World Peace March to plant trees in Island Bay to promote zero carbon footprint

Members of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence, which starts in Wellington on 2 October, will plant native trees in Island Bay to promote personal responsibility for a zero-carbon footprint. The event will also draw attention to the need for global demilitarization in order to further protect the environment. The March will then travel through 90 countries in 90 days promoting various initiatives for peace and nonviolence. Similar tree planting activities will occur in other countries en route.

“Just as forest destruction has been disastrous for Wellington’s unique biological diversity, climate change seriously threatens our way of life” said Peter Russell, Coordinator of the Manawa Karioi Ecological Restoration Project where the trees will be planted. “Our forest restoration project helps to restore Wellington’s biodiversity and also creates a valuable carbon sink.”

The Project is run by the Manawa Karioi Society at Tapu Te Ranga Marae in Island Bay and is open to the public. “We established Manawa Karioi in 1990 as a place of peace and inspiration for the people of Wellington” said Kaumatua Bruce Stewart. “The dedicated and hard-working members of the Manawa Karioi Society have since become leaders in the field of urban native forest restoration.”

“The World Peace March encourages everyone to evaluate their carbon footprint – whether from travel, product consumption or energy usage – and then contribute appropriately to carbon offsetting projects,” says Alyn Ware, New Zealand Coordinator of the World March and Vice-President of the International Peace Bureau. “However we must also campaign to reduce government activities which contribute even more to climate change and environmental destruction – the biggest of these being militarism.”

“Research gathered and published by the International Peace Bureau indicates that carbon emissions and other environmental damage done by military vehicles during exercises and wartime – as well as the damage from the production, testing and use of weapons - is colossal but usually escapes monitoring or regulation. Disarmament could thus provide one of the most significant contributions to restoring our climate and environment. In addition, just a small percentage of the annual US$1.5 trillion military budget – if redirected to sustainable development programs – could eliminate world poverty and fund key programmes for replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy systems.”

The World Peace March is supported by key figures around the world including the Rt Hon Helen Clark (Head of the United Nations Development Program), eight Heads of State (the presidents of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Croatia, Ecuador, Kenya, Timor Leste and Uruguay), six former Heads of State (Jimmy Carter from the USA, Rodrigo Carazo from Costa Rica, Nestor Kirchner from Argentina, Mary Robinson from Ireland and Mario Soares from Portugal – along with Helen Clark), as well as numerous Nobel Peace laureates, movie stars (Penelope Cruz, Viggo Mortensen…), astronauts, sports celebrities (including the Inter-Milan football team), musicians (Art Garfunkel, Yoko Ono, Lou Reed…) mayors (including Mayors for Peace with 3000 cities as members) and others…

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Further details:
The tree planting event will commence at 8.30am on 3 October with those involved meeting at the main entrance to Manawa Karioi, adjacent to the Marae car park accessed via the driveway at the end of Danube Street, Island Bay

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Organisations involved in the event:
World March for Peace and Nonviolence
Manawa Karioi Restoration Project
International Peace Bureau
Tapu Te Ranga Marae

Sources on militarism, climate change and the environment:
The Military's Impact on the Environment, IPB 2002
A Climate of War : The Links Between Climate Change and Conflict, IPB 2007
Catastrophic Climatic Consequences of Nuclear Conflict, International Network of Engineers and Scientists Against Proliferation, April 2008
Nuclear Weapons – At what cost? Ben Cramer, IPB July 2009

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