'Plant only climate- smart trees'

From baobab to marula: How Africa's indigenous trees rather than afforestation can boost resilience

- Sheree Bega

Planting trees is often touted as a simple fix for climate change.

But, in Africa, indiscriminate tree planting can backfire — displacing biodiverse grasslands, depleting water resources and undermining rural livelihoods.

A new research initiative, called the Southern African Trees for Climate Adaptation and Resilience (SAT-CARe) project, is working to uproot this.

Anchored at Stellenbosch University and developed with partners across the region, SAT-CARe is building an open-access bioinformatics-based toolkit to guide the smarter use of indigenous trees in Southern Africa, with the aim of eventually expanding across the continent.

The digital toolkit will combine climate, soil, wildfire and socioeconomic data with detailed species traits. Policymakers, farmers and urban planners will be able to identify which endemic African tree species are best suited for reforestation, urban greening, ecological restoration or livelihood support, avoiding poorly informed decisions to plant water-hungry alien species.

Tree planting is often presented as a cure-all, said Guy Midgley, the director of Stellenbosch University’s School for Climate Studies.

“But planting the wrong trees in the wrong places can reduce biodiversity, threaten water security and damage livelihoods.

“We need science-based, locally informed decisions.”