Trees are sacred entities in many cultures and tree-planting is a popular activity as a way to give back to mother nature. SHARYN SHUFIYAN recently participated in a tree-planting activity organized by Kulim (M) Berhad, a responsible corporation committed towards RSPO.

Written by Sharyn Lisa Shufiyan on 4 Nov 2011 with 0 comments. Be the first!

Cultures around the world have long held trees as a sacred entity, incorporating their significance into their everyday life and rituals. Trees are symbolic of life, creation, death and knowledge. Trees are often celebrated with new births or ancestral worship. According to Calame-Griaule, forest trees are seen as the links between the sky and earth, often symbolise links between the spiritual world of ancestors and people. In many cultures, trees are core to their spiritual beliefs and are a recurring theme in mythology and folktales. In Norse mythology, Odin created the first man from an ash tree and woman from an elm tree. For the Mayans, the Ceiba tree represents the world's axis, and unites the three realms of the underworld, earth and the heavens.

The Karen of Thailand buries the umbilical cord of a newborn child next to a tree and the tree becomes the sole property of the child and he or she becomes the tree's guardian. In the Ivory Coast, sacred groves are places where moral values are taught and the trees are believed to house ancestral spirits. In some places, trees even provided the location for political, communal and judicial discussions to transpire such as the linden tree in Slovenia.

No doubt, the significance of trees is shared globally albeit in different forms. Likewise, tree-planting initiatives are not a new phenomenon. In 1872, Arbor Day was initiated by J. Sterling Morton in Nebraska as a tree-planting holiday, and today, it has spread all over the world. In the wake of climate change, it has become even more crucial now to rejuvenate and recuperate our Mother Earth due to the continuous exploitation of natural resources.

On October 8, 2011, Kulim (Malaysia) Berhad planted a total of 1061 tree saplings from 44 species as part of the company's biodiversity management plan. The tree-planting programme named "Infaq 1 Warisan" was developed in 2010 when a total of 650 saplings from 20 species were planted in Siang Estate that covered 10 hectares of land. This year's event was organized by Kulim Wildlife Defenders, We Care We Share and Kulim Nursery Sdn. Bhd. Themed "Plant Our Own Trees, Preserve Our Own Environment", it aimed as a channel for the public to contribute to environmental conservation and promote healthy biodiversity.

The tree saplings occupied 12 hectares of Mungka estate which were planted along the lake bend to act as a functional buffer zone and to enhance the biodiversity of the area. The increased number of saplings from 650 to 1061 was a positive indication of a growing awareness among Kulim's employees and management. According to Tuan Haji Mohd. Akhir bin Wan Teh, Regional Controller of Palong Complex, "Mungka Estate was proposed as the ideal location by the previous Regional Controller to utilize the lake as not only for water resources, but also as a natural corridor and as a recreational spot for the estate community."

Tuan Haji Ahamad Mohamad, Managing Director of Kulim (Malaysia) Berhad said, "We want to leave a legacy for our children to inherit and even so the tree-planting event is a small effort, it is the beginning and we hope in the future, the numbers will continue to grow. We recognize that just planting trees are not enough; we need a more holistic solution. We want more people to be involved and to support our efforts of greening the environment. We need to continue with education and instil awareness in our children."

However, Kulim's environmental stewardship does not stop at tree-planting. Since their commitments towards the principles of the Roundtable of Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), Kulim has inculcated environmental practices among its employees and workers.

Like the rest of Kulim's estate units, Kemedak Estate implements eco-friendly practices throughout its line sites such as segregating domestic waste, recycling and promoting communal organic farming. The estate workers are allocated vegetable plots where they plant subsistence crops such as pepper and okra for personal consumption. The estate also organizes clean-up events or gotong-royong as it is known in Malaysia, three times a year.

"When we started with RSPO, we're committed to educating our staff and employees on the importance of environmental stewardship and also because we live there, we want our living areas be clean. It's a common oversight that implementing eco-friendly practices are actually cost-saving, for example using bio-compost or installing photocells that would reduce electricity usage," piped Kemedak Estate Manager, Mr. Mohd. Rodzi Mohd. Yusuf.

Kulim is also committed to engage their employees in the effort to reduce environmental impacts. The tree-planting event was organized in conjuction with Kulim's family day and every one played a role to ensure the success of the event. The women's group, Women Onwards (WOW) had organized themselves to provide food and beverages, taking ownership of the event by decorating their stalls and coming up with fun themes. The event gave them another outlet apart from working all the time to enjoy themselves and have a good time outdoors.

"But it's not just about beautification; it is also part of the education process. We brought in the Wildlife Conservation Society and PERHILITAN to this event to expose them to these organizations. Because of the difficulty of traveling outside of the estate, they are coup up inside most of the time and some don't even go out at all so this is one of the chances for them to learn more about the environment and wildlife," added Azmariah Mohamed, Environmental Officer of Kulim (Malaysia) Berhad.

Effective environmental stewardship can also be emulated on an individual level. In 2009, Robert Ondhowe and Shamila Unnikrishnan encouraged guests who attended their wedding reception in Malaysia to donate trees as part of their effort to offset carbon emissions. Their guests had flown in from all over the world which resulted in a higher carbon footprint. Using an online carbon calculator, it was calculated that all of the travels had accumulated about 223, 448 miles and emitted a total of 13.2 tonnes of carbon altogether. Based on this number, a formula was developed to estimate how many trees are required to make the event carbon neutral. The couple also donated extra trees on top of their guests' to offset their wedding's food mile - the amount of carbon emissions emitted from the travels of food, from ingredients to the end product - the scrumptious dishes served.

In Kenya, the Green Belt Movement was initiated in 1977 by Professor Wangari Maathai to empower women through environmental conservation, community development and capacity building. Some of the movement's many achievements since its inception, include the planting of over 40 million trees and empowering 30, 000 women in various income generating initiatives. Professor Wangari, a noble peace prize winner was a celebrated eco-feminist and her efforts of mobilizing bands of community environmentalists were a defining moment in environmental advocacy.

Recently, tree-planting initiatives have been met with criticisms on their effectiveness of combating climate change. Critics argue that tree-planting initiatives don't address the issue at source, trees take a long time to grow mature enough to absorb significant amounts of carbon emissions to make any difference and some question the transparency of tree-planting funds and carbon credit schemes. Nevertheless, tree-planting activities are a great way to inculcate environmental awareness and its inclusive nature mean that each of the participants play a role in environmental advocacy. Tree-planting activities also serve as a platform to reach a wider group of people rather than focusing on small-scale individual efforts which may just well be a 'feel-good' effort. On an organizational level however, environmental practices can go a distance if incorporated into daily business operations as such practices can be continuously monitored and improved. Kulim (Malaysia) Berhad has emulated that environmental advocacy can succeed along with business operations, with a little bit of nudge.