Indiantelevision.com Team

(3 May 2008 5:00 pm)

MUMBAI: The International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) brand ambassador and Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan has lent his support to the UNEP Billion Tree Campaign which took off in January 2007.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Billion Tree Campaign encourages all sectors of society ranging from concerned citizens to philanthropic corporations, to pledge and plant trees.

The campaign carries the objective of planting at least one billion trees worldwide each year.

Post gaining support from the actor, nearly 3.46 billion trees have been pledged and 1.99 billion trees have been planted around the globe.

Bachchan said, "UNEP’s Billion Tree Campaign, which is set to meet its 2 billion mark soon, is testimony to the tenacity and will of people to do their part. I encourage you to join the millions who helped to make this small ‘acorn’ into a tree of hope.”

The campaign is backed by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Wangari Maathai and His Serene Highness Albert II, Sovereign Prince of Monaco.

Along with a focus on tree planting and deforestation, the campaign also highlights the importance of voluntary collective action to address issues such as climate change, ozone layer protection and the Montreal Protocol, air quality and integrated water management, among others.

UNEP regional office for Asia and pacific deputy director Hiroshi Nishimiya stated, “The Billion Tree Campaign is a call to action, to the small steps that we all can take as nations, organizations and individuals, to help our planet. With increasing evidence of how fragile the earth is in the wake of global warming, these steps and actions are critical."