3 billion trees to be planted in Europe by 2030?

By 2030, the European Commission wants to have planted 3 billion trees to combat climate change, improve air quality and biodiversity. In this article, Baptiste Hottekiet, Director of Parc Natural du Pays des Collines argues that Europe’s Nature Regional Landscape Parks are essential partners in reaching this goal. This article is also available in French here.

Article written by Baptiste Hottekiet, Director of Parc Naturel du Pays des Collines and member of EUROPARC’s Nature Regional Landscape Parks Taks Force.

3 billion trees: Europe’s Nature Regional Landscape Parks are essential stakeholders!

Thanks to a deep knowledge of their territories and the living forces that inhabit them, the Nature Regional Landscape (NRL) Parks of Europe have the capacity to play a major role in the sustainable development of their territories. In this context, numerous planting actions are regularly organized and each year several thousand trees are planted. Europe’s NRL Parks can thus actively contribute to the European Commission’s objective of planting 3 billion trees by 2030. Through this article, we wish to encourage not only the NRL Parks of Europe to provide information on the trees they have planted, but also encourage all Parks, Protected Areas and individuals to plant their trees and track it through the official website here.

The countless benefits of trees

We no longer need to demonstrate the many positive impacts that trees have on our environment and our well-being. Necessary for the construction of a functional ecological network, they also play a role in the fight against climate change, they improve water and air quality, support biodiversity and, as such, preserve our health. More than ever, tree plantings are essential as one of the actions (but not the only one!) necessary for the resilience of our territories.

There are numerous examples of planting projects carried out by the NRL Parks of Europe. Discover one example below!

Wallonia tree planting

The project “A Tree for Picardy Wallonia” aims to mobilize stakeholders from Picardy Wallonia in Belgium to together plant 350,000 trees and shrubs between 2015 and 2025. To achieve this ambitios goal, seedling distribution operations, called “ARBRENKIT”, were organized. This is the third operation of this type. Funded by Wallonia as part of its “Yes, We Plant” programme, the project is supported by the Pays des Collines Natural Park, the Plaines de l’Escaut Natural Park and the non-profit organization Wapi 2040, in Belgium. This large-scale greening project extends over the whole of Picardy Wallonia (1,377 km2).

The principle? Distribute free hedge and small fruit kits, tall fruit trees and large trees to six target audiences: farmers, individuals, schools, businesses, associations and municipalities. Furthermore, the innitiative offers free technical support to ensure effecient planting. There are five different hedge kits to pick from: forager canteens, bird restaurant, easy fence, crop assistant, and fodder. This latest hedge kit consists of species intended to form a hedge which will be regularly eaten by livestock in summer when the meadows produce less grass. Of course, the objective is to recreate ecological connection, but also to develop the food resilience of Picardy Wallonia. Thousands of tall fruit trees have been planted, or will be planted soon. As a result, several thousand kilos of fruit will be used either fresh or processed into juice, compote, syrup, etc., within a couple of years.

A successful initiative!

Where are we today in the results? With the last distribution of seedlings which took place on December 14, 2024, more than 395,000 trees and shrubs were distributed. The objective is therefore exceeded by around 13%, one year ahead of schedule! The prospects for progress in achieving the objectives look promising.

So, how does this all contribute to the goal of the European Commission? In December 2022, Wallonia became the first region to contribute to this European objective by providing the European Commission with a certificate of 2,653,884 trees planted in Wallonia. At that time, it was the largest contribution made by a Region. At the Belgian level, more than 4,000,000 trees have been added to the European meter. More information can be found here and here.

At the time of writing, 22,677,956 trees (0.755% of the target of 3 billion) have been registered in Europe.

Of course, this is a positive, European scale initiative that combines community engagement with nature restoration activities. However, this type of large-scale planting action should not overshadow other environmental preservation initiatives that are extremely important and have a positive effect on the climate. The preservation of ecosystems—especially existing forests and peat bogs—the fight against illegal logging and the deforestation of ancestral forests, as well as critical reflection on our production and consumption of goods, services, and energy, must not be neglected or diminished simply because we plant trees. Now more than ever, a combination of actions and a holistic approach should be central to our efforts.

EUROPARC thanks Baptiste for providing this article for our website.