17 October 2007 (Paris) –At its 43rd annual genral conference held on 4 and 5 October in Tours, France, UNEP (for Union Nationale des Entrepreneurs du Paysage, France’s landscape-contractors’ union) officially pledged to “plant for the planet”  and participate in the campaign initiated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). French Landscapers have thus stepped up their efforts on the sustainability front by agreeing to urge their customers, landscaping school lecturers and students, and other landscape professionals, across France and Europe, to do their part in this bold project.

The goal: to plant at least 350,000 trees in 2008!
The Memorandum of Understanding that this union’s President Didier Leroux and UNEP’s Programme Officer Fanny Demassieux signed on 5 October last in Tours aims to nurture awareness of the Plant for the Planet campaign among union members, their customers, and the general public.
This programme kicked off at the Nairobi conference on climate change in November 2006. It aims to encourage people, businesses, governments and other organisations around the world to make firm and public commitments to plant trees. The ultimate goal is to plant at least one billion trees.

Encouraging the trade, and local and European authorities, to plant for the planet
Landscapers are obviously in close touch with nature and environmental issues. They plant flower beds, hedges and budding or grown trees every day of the year. They know that roots secure the soil, consolidate river banks, and drain rainwater. They know that tree tops shelter biodiversity and that humus and dead leaves fertilise the earth.
They have embraced this programme to act locally and globally, by protecting natural landscaped areas (which oxygenate the planet, nurture community bonds, and promote economic development).
The French landscapers’ union has pledged to raise awareness among its current members, future members (landscaping students) and players across the business in France and Europe (in particular through ELCA, the European Landscape Contractors Association).

Why plant trees?
Reforestation is a safe and sensible way of retaining carbon within forest ecosystems (and thus curbing greenhouse-gas concentration in the atmosphere).
Trees also shield the planet against extreme weather conditions and natural disasters (desertification and floods).
Reforesting cleared areas is tantamount to rebuilding original ecosystems, and thus to protecting biodiversity and both animal and plant species.
Communities living near forests use trees as a source of subsistence and economic development. 

Landscapers active on the sustainability front

The commitment of the French landscapers’ union is translated into daily proposals both at the national and regional levels.

Based on its experience, it aims at raising the awareness of the public authorities on the need to roll out bold programmes and to incorporate mandatory green areas in city planning. This project can be summed up as “one tree for every inhabitant”.

Green roofs, plant filters, natural pools and biological control are only a few of the new techniques dealing with weed control and water management.
 
The French landscapers’ union has a “Guide to Alternative Techniques” for its members. The methods are usually straightforward (differentiated management, pest control, establishment and weed-control techniques, etc.), but professionals need assistance on how to use them efficiently. The goal is to raise the awareness of professional landscaper on the available ecological landscape management options.

The union will be signing an MOU with Lyon City Council and Rhône-Alpes regional agricultural and forestry authorities (DRAF) to address sustainable development and management in green and landscaped city areas. The goal, here, is to build a platform to experiment alternative and management techniques. Parties will be collecting and summarizing experience feedback in autumn 2008.

The union’s branch in the Pyrénées-Orientales will gather landscapers and customers to discuss their respective roles in efforts to promote green-area quality and development over time.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP or PNUE in French): www.unep.org
To provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.

The Union Nationale des Entrepreneurs du Paysage (UNEP): www.entreprisesdupaysage.org
UNEP is France’s only officially-accredited landscaping trade association. It counts 13,450 members, upholds and promotes the trade’s interests, and supports and advises members on business-related issues (89% of them have fewer than 10 employees). The fact that it is organised around regional branches enables it to provide local member support.

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