Lipstick on a fig tree: Why planting trees avoids the real problems (and may make things worse)

Tree planting dominates political and popular agendas, and is often portrayed as an easy answer to the climate crisis and effective mitigation for corporate carbon emissions. However, it is not a simple solution: planting the wrong trees in the wrong place can cause considerably more damage than benefits, failing people and nature. Given that the botanical community is currently assessing the conservation status of every tree species on Earth and we grow over 18,000 tree species in botanic gardens and arboreta, Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BCGI) has an important role to play in helping to ensure that the right tree is planted in the right place and that diverse native species are part of tree planting portfolios. Surely it is common sense to incorporate biodiversity, botanical data and botanical expertise into both the planning and practice of tree planting? This may not be the case.

So what needs to change?

Join Dean Meigan Aronson of the University of British Columbia Faculty of Science, Dr. Pedro Brancalion of the University of São Paolo, Patrick Lewis of the University of British Columbia Botanical Garden, and Paul Smith of Botanic Gardens Conservation International in a virtual event exploring a botanist’s rules of engagement in a rapidly changing world.

More about the World Biodiversity Forum:

• Join the World Biodiversity Linkedin Community
• Pre-register for the World Biodiversity Forum virtual dialogues in May
• Submit your own session to be hosted under the banner of World Biodiversity Forum

Collaborators:

• Botanic Gardens Conservation International
• UBC Botanical Garden
• University of São Paolo
• UBC Faculty of Science