC for a critical discussion on how commercial tree plantations are increasingly being relied upon as a land restoration and climate solution. Presentations will include a detailed look at examples of tree plantation expansion linked to AFR100, and Arbaro’s plantation projects in Paraguay.
Please register in advance to participate, and share this invitation with your networks and colleagues. We look forward to seeing you there!
