Teams urged to plant trees to offset air travel to Games
International teams arriving by plane in Samoa for the XVI Pacific Games are being encouraged to off-set their air travel emissions by planting trees.
As part of the Greening of the Games initiative, all teams, including athletes, officials and support staff, have been encouraged to plant as many trees as possible in their countries before they arrive.
The tree-planting initiative starts on 18 May to mark “50 Days Out” from the start of the Games on 7 July.
Multiple tree-planting initiatives have been organised in Samoa’s natural parks and reserves, engaging local schools, ministries, and partner organisations.
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Photo: Samoa has a project to plant 2 million trees (Credit: SPREP)
The tree planting project in Samoa is co-led by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, and the Ministry of Forestry working in schools to plant 2,000,000 trees.
It's a national initiative - Two Million Trees - to help advance the cause for sustainable forest management, rehabilitate degraded land areas, preserve water resources and protect biological diversity while contributing to mitigation the impacts of climate change.
In March, Team PNG planted 100 mangrove seedlings to mark the 100 days before the Games open.
They wanted to leave a legacy, as well as support the message of protecting the coastlines and looking after the environment.
They were also in support of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) relating to climate action, life below water and life on land. The SDGs are a set of aims set by the United Nations that all countries are working together to achieve by 2030. Its objective is to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.
