Bóthar, the Irish charity that sponsors sending livestock to poorer parts of the world, is emphasising the environmental benefits of its aid in its Christmas appeal being launched today.
Chief executive Peter Ireton told The Irish Timesthat 3.8 million trees - nearly one for every man, woman and child in the Republic - have now been planted in Africa over the past 12 years through projects run by Bóthar.
"These deep-rooted trees take nitrogen from the air and put it back into the soil.
"They consolidate the soil and their foliage makes it more fertile for other plants, while the trees also provide animal fodder as well as raw wood and charcoal."
Mr Ireton said he had been alarmed by deforestation in countries such as Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Malawi and Cameroon.
"Some areas are so completely denuded it's alarming, so we insist on planting trees in association with the local community".
For the past 15 years, Bóthar has been sending cows, dairy goats and more recently pigs and chickens from Ireland to developing countries.
"We're still doing the same things we always did, working in a holistic way to make our programmes sustainable," said Mr Ireton.
The latest initiative by the charity involves providing bio- digesters for animal manure, producing methane gas which is then used for cooking and lighting.
"The manure from three cows can sustain an entire family's cooking and lighting needs," Mr Ireton said.
Bóthar contributes to aid programmes in 40 countries, of which eight are in Africa. It is also working in Asia, Eastern Europe and South America.
"Planting trees is integral to everything we do, particularly pioneer trees in harsh conditions," he said.
With a renewed focus on carbon emissions expected in 2008 as a result of ongoing discussions about climate change, "investing in these types of projects may be one way for people to buy more credits and off-set their carbon emissions in the future."
For more information, telephone Bóthar at 1850 829999 or e-mail info@bothar.ie