The Fundación Repsol, along with Dorna Sports, will take advantage of the four MotoGP World Championship races held in Spain – Jerez, Catalonia, Aragon and Valencia – to develop, in coordination with the circuits and local town halls, the planting of trees in Spain and Haiti. In each Grand Prix 1,000 trees will be planted at the circuit and the surrounding area and fans will be given the opportunity to plant their own tree at home with a kit containing everything they need. This project will be carried out with the WCAFI (World Clean Air Forest Initiative), backed by the UN’s Environmental Programme. For each kit, through a 5 Euro donation, a twin tree will be planted in Haiti and the amount donated will be donated in full to the agroforestry development project in this county, in collaboration with Solidaridad Internacional.
This social initiative to help develop and restore the environment will be supported by everyone involved in the world championship (riders, technicians, commissioners, press, etc.), who along with volunteers and specialists, will take part in planting the trees, starting at the Jerez Circuit.
The goal of the programme is to plant 29,000 trees of different species, such as poplar and ash, in Spain and the same number in Haiti, but local species. In total, 58,000 trees will be planted. Fundación Repsol’s commitment to helping rebuild Haiti will make planting the trees a basic part of restoring the country: to provide fruit, agricultural produce, building materials and sustainable fuel for the local villages. The trees are integrated in the local agriculture and gardening systems.
This rural development project in the communal section of Pichon, Belle Anse, in southeast Haiti, aims to improve living conditions. The different actions in the project include the cultivation of allotments, the restoring of agricultural routes and training to respond to natural disasters. The planting is due to start in this country throughout 2010 and 2011.
Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna Sports >> Audio
“We spoke to Javier Inclán many years ago, even before he was in Fundación Repsol, about the idea of carrying out joint environmental projects between Repsol, Dorna and the circuits. It is not to make up for anything, as we it is not that we think that because we use petrol we should do it but because we represent large companies, involved in an important sport and we are a showcase for the world in which what we do can help to make things better. Planting trees and helping Haiti are things that we have to do regardless of pollution”.
Javier Inclán, Social Area Manager at Fundación Repsol >> Audio
“Part of this project is directly related to the environment and the other is solidarity. In the Spanish Grand Prix races, we will plant a significant number of trees as an environmental action. From there, we want to pass it on to the fans, through a kit that contains some seeds that they can plant at home in their garden or in nurseries that can be found on the project site in the Internet, in order to reach the target of 29,000. As we wanted to add a solidarity aspect to this action, what we will do is plant another 29,000 in Haiti and that will be done through Solidaridad Internacional, with which we have developed an agroforestry project. The aim is provide forestry and agricultural resources to a specific area of Haiti”.
