**Between 2017 and 2022, Yagasu and Reforest'Action worked together to restore 415 hectares of mangrove in the north of the Indonesian island of Sumatra by planting more than a million mangrove trees of six different species. In November 2023, an audit carried out by Reforest'Action highlighted the excellent recovery of the mangroves and the wide range of socio-economic benefits generated by the project for local communities.**

![IMG_20231121_141657.jpg](/uploads/IMG_20231121_141657_3b10a7f915.jpg)

## Five years working to restore the mangrove

Initiated in 2017 in the provinces of North Sumatra and Aceh, Indonesia, the project was spread over four planting seasons for a total of five years, during which 260 plots of degraded mangrove were restored over a total area of 415.6 hectares. Consisting mainly of deforested riverbanks, coastal areas and abandoned fishponds, these plots were selected by our local partner Yagasu near 29 villages on the west coast of Sumatra.

![IMG20231120164535.jpg](/uploads/IMG_20231120164535_6bbbbaa638.jpg)

The aim is to regenerate mangrove forests where they have been deforested or severely degraded by the conversion of land to oil palm monoculture, and to help convert former intensive aquaculture ponds into natural mangrove areas or silvofishery ponds with moderated fishing activities. The planting of mangroves enables the original ecosystem to be reconstituted, along with its services such as fixing unstable soils and combating erosion and rising water levels. Because the existence of mangroves improves water quality and helps increase fish production, planting around or inside the ponds serves the dual purpose of maintaining the structural integrity of the ecosystem and providing a sustainable source of food for aquatic life.

![IMG20231122113205.jpg](/uploads/IMG_20231122113205_aafc5347bf.jpg)

## The conclusions of the audit carried out by Reforest'Action

A total of 1,040,478 mangrove trees were planted in the field after being produced in nurseries designed for the project. The diversity of species, which is essential to the quality and sustainability of mangrove restoration operations, was particularly observed through the selection of 6 different mangrove species adapted to the environment: Rhizophora spp, R. Apiculata, R. Stylosa, R. Mucronata, Avicennia and Ceriops. 
Thanks to the meticulous measurements carried out during the audit mission conducted by Reforest'Action in November 2023, the overall average survival rate of the trees for all the different seasons of the project was determined to be 89.88%. The plots are now in vigorous health and growth, and free of any plant disease.

![IMG20231122114442.jpg](/uploads/IMG_20231122114442_dd6632535d.jpg)

## A wide range of socio-economic benefits generated by mangroves

### Raising community awareness of the valuable resources provided by mangroves

Over the five years the project has been running, it has directly benefited 4,552 people and indirectly 9,104 people. The mangrove restoration campaign led by our project implementer Yagasu has not only generated employment in the nurseries and planting operations but has also created income-generating socio-economic activities for local people. These include the creation of traditional batik fabrics using mangrove ink, the production of foodstuffs (crisps, crackers) from mangroves, and the practice of silvofishery, which exploits the natural fish resources (fish, prawns, crabs) of these forests by creating natural ponds within them.

![IMG-28763939 (5).jpg](/uploads/IMG_28763939_5_6eb90e170c.jpg)

By becoming aware of the benefits provided by mangroves, local communities are more inclined to adopt a conservation approach to these precious forests, and to contribute to their protection, in particular by setting up community patrols to survey the mangroves and report any deforestation activity.

### Creating local commercial channels

In terms of market opportunities for the production of batik and food products, Yagasu is working with communities to create genuine local commercial channels and raise awareness among consumers from local populations and visiting tourists. As far as silvofishery is concerned, Yagasu facilitates transactions between producers and end consumers through local intermediaries. 

Women's communities in particular benefit from these socio-economic programmes, which contribute to the development of their skills and their financial independence. In fact, the income generated by the socio-economic activities within the women's groups is equivalent to an increase of around 15 to 20% on their pre-project income.

![IMG_7727.jpg](/uploads/IMG_7727_7f64aa026c.jpg)

![DSC01584.JPG](/uploads/DSC_01584_aea4f5f18e.JPG)

### Developing ecotourism to boost the local economy

In addition, the project is also enabling the development of ecotourism infrastructures and educational activities, such as nautical tourism, culinary tourism and tourism based on awareness of mangrove ecosystems. In Pasar Rawa, in particular, the ecotourism programme is generating employment for villagers and contributing to the local economy, while promoting a better understanding of the importance of mangrove conservation.

![DJI_0576.jpg](/uploads/DJI_0576_dc277a52c5.jpg)

**The project run by Reforest'Action and Yagasu in Sumatra between 2017 and 2022 has thus contributed not only to the restoration and conservation of mangrove ecosystems located in two provinces of the Indonesian island, but also to the creation of profound socio-economic impacts among local communities by promoting sustainable livelihoods and their economic resilience.**

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Sumatra: economic resilience depends on environmental restoration

**In Malawi, the agroforestry project funded by Reforest'Action and implemented by the NGO Inter Aide aims to increase the energy self-sufficiency of local communities and support subsistence farming by integrating trees in hedgerows around cultivated fields. With a strong community dimension, the project supports farmers at every stage in the creation of these agroforestry systems, from the production of trees in nurseries to their planting and maintenance. The programme is designed to run for three years, starting in 2021, and aims to produce and plant a total of 300,000 trees in various villages in the Lilongwe district by 2024.**

![Malawi_Makwangala-nursery-Chikanga_2022.jpg](/uploads/Malawi_Makwangala_nursery_Chikanga_2022_c005c04100.jpg)
 
## Lilongwe, an arid region with no forest cover

Malawi is a small, landlocked country in south-east Africa, bordering Tanzania, Zambia and Mozambique. Named after the country's capital, the district of Lilongwe features a landscape of plains with scattered rocky hills. In this particularly arid region, there is little or no forest cover. The project takes place in an agricultural context where maize and soya are the dominant crops, often in conjunction with groundnuts. The income of the local communities comes mainly from the production of their farms or from their work on neighbouring properties. The small proportion of fruit trees associated with these crops often takes the form of hedgerows.

In this context, the whole point of the project lies in integrating trees into agroforestry to counter desertification, produce wood sustainably in a region that lacks energy autonomy, and support the livelihoods of local communities. The project is also part of the national forest landscape restoration strategy, which aims to achieve 10% forest cover on 80% of Malawi's cultivated land by 2030.

![Drone-view-Malawi.jpg](/uploads/Drone_view_Malawi_ab1b9fd495.jpg)
 
## Agroforestry for sustainable wood production and protection of subsistence crops

With a strong community dimension, the aim of the project initiated in 2021 with the support of Reforest'Action is to create agroforestry systems alongside farmers in several localities in the Lilongwe district. It is designed to run for three years and aims to produce and plant a total of 300,000 trees by 2024.

On the ground, the project is being implemented by the NGO Inter Aide, which has been training rural communities in Malawi in the creation of tree nurseries and tree planting since 1997, and therefore has excellent local knowledge and relationships of trust with the local authorities and farmers.

A total of six species have been selected for the project design: 
- _Senna spectabilis_, a tree with melliferous flowers that is particularly appreciated by pollinators
- _Senna siamea_, a heat-resistant shade tree whose rapid growth means it can produce wood sustainably through pruning 
- _Acacia polyacantha_, a tree native to the Sahelian to tropical regions of the continent, valued in agroforestry for its ability to enrich poor soils and produce firewood
- _Albizia lebbeck_, a tree renowned for its particularly dense wood, nicknamed 'black wood'.
- _Khaya nyasica_, a tall, fast-growing tree native to East Africa, also known as African mahogany, which is useful for shading underlying crops and producing timber 
- _Faidherbia albida_, a tree native to Sahelian Africa, particularly remarkable for its inverted phenology, which optimises crop yields, feeds its leaves to livestock and combats soil erosion. With leaves in the dry season, it feeds animals with its fodder and pods. Conversely, during the rainy season (December-January in Malawi), the leaves come off completely, allowing the underlying crops to be properly nourished by the rain and light.

These species have been selected for their adaptation to arid soil and climate conditions and their ability to form hedgerows around degraded farmland.

![Malawi_Katoto-_-Mwalawatsoya-nursery-Chikanga_2022.jpg](/uploads/Malawi_Katoto_Mwalawatsoya_nursery_Chikanga_2022_80cc5b5bee.jpg)

The projected benefits are numerous and will be monitored over time: 
- production of wood energy to improve household energy self-sufficiency,
- restoration of the environmental functions of cultivated plots, 
- combating erosion of cultivated soils,
- preserving biodiversity thanks to the plant cover,
- increasing agricultural yields.

![Malawi_Katoto_Mwalawatsoya-nursery-Chikanga_2022.jpg](/uploads/Malawi_Katoto_Mwalawatsoya_nursery_Chikanga_2022_fb68c7a98a.jpg)
 
## A positive assessment at the end of the first two years of project deployment
 
In August 2023, an audit carried out by Reforest'Action made it possible to verify in particular:  
- the progress of the project and the geolocation of the plots, 
- the number of trees planted, their density and the diversity of species,
- the success rate of the plantations,
- the level of technical expertise of the project implementer in terms of planning, structuring, soil preparation, transport of seedlings, waste collection, etc.
- the involvement of local communities in the project,
- and their perception of the socio-economic benefits.

Two years into the project, 214,060 trees have already been planted in Chidambayila, Chikanga, Chilembwe, Chizinga and Mgombo. A total of 1,567 families have been involved in tree production in some thirty dedicated community nurseries, using seeds from Malawi. They then benefited from planting the trees on their farmland or family properties. 

![Malawi_Tree-planting-in-Chilembwe-2_2022.jpg](/uploads/Malawi_Tree_planting_in_Chilembwe_2_2022_64771538cf.jpg)

One of the strengths of the project is undoubtedly its community-based approach, which aims to be replicable by farmers even beyond the project's three planned seasons. Through a programme of training delivered by Inter Aide to local communities, they will be able to apply their knowledge of seedling production, hedge design and the maintenance of planted trees, to further the initial ambition of this programme and help increase their energy self-sufficiency and protect their subsistence agriculture.

The third season of the project is currently underway, and should enable a further 85,940 trees to be planted by 2024.

![Malawi_Training-outplanting-Dilawo-group-Chilembwe_2022.jpg](/uploads/Malawi_Training_outplanting_Dilawo_group_Chilembwe_2022_fcdb186d52.jpg)

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Malawi: supporting subsistence farming and energy self-sufficiency through agroforestry

**Registered under the VCS certification standard, the Kuzuko project in South Africa is located in a nature reserve that has protected degraded former pastures to allow the return of the biodiversity that has lived in this landscape for thousands of years. Thanks to the complementary expertise of AfriCarbon and Reforest’Action, the project aims to restore 5,185 hectares of Portulacaria afra-dominated thicket, a tree species known locally as spekboom, to help re-establish the original plant community and habitat of this extraordinary indigenous fauna. In addition to the climatic action linked to carbon sequestration, it will be the source of a vast array of environmental and socio-economic benefits that will be closely monitored throughout the project, within a veritable open-air laboratory dedicated to the restoration of the living.**

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## The origins of a large-scale project

### The beginnings of Reforest’Action’s involvement
Reforest’Action’s commitment in South Africa dates back to 2020. With the aim of contributing to the restoration of the the Albany thicket, a lasting partnership was formed that year with the South African company AfriCarbon, backed by twenty years of research and experimentation applied to these unique ecosystems. The result was the launch of an initial project in the Eastern-Cape province, enabling 200 hectares of thicket to be restored by planting 500,000 spekboom seedlings.
Strengthened by the mutual trust they had built up over the course of this first joint project, Reforest’Action and AfriCarbon decided in the spring of 2022 to take their ambition to the next level. Given the colossal financing requirements needed to make progress towards the goal of restoring all the degraded thickets in the region, the two organisations turned to the voluntary carbon market.
As part of the Kuzuko project, which aims to restore 5,185 hectares of spekboom thicket within a protected nature reserve, a PDD (a document describing the planning of a carbon project and its compliance with certification requirements) had already been drafted in 2014 for submission to the international VCS standard by Anthony Mills, founder of AfriCarbon. But the latent state of the voluntary carbon market over the last decade meant that the Kuzuko project was unable to find funding.

![Anthony-Mills-with-spekboom-ReforestAction-AL-Avril.jpg](/uploads/Anthony_Mills_with_spekboom_Reforest_Action_AL_Avril_e3c49fa49c.jpg)
_Anthony Mills (AfriCarbon) in front of a large spekboom in Kuzuko_

### A synergy between two complementary areas of expertise
As funding partner, Reforest’Action then joined the Kuzuko project’s carbon certification process and contributed its expertise in drawing up and supervising the business plan to guarantee the project’s financial integrity and secure the investment needed to launch restoration operations. 
In support of AfriCarbon, Reforest’Action also helped to finalize the protocols for measuring the carbon sequestration enabled by the project, as well as projecting its environmental and socio-economic impacts beyond climate action alone. At the same time, a rigorous monitoring and reporting process has been put in place to check - and adjust if necessary - these various parameters, ensuring that they comply with the VCS certification standards.
In the field, the scientists of the AfriCarbon team implement the project design as they conceived it, drawing on their expertise in botany and soil science. They coordinate all the technical operations, apply the monitoring process for the growth of the trees and the impacts generated, and ensure the control and quality assurance of the data collected. 
The combination of Reforest’Action’s and AfriCarbon’s complementary areas of expertise makes Kuzuko a particularly robust and ambitious project for restoring ecosystems.

![Robbert-Duker-&-Quentin-Guyon-in-Kirkwood-nursery-ReforestAction-AL-Avril.jpg](/uploads/Robbert_Duker_and_Quentin_Guyon_in_Kirkwood_nursery_Reforest_Action_AL_Avril_64da7ae984.jpg)
_Robbert Duker (AfriCarbon) and Quentin Guyon (Reforest'Action) at one of the project's nurseries_

## A project to restore the spekboom thicket biome 

### A project designed around the VCS and CCB certification
The Kuzuko project is now registered under the VCS (Verified Carbon Standard) certification, one of the most widely used international standards for contributing to global neutrality linked to the voluntary carbon market. This standard, managed by Verra, a not-for-profit organisation, guarantees that the tonnes of CO2 equivalent sequestered thanks to the deployment of the project meet certain quality criteria.
Within Verra’s registry, Kuzuko corresponds to the ARR (Afforestation, Reforestation & Revegetation) typology, attributed to projects that develop forest carbon sinks by restoring vegetation cover. By encouraging carbon sequestration, the project contributes to achieving global carbon neutrality.
The project will be audited every four years for thirty years by the Validation & Verification Body, an organisation approved by Verra which provides validation and verification services in accordance with the rules of the VCS standard. Each verification will generate certified carbon credits, corresponding to the amount of carbon actually sequestered by the trees planted as part of the project. 
The Kuzuko project is also in the process of being certified to the CCB (Climate, Community & Biodiversity) standard managed by Verra. This standard certifies that the project generates positive impacts on the climate and incorporates best practice in terms of community involvement and biodiversity conservation. 
Combining the VCS and CCB certifications guarantees the quality of the carbon credits generated by the project, while providing additional benefits that go beyond carbon mitigation measures.

![Workers-planting-spekboom-ReforestAction-AL-Avril.jpg](/uploads/Workers_planting_spekboom_Reforest_Action_AL_Avril_b16cb2b4f2.jpg)
 
### A project anchored in a biodiversity sanctuary
Located 150 kilometres from Port Elizabeth, in South Africa’s Eastern-Cape province, the Kuzuko reserve was created in 2002 through the protection of degraded land from 18 former goat farms. Thanks to the rewilding work carried out up until the reserve’s inauguration in 2008 to promote nature-based ecotourism, these degraded former pastures have been transformed into a veritable reservoir of animal biodiversity, now home, over an area of 15,000 hectares, to emblematic species of South Africa’s indigenous fauna, including elephants and rhinoceroses, Cape zebras and greater kudu, lions and cheetahs.

![South-Africa-Kuzuko.jpg](/uploads/South_Africa_Kuzuko_35d199db1e.jpg)

![Elephant-2-ReforestAction-AL-Avril.jpg](/uploads/Elephant_2_Reforest_Action_AL_Avril_c53e466ae2.jpg)

In terms of plant biodiversity, however, the removal of the goats and the respect of the ecosystem’s carrying capacity for two decades were not enough to regenerate the native vegetation of the arid Albany thicket, which was originally dominated - up to 80% of their vegetation - by a succulent species, Portulacaria afra. This tree, endemic to southern Africa and known locally as spekboom, is an essential pioneer species for the development and maintenance of a diverse plant community. 
"Our research has established that a third of the area now covered by the Kuzuko reserve was dominated by spekboom thickets two centuries ago, representing more than 5,000 hectares" says Anthony Mills, PhD in soil science and founder of AfriCarbon. " Today, the Kuzuko reserve has allowed the return of the wildlife that this landscape has known for thousands and thousands of years, but the current state of the vegetation is not adapted to its needs. This is the whole point of the restoration project that Reforest’Action and AfriCarbon are carrying out at Kuzuko: to re-establish the original habitat of this extraordinary indigenous wildlife and to contribute, on the scale of 5,185 hectares, to the restoration of the Albany arid thicket biome."
Twenty years of scientific research have proved that spekboom has a central role to play in this restoration, through its ability to act on soil health and the water cycle, and to create the microclimate needed for the resurgence of a rich plant community. This engineer species, with its extraordinary physiological adaptation, is at the heart of the design of the Kuzuko project.

![Cheetah-ReforestAction-AL-Avril.jpg](/uploads/Cheetah_Reforest_Action_AL_Avril_002dc184ad.jpg)

### A project built on science and technology
On the ground, operations are managed by Robbert Duker, PhD in environmental plant physiology and AfriCarbon’s Chief Operations Officer, who is, with his team, based full-time within the Kuzuko reserve. 

![Robbert-Duker-in-Kirkwood-nursery-ReforestAction-AL-Avril.jpg](/uploads/Robbert_Duker_in_Kirkwood_nursery_Reforest_Action_AL_Avril_f21db6701f.jpg)
_Robbert Duker (AfriCarbon) at one of the project's nurseries_

By identifying the areas to be restored within the reserve, which currently consist of moderately or severely degraded thickets, AfriCarbon was able to use rigorous mapping to divide the 5,185 hectares concerned into 1,730 plots, thereby defining a plan to be followed during the planting operations.
 
![Project-Map-Kuzuko.jpg](/uploads/Project_Map_Kuzuko_bd845d4287.jpg)

Three nurseries have been set up to produce the 25,9 million spekboom needed to restore the 5,185 hectares of degraded thicket. The cuttings, harvested from intact remnants of spekboom thickets, are raised in these nurseries, which provide them with the optimum conditions for their growth.
 
![Harvesting-Spekboom-ReforestAction-AL-Avril.jpg](/uploads/Harvesting_Spekboom_Reforest_Action_AL_Avril_ddb27a4ccd.jpg)
Récolte de boutures de spekboom à Kuzuko

Today, the Kuzuko project employs around 300 people, who are housed and fed throughout the working week in purpose-built facilities. Planting began in September 2022 and will be completed by the end of December 2023. Around six months after planting, AfriCarbon carries out an initial monitoring to check that the trees are in good health and, if necessary, to organize maintenance work. This will then be repeated once a year. 

![Planting-Spekbooms-ReforestAction-AL-Avril.jpg](/uploads/Planting_Spekbooms_Reforest_Action_AL_Avril_14c9bfde2c.jpg)

## The monitoring of impact indicators to reflect the added value of the project

### Climate: measuring carbon sequestration
For a carbon project such as Kuzuko, monitoring carbon sequestration throughout the life of the project is a central aspect. A project scenario is defined and compared with a baseline scenario, which determines the amount of carbon that would have been sequestered if the project had not been implemented. The comparison between the baseline scenario and the project scenario is then used to estimate the additional sequestration actually enabled by the project.
The spekboom’s remarkable ability to rapidly fix CO2 - and therefore remove it from the atmosphere - makes this tree an asset for mitigating climate change on a global scale. Restoring spekboom thickets thus increases the carbon storage capacity of above-ground and underground biomass (all organic plant matter), as well as that of the soil.
Based on years of research and experimentation with spekboom thickets, the carbon sequestration target for the Kuzuko project is 1.7 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent over the 30-year credit period. This target includes a 20% buffer, which reduces the final sequestration value of tonnes of CO2 equivalent. This estimated carbon storage will be measured in real terms every four years by field surveys and verified by an audit conducted by the VCS standard.

![William-measuring-carbon-in-soil-ReforestAction-AL-Avril.jpg](/uploads/William_measuring_carbon_in_soil_Reforest_Action_AL_Avril_3614260061.jpg)
_William Gummow (AfriCarbon) taking samples to measure soil organic carbon_

### Soil, biodiversity, communities: 3 pillars of the project 
The construction of a baseline scenario and a project scenario also applies to other impact indicators, which will be scrupulously monitored through a monitoring plan defined by AfriCarbon in conjunction with Reforest’Action. 
"When it comes to measuring the impact of the project, we look beyond carbon sequestration" explains Quentin Guyon, Project Manager in charge of developing the Kuzuko project for Reforest’Action. "We also take into account all the added value of the project, beyond the climate action alone, for soil quality, the development of biodiversity and the living conditions of local communities, by assessing the initial state of each indicator and observing its evolution throughout the life of the project."
In terms of improving soil conditions, various indicators will be monitored throughout the project on permanent plots, such as soil temperature, density, infiltration and water retention rates, and erosion rates.

![Contrast-between-restored-thicket-soil-and-degraded-thicket-soil-ReforestAction-AL-Avril.jpg](/uploads/Contrast_between_restored_thicket_soil_and_degraded_thicket_soil_Reforest_Action_AL_Avril_253e557da6.jpg)
_Contrast between moist soil sampled under a spekboom and arid soil sampled in the open_

With regard to the project's impact on biodiversity, the monitoring plan involves, in particular, monitoring the diversity of flora, the number of bird species, endangered species and pollinators.

![Greater-Kudu-ReforestAction-AL-Avril.jpg](/uploads/Greater_Kudu_Reforest_Action_AL_Avril_e87532782c.jpg)
_Spekboom (in foreground) provides habitats and a resilient food source for native wildlife_ 

The socio-economic dimension is also a fully-fledged component of the project, which contributes directly to reducing local poverty levels. As part of the project, all the staff involved in the activities - harvesting spekboom cuttings, maintaining the nurseries, transporting the seedlings to the plots, planting the trees, activities linked to the infrastructures to accommodate the workers (kitchen, maintenance, shuttle service, etc.) - represent the creation of more than 300 jobs over an 15-month period, which could be extended thanks to the continued restoration of spekboom thickets in other degraded areas of the Eastern-Cape. 

![Monwabisi-worker-on-thicket-restoration-ReforestAction-AL-Avril.jpg](/uploads/Monwabisi_worker_on_thicket_restoration_Reforest_Action_AL_Avril_f60ca4b0e5.jpg)

![Harvesting-spekboom-2-ReforestAction-AL-Avril.jpg](/uploads/Harvesting_spekboom_2_Reforest_Action_AL_Avril_c5da395712.jpg)
_Monwabisi Manene and Zukiswa Davids, two workers employed on the Kuzuko project._

The social benefits also extend to the younger generation, as the project provides funding, through the Kuzuko Foundation Trust, for two primary schools located in Middlewater and Bracefield. The funds will be used to improve infrastructure, provide schoolchildren with quality teaching materials and contribute to their environmental education, teaching them the value of natural ecosystems and biodiversity from an early age.

**The Kuzuko project demonstrates the ability of carbon-certified projects to extend their impact far beyond climate benefits, by promoting soil health, fostering biodiversity and improving living conditions for human communities. This holistic approach contributes to the restoration of valuable ecosystem services and the regeneration of the living in a sustainable way. While the challenge of restoring the thickets ecosystems in South Africa is a major one, with a degraded area of over one million hectares, the impacts of the Kuzuko project have the potential to be multiplied as future actions are carried out by AfriCarbon and Reforest’Action. Strengthened by this initial experience at Kuzuko, the two organisations will be pursuing their joint ambition to restore this unique biome over the coming years.**

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- _The Kuzuko project was notably funded by Capgemini, a global leader in partnering with companies to transform and manage their business by harnessing the power of technology. Capgemini is committed to a 90% decarbonization by 2040 and in addition is investing in high integrity carbon credits to abate and remove carbon from beyond their own value chain._
- _The scientific information and figures concerning the physiological characteristics of spekboom come from interviews conducted by Reforest'Action with Anthony Mills, Doctor of Soil Science and Founder of AfriCarbon, and Robbert Duker, Doctor of Plant Environmental Physiology and Chief Operations Officer of AfriCarbon, or from their published, peer-reviewed scientific work._
- _All the photographs illustrating this article were taken by Reforest'Action._

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Kuzuko: a certified project to restore the living

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Restaurer les écosystèmes terrestres à grande échelle en recréant les meilleures conditions pour leur permettre d’être stable dans la durée dans un contexte climatique et sociétal en pleine transformation.

En savoir plus sur la mission de Reforest'Action

2014_RIMBA RAYA BIODIVERSITY RESERVE_carbone_Indonésie

The Rimba Raya Biodiversity Reserve Project, an initiative by InfiniteEARTH, aims to reduce Indonesia’s emissions by preserving the project area of 47,237 hectares of tropical peat swamp forest for a total amount of 104 MtCO2 over 30 years.

 It is expected that regional biodiversity levels will be maintained and species populations will increase as important natural habitat is preserved. From a hydrology perspective, conservation of the peat forest will maintain the proper functionality of the local watershed. Nutrient flows from fallen biomass will serve as a critical food source for fish and other marine life. Tree cover will lower water temperature through shading making it a more conducive marine habitat. Vegetative cover will also mitigate erosion and flooding associated with land conversion by decreasing runoff and increasing soil absorption, thereby leading to improved water quality.

NO_POVERTY

ZERO_HUNGER

GOOD_HEALTH_AND_WELL_BEING

CLEAN_WATER_AND_SANITATION

RESPONSIBLE_CONSUMPTION_AND_PRODUCTION

CLIMATE_ACTION

LIFE_BELOW_WATER

LIFE_ON_LAND

PARTNERSHIP_FOR_THE_GOALS

Influences the quality and integrity of the soil-water system, and the cycling of water and nutrients.

Supports human well-being, by providing resources, income, education, empowerment, and supporting culture and spirituality.

Preservation of local biodiversity by providing suitable habitats and resources.

Contributes to the mitigation of the greenhouse effect and influences precipitation patterns and the local microclimate.

Between 1990 and 2005, Indonesia lost just over 2% of its forest cover each year, or about 1.9 million hectares per year. Today, this figure has risen to more than 2.5 million hectares per year, an area equivalent to the size of Belgium. The considerable loss of national forest cover is due to the clearing of forest areas by fire in order to open up land for agriculture, particularly for palm oil. The Rimba Raya reserve is rich in biodiversity, including the endangered Bornean orangutan. It was originally intended to be converted by the government into four oil palm plantations.

The Rimba Raya REDD+ project, located in Indonesia on the island of Borneo, aims to protect 64,977 hectares of tropical forests, swamps and peatlands and avoid the emission of 3,5 million t CO2e per year over a total period of 30 years. Through the project and the preservation of natural forest habitats, local biodiversity will be maintained and allowed to grow. From a hydrological point of view, the conservation of the peat bogs will help to maintain the proper functioning of the catchment area. The project also aims to protect the integrity of the adjacent world-renowned Tanjung Puting National Park by creating an extensive buffer zone along the park's 90 km eastern boundary.

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The Seima Protection Forest (SPF)  is located in eastern Cambodia, mainly in Mondulkiri Province with a small area extending into Kratie Province. The REDD+ Project Area covers 166,983 ha of forest in the SPF Core Protection Area for a total amount of 14,266,485 tCO2 over 10 years. Local population directly depends of this forest as key source of income and play a main role in their spiritual beliefs. This forest is also a natural habitat for local fauna including Asian Elephants, primates, wild cattle, several carnivores and birds such as the Giant Ibis and Green Peafowl.

Since 2002, the Forest Administration (representative of the Royal Government of Cambodia) has collaborated with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and other local NGO partners to develop management systems for the SPF, both to conserve and restore the biodiversity values and to protect the livelihoods of local people.

The Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary covers nearly 300,000 hectares in eastern Cambodia and is rich in natural and cultural wildlife, forests, landscapes and indigenous communities. Its forest is home to 75 threatened species (classified as Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List), over 350 bird species, 7 primate species and a population of Asian elephants. It is currently threatened by accelerated deforestation for agriculture and unsustainable resource extraction (including hunting, logging and fishing). These activities damage both biodiversity and the livelihoods of local people who depend on the forest.

The Keo Seima REDD+ project in Cambodia aims to protect 166,983 hectares of tropical forest within the Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary, restore the reserve's rich biodiversity and develop the livelihoods of indigenous communities. It is one of the most ambitious forest conservation programmes in Cambodia. The project, which is expected to avoid 14 million t CO2e per year, was validated by VCS as a REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) project in 2014. In 2015, 50,000 carbon credits were generated, corresponding to the amount of carbon stored. The project entered the scope of Reforest'Action in 2021 for the sale of carbon credits from 2015. 

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The Envira Amazonia project is a REDD+ project designed by VCS and CCBS in the state of Acre, Brazil, which aims to protect up to 39,300.60 hectares of tropical rainforest by engaging a large landowner willing to forgo conversion of forest land to a ranching operation.

In addition, the Envira Amazonia project will simultaneously conserve a rich biodiversity and a wide range of ecosystem services, providing direct benefits to local communities and mitigate the release of million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions over the years of the project.

The three main Project Proponents are CarbonCo, LLC (“CarbonCo”), Freitas International
Group, LLC (“Freitas International Group or Carbon Securities”), and JR Agropecuária e
Empreendimentos EIRELI.

Around 60 km southeast of Feijó town in the Brazilian state of Acre, the Envira Amazonia project runs along either side of the Jurupari river in the Amazon Basin. It takes roots on 200,000 hectares of land formerly owned by businessmen and sold in 2009 to forest management experts. The Envira Amazonia Property was historically used for rubber tapping and was an extractive area for natural forest products before these activities stopped due to the crash in rubber prices in the late 1980s. The paving of the main east-west highway in Acre in 2011 has greatly increased property values, and cattle ranching along this road corridor has thus expanded.

The Envira Amazonia REDD+ project is located in the state of Acre, Brazil, and aims to protect up to 200,000 hectares of tropical rainforest. By engaging landowners willing to forgo conversion of forest land to pastures, this project is expected to generate 1,2 million teq CO2 of annual emission reduction. The Envira Amazonia project also establishes alternative, sustainable economic opportunities for local communities that promote environmental stewardship and protect biodiversity. Moreover, rainforest conservation itself protects forest ecosystem services such as air and water filtration, water and nutrient cycle regulation, flood protection, and the spiritual and cultural value of tropical forests. Combined, these activities help discourage deforestation in the wider region.

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Spekboom

Reforest’Action is joining forces with C4 EcoSolutions and AfriCarbon, two South African companies into the protected reserves of Kuzuko and Koedoeskloof. The goal is to restore these ecosystems by planting more than 500,000 seeds of Spekboom, a local species which is essential to the ecological functioning of the region. The project will develop a new sustainable grazing management system to improve the carrying capacity of livestock without degrading the environment. Numerous benefits will also be generated: the return of biodiversity, including a population of elephants, rainwater infiltration improvement, restoration of arable land and improve the living conditions of the local populations.

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Within the Eastern Cape, in South Africa, land desertification is due to the increasing pressure of livestock on pastureland. Nowadays, the increasing scarcity of vegetation cover and the degradation of local farmers’ land and surrounding reserves are causing many negative environmental effects, such as the drying up of water resources, loss of biodiversity and soil erosion. The plantation areas are made up of former degraded pastures, and are located close to areas that have been protected for several decades.

The project is led in the field by Anthony Mills, a geochemist and expert in environmental development projects. He is the founder of two companies, AfriCarbon in 2009 and C4 EcoSolutions in 2015, which ensure the technical and operational deployment of the project.

Reforest’Action is joining forces with C4 EcoSolutions and AfriCarbon, two South African companies into the protected reserves of Kuzuko and Koedoeskloof. The goal is to restore these ecosystems by planting seeds of Spekboom, a local species which is essential to the ecological functioning of the region. The project will develop a new sustainable grazing management system to improve the carrying capacity of livestock without degrading the environment. Numerous benefits will also be generated: the return of biodiversity, including a population of elephants, rainwater infiltration improvement, restoration of arable land and improve the living conditions of the local populations.

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Douglas

Chêne sessile (rouvre)

Bouleau verruqueux

Châtaignier

Hêtre commun

Érable sycomore

À Saint-Aubin-Routot Rogerville, en Normandie, une friche agricole de 13 hectares située en bordure du Bois de la Côte Rogerville fait l’objet d’un projet de boisement labellisé Bas-Carbone. Créé par le ministère de la Transition écologique et de la Cohésion des territoires en collaboration avec de nombreux partenaires, le Label Bas-Carbone, qui s’applique notamment à des projets forestiers, contribue à la réduction de l’empreinte carbone nationale de la France. Afin de créer un peuplement pérenne et résilient, des essences variées ont été sélectionnées pour la plantation. Le massif en devenir constituera un corridor écologique, lieu de passage privilégié pour la faune. Ce projet permettra le stockage de plus de 3 400 tonnes équivalent CO2 sur les trente prochaines années, contribuant ainsi à l’atténuation du changement climatique.

Supports human well-being, by providing resources, income, education, and supporting recreation and heritage.

In Saint-Aubin-Routot Rogerville, Normandy, a 13-hectare agricultural wasteland on the edge of the Bois de la Côte Rogerville is the subject of a Low-Carbon label afforestation project. Created by the French Ministry of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion in collaboration with numerous partners, the Low-Carbon label, which also applies to forestry projects, contributes to reducing France's national carbon footprint. In order to create a sustainable and resilient stand, a variety of tree species has been selected for planting. The future forest will form an ecological corridor, a privileged passageway for wildlife. The project will store over 3,400 tonnes of CO2 equivalent over the next thirty years, thereby helping to mitigate climate change.

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Tree planting with villagers involved in the project.

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Niangon

Bois jasanga

Fraké

Framiré

Acajou cédrel

Gmelina arborea

Acacia mangium

Tiama

Pohé

Chocolatier du Gabon

Petit kola

Teck

Acajou du Honduras

Reforest’Action is joining forces with the Ivorian company Agro-Map to support cocoa producers in the forest of Séguié in the Agnéby-Tiassa region, Ivory Coast, in the restoration of the forest and in the creation of agroforestry systems, which will make it possible to reconcile trees and crops in order to maintain a microclimate favourable to the development of agriculture. Over 200,000 are planted on 450 hectares.

The main objectives of the project are the development of agroforestry, the restoration of a classified forest, the preservation of biodiversity and the economic development of the populations. By restoring their environment: the local communities of Agnéby-Tiassa will also improve their food security.

QUALITY_EDUCATION

Deforestation in Ivory Coast, if not halted, could lead to the total disappearance of the country's natural forest cover within the next twenty years. The 234 classified forests in the country, including the Séguié forest in the Agnéby-Tiassa region, where our project takes place, have lost more than 70% of their forest cover in half a century. This is due to extensive agriculture and cocoa production, which have gained ground on the primary Ivorian forests, and the unsustainable exploitation of these forests to meet the growing need for firewood. This loss of animal and plant biodiversity is now causing climatic changes throughout the region, in particular a reduction in rainfall and the appearance of increasingly long periods of drought, which often have a fatal effect on the crops of local communities. 

Agro-Map is an Ivorian company specialising in the development of sustainability projects in the agricultural, forestry and environmental fields. Its objective is to reconcile agriculture and forestry in order to maintain a microclimate favourable to the development of agriculture. The Agro-Map team is in constant contact with farmers and builds strong partnerships with local communities.

Reforest'Action is partnering with the Ivorian company Agro-Map to support cocoa farmers in the Séguié forest in restoring the forest and creating agroforestry systems, which will allow them to reconcile the trees with their crops. By restoring their environment, the local communities of Agnéby-Tiassa will also improve their food security and income.

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Juan-Carlos, the project implementer, and his wife 
Photo by Florian Pupat 

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Palo de Tinto shoots
Photo by Florian Pupat 

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Palo de Tinto wood, also known as "logwood", whose red fibers produce a black ink 
Photo by Florian Pupat 

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Bois bleu

Orme d'Amerique

Enterolobium cyclocarpum

Muntingia calabura

Mombin jaune

Texas palmetto

Attalea butyracea

Poirier rouge

Albizia guachapele

Brosimum alicastrum

Platymiscium yucatanum

Sapotiller

Reforest'Action is partnering with Planalto to restore "El Tintal", by planting 160 000 trees over 2 years and to establish a conservation area on former degraded agricultural lands. This approach will help replant native species of the region in order to reconstitute resilient ecosystems that will act as carbon sinks, but also to restore the multifunctionality of the spaces concerned.

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INDUSTRY_INNOVATION_AND_INFRASTRUCTURE

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The project developed by our partner is part of the Laguna de Términos protected area, in the Mexican state of Campeche. The lagoon has been recognized as an area of high importance since 1994 by the Mexican government because of the richness of the biological ecosystems found in its estuaries. They are home to more than 130 species of mammals including the jaguar, today classified as “near threatened”. Between land and sea, the Tintal defines the ecosystem in which the Palo de Tinto, or logwood, grows within the lagoon. Emblematic of the Yucatán Peninsula, the Tintal has been severely degraded by human activities after the independence of Mexico: currently, nearly 80% of the Campeche state's land has been converted into grazing areas for cattle ranching or into crops for palm oil export. The project aims to restore this unique ecosystem.

Planalto is a rural production company located in the state of Campeche, one of the administrative divisions that make up the Yucatán Peninsula. As a productive and responsible business model, it works to implement forestry and permaculture practices in rural areas, emphasizing the use of native species and natural treatment products. Doing so, it helps promote a multifunctional reforestation model that benefits both the environment and the local communities, mainly composed of producers. During the project, Planalto will supervise the implementation of the selected seedlings in nurseries, the preparation of the soil, the planting sessions as well as the maintenance and monitoring of the planted trees.

Reforest'Action is partnering with the company Planalto to restore "El Tintal" ecosystem and to establish a conservation area for biodiversity. This multi-faceted project is located near the town of Palizada, southwest of the Mexican state of Campeche and concerns two areas located side by side. 

On the one hand, the project implementer Juan-Carlos is working to regenerate the Tintal by planting Palo de Tinto on the degraded pastures of his ranch. Palo de Tinto, also known as "logwood", is a small thorny tree from Mexico whose dark red fibers produce a black ink used for dyeing clothes and hair. Through the transformation of wood chip residues, the project aims to create its own circular bioeconomy system. 

On the other hand, Juan-Carlos has established a conservation area in the untouched jungle, with a dedicated area of 350 hectares that will serve as a refuge for native animal species such as the jaguar.

Bénéfices estimés des arbres plantés ou préservés

En savoir plus sur la mission de Reforest'Action

Actualités de Reforest'Action

Sumatra: economic resilience depends on environmental restoration

Malawi: supporting subsistence farming and energy self-sufficiency through agroforestry

Kuzuko: a certified project to restore the living