The Importance of Preserving Trees: A Call to Action

In today’s world, where environmental degradation is an ever-present threat, the need to protect trees has never been more crucial. Trees not only provide us with oxygen, shade, and beauty but also act as complex ecosystems that support countless living organisms. Despite this, many urban areas continue to face the widespread destruction of trees in the name of safety or urban development. One such example occurred in Lugano, Switzerland, where I addressed the local government through an open letter. Below is the translation of that letter, originally published in Corriere del Ticino on January 5, 2016:

Open Letter to the Municipality of Lugano

Please stop cutting down the trees!

What kind of society is one where it is necessary to destroy a life to protect the population?

I want my children to live in a world where people don't cut down trees for minor safety reasons, where all living beings are considered equally important and treated with care and respect, where humanity does not occupy the top of the pyramid but is part of the cycle of life.

Gardeners and arborists responsible for maintaining parks should be highly skilled professionals with a deep sensitivity towards plants. They should be motivated above all by the desire to act for the well-being of the trees and the environment.

The magnificent centuries-old trees recently felled in Lugano arrived in the city long before any of us. They were a heritage of the entire humanity and the planet, not "objects" to be disposed of at will.

The issue of safety in public spaces can be addressed in various ways. First and foremost, we must understand that trees have the same rights as us when it comes to protection and safety because, just like us, they are living beings that are part of the planet.

A park is not only a place for recreation but also a conservation area for old tree species. Instead of cutting down the trees, the Municipality or its representatives could inform the public of the dangers in certain areas of the park. Responsibility for any accidents would thus fall on the individuals themselves.

Numerous studies on the importance of old trees have been published worldwide. For example, Suzanne Simard, a professor of Forest Sciences at the University of Vancouver, discovered that trees and plants can communicate with each other through an underground network of fungi. Thanks to this system, trees can help one another, exchanging the resources necessary for survival and growth. The Canadian scientist’s research has shown that without "mother trees" (the large trees that dominate forests and are connected to other plants), efforts to regenerate forests are often futile.

A tree is an ecosystem: an entire community of plants and animals lives and thrives thanks to it.

Old trees, even when at a quick glance they appear to be dead, are crucial for other living beings. To quote the beautiful words of Oren Lyons, Native American activist, "cutting down a tree wipes out an entire community; planting a new one does not bring back the destroyed community, it simply plants a new tree."

This letter remains relevant not only to the city of Lugano but to urban centers around the world. We must rethink our relationship with nature and recognize that trees, and indeed all living beings, deserve our protection and respect. The long-term ecological benefits far outweigh the short-term gains of removing them, and as a society, we must advocate for sustainable, ethical solutions to maintain the balance of our environment.