Environmental organisations plant trees to offset your travel
Two Flemish environmental organisations have launched a website where visitors can compensate for their carbon footprint by donating to forestation
Treecological
The website offers three possibilities: users can compensate for plane or car travel over a period of one, five or 10 years. The donation is used to fund forestry projects in Flanders and abroad. “We often co-operate with local governments or private owners who want more trees on their grounds,” Bert De Somviele, director of Bos+, told VRT News. “We assist them with our expertise and plant the forests together.”
De Somviele said that they are striving towards a low-carbon society. “It’s important to use transport as sustainably as possible,” he said. “But sometimes there is no other way to cover a long distance than with a car or plane."
Reinhart Ceulemans, an ecology professor at Antwerp University’s biology department, pointed out that planting trees is no miracle solution. “It helps to reduce CO2 emissions as trees absorb carbon dioxide, but it’s not enough,” he said. “Everyone should think about more sustainable methods of transport and how to handle energy.
De Somviele agreed: “The best CO2 molecule is the CO2 molecule we don’t emit.”
Photo courtesy BOS+
