TSG launches initiative to encourage tree plantation

DUBAI: The Storey Group (TSG) of the UAE has launched an ambitious initiative to encourage the emirates’ residents and corporates to come together to help plant one billion trees by 2026 in a transformational project designed to help offset the country’s carbon emissions.

Ater almost two years of intense research and development, TSG has teamed up with Ecomatcher, a certified social enterprise and the world’s first blockchain-enableddigitaltree-plantingplaform,to launch the One Billion Trees Initiative (OBTI), which is aimed at capturing 250 billion kgs of carbon within a decade of planting the full tree complement.

“The world produces 51 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases every year. Decarbonisation is now the biggest challenge facing humanity. To reach zero, we need innovation, collaboration, and action. By helping to plant one billion trees by 2026 the UAE can play our part,” said Karen Storey, OBTI Founder & Project Director.

OBTI enables people to buy or git trees, with each tree delivering an annual carbon sequestration of 25 kgs, or plant and name a forest of 1,000 trees or more. Trees will be planted around the world with locations in nine countries - Guatemala, Peru, Uganda, the UAE, India, Nepal, Thailand, Indonesia and The Philippines - with more to follow via a target of 20 NGO tree-planting partners by the end of this year.

Via the Ecomatcher App, tree ‘owners’ can track every tree’s performance from their phones through ID geolocation, learn each tree’s story - its species, plant date, farmer and more, and even engage with each tree while tracking its carbon impact with easy-to-use dashboards.