Our Coratina and Peranzana olive trees in defense of the environment

The climate crisis, deforestation, and air pollution have become general concerns in recent decades. Sensitivity to these issues is not only strong at an institutional level, but is also slowly developing in individuals, and is becoming stronger and stronger (luckily) in the new generations.

It is therefore a process under construction and it remains essential to stimulate and keep alive the attention on these issues, so neglected and yet so important for our future. 

In this scenario, our Coratina and Peranzana olive trees from which we obtain the precious extra virgin olive oil, but in general all the olive trees in the world, play an important role in protecting the environment and our planet.

June 5th 2021, is World Environment Day, established by the United Nations General Assembly, and celebrated for the first time in 1974 with the slogan “Only One Earth”.

The theme of this year’s Day will be the “Restoration of Ecosystems”, with the aim of preventing, stopping and reversing the damage inflicted on the planet’s ecosystems, thus trying to move from the exploitation of nature to its healing.

Small but very important daily actions can help achieve the great goal of ecosystem restoration.

Living in a healthy and uncontaminated environment, in harmony with nature, is the only way to ward off diseases, and enjoy a long and healthy life. However, it is not just a matter of guaranteeing oneself health and longevity, but of taking part in safeguarding the planet itself and in the fight against the depletion of its wonderful resources.

Why are ecosystems so important?

Ecosystems support all forms of life on Earth and their health directly depends on the health of the planet and its inhabitants. “Restoring our damaged ecosystems will help end poverty, fight climate change and prevent mass extinction,” stresses the United Nations, insisting on addressing habitat and biodiversity loss.

The olive tree and its important role in protecting the environment

Olive trees have characterized the Mediterranean landscape for millennia, with their strong cultural value, they play an essential role in the life and economy of various countries. In addition to providing the main element of the Mediterranean diet, olive oil, and having a high cultural value, olive trees have an exceptional and, perhaps, little known, environmental value.

In fact, the olive tree has always played a leading role in restoring ecosystems and protecting the environment of which it is a part. 

In addition to maintaining populated rural areas that otherwise would have been abandoned for some time, it performs two main functions:

• recovery and abundance of varieties of plants and animal species;
• significant absorption of CO2.

The LIFE Olivares Vivos program, coordinated by SEO / BirdLife, has shown for example that the traditional olive growing model works and generates a recovery of species and a very significant increase in the abundance of flora and fauna in just three years. This produces a double advantage because, if on the one hand, it carries out an environmental protection activity, on the other hand, it does not reduce productivity.

Olive groves are also essential for the wintering of millions of animals from all over Europe, being the ideal environment to provide food and shelter for species, such as birds, so beneficial for the control of parasites, which coexist in symbiosis and harmony.

In fact, among the foliage of the olive trees, their gnarled trunks and their imposing roots, a great variety of animal species find refuge. Unlike other forms of agricultural activity, which usually lead to an impoverishment of habitats, olive groves conducted with traditional methods represent a semi-natural environment and perform an important ecological function.

The ancient olive groves, as reported in the study on biodiversity in centuries-old olive groves published by the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari (Ciheam), “represent a real reservoir of biodiversity for animal and plant species”. The survival of some endemic plant species, threatened by changes in land use and the abandonment of rural areas, depends on the olive plantations.

In fact, cause we at Oilalà are aware of the importance of our Coratina and Peranzana olive trees for the shelter of numerous animal species, both during migration periods but also during the night, we never harvest during the night and use non-invasive methods.

Our idea of ​​sustainability and harmony with nature and its inhabitants goes further and is more important than any increase in yield and turnover.

The olive tree also plays an essential role in the fight against climate change and desertification. This is thanks above all to the fixation of carbon dioxide both in the woody and root mass formed during the growth of the tree and in the soil, without forgetting the potential and energy of by-products or the best use of rainwater allowed by the sea of olive trees.

Experts estimate that each specimen stores an equivalent amount of CO2 of 30.89 kg / year in its first 20 years of existence.

Considering the estimated number of olive trees in the world, which amounts to 1,500 trees, the olive tree, therefore, represents a real lung against CO2, the main cause of global warming, one of the great challenges that the planet and humanity must face.