Australia has committed to planting 20 million native trees by 2020 as its contribution to The Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy, a network of forest conservation projects involving all Commonwealth member countries.
The Queen’s Canopy was launched at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Malta in 2015. Its purpose is to create a physical and lasting legacy to mark the Queen’s leadership of the Commonwealth while conserving indigenous forests for future generations.
Australia’s contribution to the Canopy aims to re-establish green corridors and urban forests on public and private land. Britain has dedicated 200 square miles of its National Forrest, Canada 6.5 million hectares of its Great Bear Rain Forest in British Columbia, while Singapore has dedicated six hectares of its Botanic Gardens. By the end of 2016, 20 countries from all five regions had committed to the Canopy project with more countries expected to join. In the AsiaPacific region, this includes Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, New Zealand and Australia.
The Canopy project involves partnerships between RCS London, Cool Earth—a UK-based charity that works with indigenous villages to halt forest destruction—and the Commonwealth Forestry Association.
