The amazing ability of forests to heal itself was revealed by a study conducted as part of the Trillion Trees project, implemented by the World Wildlife Fund, BirdLife International and the Wildlife Conservation Society. It turned out that since 2000, forests have grown naturally around the world in an area the size of France.
The 145 million acres of forests and woodland that emerged in 21 years have accumulated the equivalent of 5.9 billion tons of carbon dioxide - more than the annual emissions of the United States. Reforestation has been facilitated by basic measures such as clearing areas of invasive species or fencing off grazings.
In addition, the trees have beed planted in 60 countries around the world on an area of almost a billion acres, and these forests store carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to 104 billion tons.
The project called for increased support for reforestation to combat climate change, as well as action to end deforestation in places such as Brazil.