In the last decades, the world population has suffered a steady growth in numbers. Along with this growth, some problems have deepened and gotten bigger. One of those problems is the deforestation of the environment, which has been rushed into the disappearance with incredible speed.

Deforestation is the permanent removal of trees to make room for something besides the forest. Most of the process of deforestation is taking place in the tropics. Autonomous trees and plants have been replaced with invader ones which characteristics don’t fit the ecosystems. Changing this situation posts a big challenge for the governments of those countries where the resources frequently happen to be short.

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Around the world, a considerable number of countries are making a strong effort to reduce the impacts of human activities on the environment. Among those countries, two initiatives are especially interesting, one in Colombia and another in Pakistan.

In Pakistan, there is an ambitious initiative which intends to plant ten billion trees in the country within five years. “The 10 Billion Tree Tsunami Program” was launched six years ago by the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and followed up and extended two years later by Imran Khan after he became Pakistan’s Prime Minister. The plantations are to be made all over the country. They intend to reduce the production and effects of greenhouse gases that are harmful to earth and humans. Enhancing the air quality, improving soil fertility, and stability are some of the many good side-effects of reforestation.

While in Colombia, former guerrilla members are becoming eco-sustainable farmers and letting more than half a century of war behind them. They have been technically prepared for producing food with ecological technics that respect the environment and reduce the impacts that the human doings can have in the ecosystems. These initiatives are found all over the country. For instance, in the region of Arauca, a group of ex-warrior is sowing and harvesting peanuts as an attempt to have economic balance and independence. In Chocó, at the Colombian pacific coast, living room seats are made with the prime materials provided by the rivers after the farmers clean the riverbeds.

All of these are ideas that show us that we can have a harmonic and better relationship with our ecosystem and that we, as human beings can do better for securing a healthy environment for the generations to come. We still have time to react and take action for forest conservation.