weforest english corporate brochure 2013

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Great parenting is in part about the legacy you leave. Global Warming is the biggest challenge we have created for our children and future generations. “Lack of action on climate change threatens to make the world our children inherit completely different from the world we are living in today,” said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim. The science now tells us that there is a practical solution, one that can halt Global Warming in its tracks until a low carbon economy is made available for us all. Let us no longer ignore the science. Planting trees and restoring half of the degraded land on our planet with rich, diverse sustainable forests will create enough additional cloud cover to Make Earth Cooler. Did you know that 10 million km 2 of what is now degraded farmland used to be abundant forest lands at the beginning of the 20th century? We managed to make them disappear by introducing poor agricultural practices, overgrazing, demographic pressure and deforestation. The result is massive deterioration of ecosystems, the destruction of soil integrity and, as a consequence, poverty. The risk of landslides, floods, drought and desertification has also increased. An additional 20 million km² of forests planted in the next 10 years could halt global warming in its tracks and simultaneously bring new life to local peoples around the world. Clouds help immensely in reducing global temperatures, because they have a high albedo effect. This means they reflect the sun’s radiation back into space, preventing them from reaching the earth’s surface. Dense formations of these earth-cooling clouds are found over major tropical rainforests across the world. The trees here contribute to the release of microscopic nuclei needed for cloud formation. Water vapour condenses around these nuclei, in turn creating the clouds needed to cool the earth. Through this process, trees increase the water vapour content of the air significantly, making them responsible for approximately 50% of all of the world’s rain. The more low altitude clouds created through this natural system, the faster we could potentially cool our planet. This can be done by using permaculture (or agroforestry), a planting approach in which natural environments are designed to reflect the diversity, stability and resilience of natural ecosystems. It combines modern science with traditional wisdom, leveraging as much as possible from nature for the biggest benefit of the environment, local population and biodiversity. A great planet for our children Forests and clouds are part of the solution Global cooling WeForest Making Earth Cooler Forests must be planted sustainably Making Earth Cooler Trees Absorb Carbon and Make Clouds Carbon dioxyde (CO 2 ) levels in our atmosphere are higher than at any time during the last 800 000 years: average temperatures are rising. Trees also release water vapour and micro- scopic nuclei needed for cloud formation. Clouds have a high albedo effect, reflecting the incident solar radiation back into space. © David Shaw

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Page 1: WeForest English corporate brochure 2013

Great parenting is in part about the legacy you leave. Global Warming is the biggest challenge we have created for our children and future generations.

“Lack of action on climate change threatens to make the world our children inherit completely different from the world we are living in today,” said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim.

The science now tells us that there is a practical solution, one that can halt Global Warming in its tracks until a low carbon economy is made available for us all. Let us no longer ignore the science.

Planting trees and restoring half of the degraded land on our planet with rich, diverse sustainable forests will create enough additional cloud cover to Make Earth Cooler.

Did you know that 10 million km2 of what is now degraded farmland used to be abundant forest lands at the beginning of the 20th century? We managed to make them disappear by introducing poor agricultural practices, overgrazing, demographic pressure and deforestation. The result is massive deterioration of ecosystems, the destruction of soil integrity and, as a consequence, poverty. The risk of landslides, floods, drought and desertification has also increased.

An additional 20 million km² of forests planted in the next 10 years could halt global warming in its tracks and simultaneously bring new life to local peoples around the world.

Clouds help immensely in reducing global temperatures, because they have a high albedo effect. This means they reflect the sun’s radiation back into space, preventing them from reaching the earth’s surface. Dense formations of these earth-cooling clouds are found over major tropical rainforests across the world. The trees here contribute to the release of microscopic nuclei needed for cloud formation. Water vapour condenses around these nuclei, in turn creating the clouds needed to cool the earth. Through this process, trees increase the water vapour content of the air significantly, making them responsible for approximately 50% of all of the world’s rain. The more low altitude clouds created through this natural system, the faster we could potentially cool our planet.

This can be done by using permaculture (or agroforestry), a planting approach in which natural environments are designed to reflect the diversity, stability and resilience of natural ecosystems. It combines modern science with traditional wisdom, leveraging as much as possible from nature for the biggest benefit of the environment, local population and biodiversity.

A great planet for our children

Forests and clouds are part of the solution

Global cooling

WeForestMaking Earth Cooler

Forests must be planted sustainably

Making Earth Cooler

Trees Absorb Carbon and Make Clouds

Carbon dioxyde (CO2) levels in our atmosphere are higher than at any time during the last 800 000 years: average temperatures are rising.

Trees also release water vapour and micro-scopic nuclei needed for cloud formation. Clouds have a high albedo effect, reflecting the incident solar radiation back into space.

© David Shaw

Page 2: WeForest English corporate brochure 2013

We believe local communities need be involved and directly benefit from our planting activities. We train them in understanding the value of growing and protecting diverse forests. Our projects directly empower people to operate entrepreneurially by providing them with long term jobs and better living conditions. In doing so, we help address issues of job security, food security, clean water and a local cash economy. We also ensure that at least 10% of the trees planted are agroforestry trees for direct local benefits.

[email protected] • Tel +32 (0) 23 08 49 43www.weforest.org

WeForest is currently registered as a non-profit organization in BelgiumTax deductible in USA and most of Europe. Please contact us for detailsIBAN BE75 7340 2955 0451 ● BIC: KREDBEBB, KBC Jezus Eik, Belgium

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How do we protect the trees in new forests?

WeForest is an international non-profit organisation promoting a global movement to replant forests that have been cut down. We offer individuals and corporations various ways of contributing and joining our movement.

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