On November 11, 2019, volunteers planted 11 million trees in Turkey as part of a government-backed __32.__called Breath for the Future. In one northern city, the tree-planting campaign set the Guinness World Record for the most saplings planted in one hour in a single location: 303,150. "By planting millions of young trees, the nation is working to foster a new, __33.__green Turkey," Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said when he kicked off the project in Ankara. Less than three months later, up to 90 percent of the saplings were __34.__, the Guardian reported. The trees were planted at the wrong time and there wasn't enough rainfall to support the saplings, the head of the country's agriculture and forestry trade union told the paper. In the past two decades, mass tree-planting campaigns like this one have gained popularity as a salve for many of our modern__35.__from climate change to the extinction crisis. Companies and billionaires love these campaigns. So do politicians. Really, what's not to like about trees? They suck up carbon emissions naturally while providing resources for wildlife and humans – and they're even nice to look at. It sounds like a win-win-win.
There's just one problem: These campaigns often don't work, and sometimes they can even fuel deforestation. In one recent study in the journal Nature, for example, researchers examined long-term restoration efforts in northern India, a country that has invested huge amounts of money into planting over
the last 50 years. The authors found "no evidence" that planting offered substantial climate benefits or supported the livelihoods of local communities. The study is among the most comprehensive analyses of restoration projects to date, but it's just one example in a litany of failed campaigns that call into question the value of big tree-planting campaigns. Often, the allure of bold targets __36.__ the challenges involved in seeing them through, and the underlying forces that destroy ecosystems in the first place.
Instead of focusing on planting huge numbers of trees, we should focus on growing trees for the long haul, protecting and restoring ecosystems beyond just forests, and empowering the local communities that are best positioned to care for them. [excerpt taken and adapted from The surprising downsides to planting trillions of trees by Benji Jones, Vox]
【題組】34.
(A) sold
(B) grown
(C) stolen
(D) dead
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