Pioneering the first generation forest in Central America to fight climate change and preserve biodiversity

Pioneering the first generation forest in Central America to fight climate change and preserve biodiversity

Setting the ground for a new form of impact investing that creates permanent tropical forests: on 700 ha of deforested land we are planting Central America's first generation forest

27
SOCCER FIELDS OF TROPICAL FOREST LOST EVERY MINUTE
3%
OF ALL CHARITABLE GIVING GOES TO ENVIRONMENTAL CAUSES
4.9bn
METRIC TONES OF FOREST RELATED
CO2 EMISSIONS PER YEAR

Disappearing forests: a catastrophic impact on the world's climate, biodiversity and water supply

 
Tropical forests are the lungs of the earth, contributing around 34% of oxygen produced on land. Tragically, they are disappearing at an alarming rate: we’re losing 18.7 million acres of forests annually. While growing forests protect our climate by absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere, that carbon is released when people clear forested land and destroy the wood. In fact, 8% of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere each year are estimated to be caused by deforestation. If tropical deforestation were a country, it would be the third-biggest emitter globally – ranking just below the U.S. and significantly higher than the EU. Deforestation does however not only have catastrophic impacts on the world's climate. Forest - acting like sponges - are the world’s largest reserves of drinking water. Tropical forests are also home to 50% of terrestrial vegetation and wildlife while they only cover about 10% of the planet’s surface, giving them immense importance for global biodiversity. 

We are changing that by pioneering and planting the first generation forest in Central America 


In 2014, we became a pioneer investor in Central and Latin America’s first generation forest. On a pilot plot of 700 hectares of deforested land in Panama, we are planting together with our partner Futuro Forestal a highly biodiverse forest, showing for the first time how a monoculture plantation can be turned into a diverse forest by using native species. In contrast to traditional timber plantations, we are creating the first permanent forest in Central and Latin America that will never be cut down again while still producing commercial timber that can provide safe jobs and provide a sustainable livelihood for farmers and workers in an ecologically and economically viable way. The generation forest is an effective way to halt climate change, absorbing and binding about 14 tonnes of CO2 per hectare every year. Our project area is one of the most biologically diverse regions in the world, at least in those places where forests still exist. Since our generation forest is growing we have witnessed over the last five years a remarkable recovery of biodiversity on our plot, having once more created a permanent habitat for endangered wildlife such as howler monkeys, ocelots, pumas, and rare birds. In Panama’s countryside, fair jobs are hard to find. Each hectare of a generation forest creates more than a 1000 working hours each year at dignified employment standards with access to full social security, education and professional training. Our generation forest furthermore gradually converts the ground, depleted by decades of cattle farming, back into rich and fertile soil while preserving and creating millions of liters of fresh groundwater.