Reforestation: Shining a light on positive projects to help poverty and preserve our environment.

1. Guatamala: The Alliance for International Reforestation
By Lin Smith
AIR: A Leader in Creating Renewable Resources
December 28, 2013---- In November, AIR, the Alliance for International Reforestation was chosen,
along with 17 others, by the United Nations, as a project that is a "beacon of hope" for our planet,
(also see, The Bamboo Bike, December 16).These activities, known as the Lighthouse Activities,
"shine a light on the work being done throughout the world to build a low-carbon, resource
efficient world," stated Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the U.N. Convention on
Climate Change. Not only are these activities tackling climate change, they are also generating
health, financial and social benefits in the communities where they take place. "They are true
beacons of hope--addressing the biggest challenge of our time." UN Secretary-General Ban-Ke
Moon said, " These activities are helping people around the world respond to climate change."
AIR was founded in 1992 by Political Science Professor, Anne Hallum, after a visit to Guatamala
where she witnessed the far-reaching effects of the loss of forest. AIR's basic model, used since
1993, is a 5 year training program in agriculture and forestry, for farmers and their children,
creating tree nurseries and providing fuel-efficient wood stoves. The belief is that training local
people in the community is the key to success. AIR has trained over 2,000 farmers, constructed
over 800 fuel-efficient stoves, established hundreds of tree nurseries and planted over 3.7 million
trees!
Preventing Mud Slides
Besides tackling climate change, the AIR program works to prevent mudslides. Trees have been
cut down, not only for firewood, but to make room for crops, "And without realizing it, they've
taken away their protection. Where the rainforest use to be, it is now an open space for the mud
to come right on through," said Hallum, "The farms that resulted from the clearing of the rainforest
were not sustainable, because rainfall on the deforested slopes caused erosion." Mudslides have
wiped out villages and have caused many deaths in Central America.
When Hallum studied the area in 1993, she discovered tree varieties that could be sustained in
the environment and could help combat poverty and cut down on erosion. The trees replanted
could provide fruit, coffee, food and medicinal herbs. Pine trees replanted on the high, steep
slopes have prevented the mudslides, as they have long tap roots that can extend 20 feet below
the surface of the land. A farmer, Jose Avelino Boc, stated, " We learned the hard way that
without trees, we are at risk, and our land is at risk."
AIR has replaced approximately 800 household open fires used for cooking, with fuel efficient
stoves. The traditional household fires were inefficient and wasted large quantities of wood, plus
emitted smoke throught the houses, which have had severe health consequences for the people
of Guatamala. The fuel efficient stoves are conserving 750 tons of wood a year and use bricks,
cement, chimney stacks, cast iron and concrete blocks that are constructed Central America,
providing jobs as a secondary benefit to reforestation and using less wood. Reforestation and the
use of less wood gives the land of Guatamala a chance to recover from the devastation of cutting
down so many acres of trees for farmland.
Do All You Can, In All The Ways You Can
The Alliance for International Reforestation has created a positive change for the environment of
Guatamala and our planet. It's another force working towards ending global warming, one step at
a time! "Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the
places you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can"... Some attribute this quote to
John Wesley, others say it has never been found in his writings. The important fact is, it applies to
today's world and what needs to happen to save our planet--it's the focus of groups such as AIR.