In this bonus episode of the TreesForDev podcast we are delighted to be joined by Project PI, Maria Ehrnström-Fuentes and Maria Holmberg who works for FIDA in Tanzania. Maria H. moved to Tanzania with her parents when she was 1 year old, grew up there, and has been working with different development projects in Tanzania since 1984. Currently, Maria H. is working with tree planting and environmental education. Maria H. tells us about some of the positive impacts of tree planting in this context because the planted trees grow faster than the natural forests, which means they can then be cut down and used so the natural forests are allowed to continue to grow. The population in Tanzania has grown quite quickly over the last 70 years, from approximately 12 million to over 60 million. This has naturally increased demand for food and cooking fuel, which has led to the decimation of natural forests, which in turn threw the ecology out of whack. However, if the stumps are left to sprout and the trees are allowed to come back, then the ecology slowly comes back into balance. Maria H. particularly focuses on the impacts to the role of water in the ecosystem balance. Join us for this extensive and intensive conversation!
Want to learn more about Maria H.’s work? https://www.fspm.fi/maria-holmberg-tanzania/ (in Swedish)
Want to learn more about the Trees For Development Project? www.treesfordev.fi