GEF Antigua and Barbuda

11th November 2009

Antigua and Barbuda is celebrating Arbour Month during the month of November. This is because November has the best conditions for newly planted trees to flourish; it is the wettest month of the year and the end of the hurricane season. For Arbour Month 2009 the Forestry Unit in the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Housing and Environment, is focusing on reforesting the Body Ponds Watershed and highlighting to the public the importance of trees.

Trees are the building blocks of life on earth and have an extensive list of benefit and importance to human life. Trees first of all provide food and drink such as chocolate from the Cocoa tree, juice from apples, limes and oranges etc. and they provide spices such as cinnamon or cloves. Not only do they provide food and drink but they are also the source of many medicines and pharmaceuticals.

Aspects of trees are used in cosmetics, paper, rubber, soap and aromatherapy. Trees are an important part of home life as they are used for firewood, cooking charcoal, making homes, shelters and furniture. Historically and even to this day the wood from trees has been used to make rafts, canoes and boats. Trees have also been use to make implements and tools for hunting.

Not only are trees important for their direct uses and benefits to humans but are also important because they clean the air that we breathe. Trees convert carbon dioxide to oxygen through photosynthesis (the process by which plants make energy to grow). Trees play an important role in reducing global warming as they take carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas) out of the atmosphere. Trees are the foundation of ecosystems and provide essential habitats for many species of birds and animals.

Mr. Adriel Thibou, Forestry Officer from the Forestry Unit in the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Housing and the Environment stated that “this Arbour Month we are focusing on the importance of trees to the citizens of Antigua and Barbuda, if we all plant a tree today it will provide for our children and grandchildren to come. We want to change the mindset of Antiguan and Barbudan’s as we have to understand that what YOU do in your backyard eventually will affect the entire Country as a whole. If you cut down the trees in your backyard, the trees will not be there to hold the soil and provide stability to the ground. This soil, through erosion via wind and rain, will end up in our waterways and eventually in our nearshore environments. This could have extreme detrimental impacts on our reefs, seagrass beds and eventually Antigua and Barbuda’s fisheries.”

Mr. Thibou carried on by stating that “this year we are really trying to get the youth involved and many of the Environmental Cadets will be assisting in our tree planting activity on Monday the 16th of November. They will also get to participate in a logo competition in which they will be designing the new logo for the Forestry Division which should represent terrestrial biodiversity both flora and fauna. The winner of this competition will be given a trophy/plaque and their school will be granted trees to undertake replanting project of their choosing”.

Don’t forget that the Forestry Unit, the Environment Division and the SIRMM Project encourages you, the general public, to come out and get involved in the tree planting activity in the Body Ponds Watershed on Monday the 16th of November 2009. If you would like further information on this activity or need to know how to get involved, please call the Forestry Unit at 562-1959 or email sirmmab@gmail.com.