Size of Wales

Size of Wales Project

Alice from Pontypridd, Wales and Juliet from Bubutu, Uganda promoting the size of Wales project.

The Size of Wales project aims to bring everyone in Wales together to help sustain an area of tropical forest the size of Wales as part of a national response to climate change.

'An area the size of Wales' is frequently used to measure the rate of forest destruction. Through Size of Wales, groups within Wales try to turn that negative use of the country's size on its head, by encouraging the people of Wales to take positive action and help protect an area of rainforest equivalent to the size of our nation.

Size of Wales unites communities, businesses, organisations and schools to help protect 2 million hectares of rainforest and forge lasting links with some of the world's poorest people.

Supporters of Size of Wales are linked directly to rainforest projects and communities to assist sustainable management of forest resources and to make a significant contribution to reducing global carbon emissions. Our forest helps to conserve existing tropical forests across Africa and South America, as well as supporting local communities to increase forest cover for the benefit of people, wildlife and soils. The total area of the forest projects adds up to the 2 million hectare target - equivalent to the size of Wales.

As well as helping to reduce CO2 levels which helps fight global climate change the trees help to maintain reliable rains by transpiring water vapour into the atmosphere. The trees also help to protect the soil from erosion. Trees also provide valuable crops from fruit, to animal feed, to firewood and in the long term even building materials.

Uganda

The 1,000,000 trees programme has been designed to maximise economic benefits by contributing to local farmers activities through agroforestry. The region has over 90,000 coffee farmers on the slopes of the extinct volcano Mount Elgon where the height made the climate cooler. The trees are desperately needed to shade the coffee bushes which have been damaged by increasing temperatures due to climate change.

The project has also provided many fruit trees for community groups and schools. Whilst there, John Griffiths planted some fruit trees in a school on the border with Kenya. Wales = small country but big impacts.

Uganda

The success of the size of Wales project and the 1,000,000 trees for Uganda project has led to United Nations investment of an additional $2,000,000 and Wales for Africa being invited to explain to the Secretary General and the rest of the United Nations just how effective our project is!

TACC - Territorial Approach to Climate Change

In fact the world sat up when it realised that Wales for Africa is about people in Wales volunteering to help - not being paid! We really are doing something very different here.

In fact this year you can do something to help as well:

Could you register to plant one of a million trees which is one target of the Jubilee Woods Project or could you organise a tree planting event in your school or community.