Planting and Protecting Forests

North and South America

In the urgent fight against climate change both forest conservation and reforestation will play a vital role. These two diverse forestry projects also demonstrate that our solutions should not just be about carbon.

Project

Summaries

Forest preservation in Brazil

The state of Para, in the Northwest of Brazil, hosts one of the richest ecosystems on the planet, with a large diversity of animal and plant species. However, this area is threatened by alarming rates of legal and illegal deforestation. Agriculture in this poor region of Brazil is developing at the expense of the forest.

The Floresta de Portel project aims to protect and preserve this fragile environment by reducing deforestation and allowing the forest to regenerate naturally. It provides local communities with education on forest management practices to enable them to make use of the natural resources in a sustainable way. It also supports the development of fair-trade Agroforestry activities and introduces a “private conservation reserve” to better manage the land.

Reforestation in the United States.

On the other side of the Americas, a tree planting project is also working with farmers to reforest their degraded marginal farmland in the Mississippi alluvial valley. This region, before it was turned over to agriculture, was originally covered by 25 million acres of trees, yet only 5 million remain. Deforestation has dramatically impacted the ecosystem and the water quality.

This project is a powerful tool for reforestation as it plants two trees per credit sold. It also creates a reliable and sustainable income stream for farmers and landowners whilst restoring water quality, which in turn stimulates a self-perpetuating cycle of land management and reforestation.

Certified

Under

Aligning with the

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

Both projects have helped to create jobs and provide economic incentives to local communities to manage and protect forestry.

SDG 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change

Preservation and restoration of these two distinct locations contributes to emissions reductions and carbon sequestration which help to mitigate climate change.

SDG 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems and halt biodiversity loss.

Both projects are helping to preserve precious indigenous flora and fauna, and in particular endangered species. This contributes to the global fight against biodiversity loss.

The results opposite show the full positive impacts of both projects to date. Funding from voluntary carbon offsetting is ensuring that they keep delivering environmental and social value into the future.

The result

Over 10.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions are estimated to be saved over the 40-year lifespan of Brazilian rainforest conservation.
30 members of the local community have been provided with jobs to manage, monitor and preserve the forest in the Brazilian state of Para.
Critically endangered Brazilian species are being protected: Capuchin Monkey; Black-bearded Saki, Oncilla cat and the giant otter.
Land tenure security has been provided to 500 families in the Para state.
Partnerships have been created with over 500 North American landowners across 120,000 hectares to reforest degraded marginal farmland.
Over 1 million tonnes of carbon sequestered per year through tree planting in North America.
Restored ecosystems have improved the habitats of 40% of North America’s waterfowl and 60% of all American bird species.
A reliable and sustainable income stream has been created for farmers and landowners in both regions.