ONE OF the greatest challenges the mankind is facing today is the threat from climate change. It is time for us to take action to combat the harmful effects to our climate. Various initiatives have been taken in different parts of the world. The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) is appealing to everyone around the world to get grow more trees.

For proper documentation, the things are getting registered on the Billion Tree Campaign website. It is the right time for us too to participate and try to plant trees to make the earth a green planet. About 3.1 billion trees have now been planted in 166 countries, and the aim now is to plant seven billion by the end of 2009, according to the UNEP release.

Social net-workers around the world can use their "Twitter" accounts to follow the campaign. The UNEP is pledging to plant a tree for every twitter follower who joins in between now and June 5. The goal is to engage 100,000 followers on the social networking site and, in turn, plant 100,000 trees towards UNEP's Billion Tree Campaign.

Achim Steiner, United Nations Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director said: "If we are to reach the goal of seven billion trees planted by the crucial UN climate convention meeting in December. The UNEP needs your support from schools and associations to governments, businesses and individual citizens."

The World Organisation of the Scouts Movement has pledged its participation in the global tree planting drive. Priority countries for tree planting activities by Scouts include Mexico, India, South Africa, Georgia, Lebanon, Malaysia, Hungary, Philippines, Brazil and Australia. Through this initiative the scouts hope to plant over 65,000 trees.

Various environmental bodies along with some social organisations are also planning different programmes in connection with the World Environment Day on or before June 5.

As part of this campaign, the UNEP is also encouraging Chinese youth to register their awareness-raising activities through Xiao Nei – a Chinese social networking site. Other social networking sites can also promote the message which will be reaching out to most of the people in the world.