Monday April 20, 2009, 7:33 am
"The strip of desert between the Andean mountains and the Pacific Ocean has an annual average rainfall as low as 1.5mm.

By way of comparison, London enjoys around 650mm a year.

It's not an obvious place to choose if you're looking for somewhere to plant trees, but for restoration ecologist Oliver Whaley the harsh environment of the northern fringes of the Atacama desert is part of the point.

By helping to restore the shrinking native forests, the aim is to benefit local people and wildlife, prevent soil erosion, and help alleviate climate change.

"If we can get trees established here, and learn how to do it with as little water as possible, then it is a model for the rest of the world," he says."

Monday April 20, 2009, 7:15 pm
Sounds like a plan! I like it! :)

Tuesday April 21, 2009, 12:08 pm
I wish them all the success with this..I think it is a fantastic plan..Anything that helps and supports the ecosystem..and would bring food to those as well..Hey that is a great thing..

Tuesday April 21, 2009, 5:47 pm
Desertification is happening globally, not just in this one place... The more that dry sands spread far and wide the worse the suffering will be for humanity.

Trees temper the climate and have many other functions, but most importantly they hold soil in place, so that deserts do not spread and take away fertile ground for planting.

The more trees we can plant in ANY desert, the better... Trees mean LIFE, deserts spreading mean suffering and death to future generations.