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Climate Emergency

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The Future Forest Company: Innovative solutions to tackle the climate crisis

Up in Dalry, Scotland lie 430 acres of land that before May 2020 were covered top to toe with degraded soil. But over the past five months, we&#8217;ve worked with <a href="https://thefutureforestcompany.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Future Forest Company</a> to bring the land back to life. We sat down with Jim Mann, co-founder of FFC to learn about the variety of natural climate solutions they&#8217;re utilising at the site, along with how the forest is getting on.
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You can also catch more of the interview on our Youtube channel.

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First things first, let&#8217;s introduce you to The Future Forest Company. In 2019 Jim and his co-founder Jade Read started FFC so they could dedicate their time fully to the ultimate goal of reversing climate change through mass reforestation. But what makes FFC so unique is that alongside their reforestation they create and run &#8216;forest friendly sustainable business that balance both purpose and profit. You can learn more about their mission and business <a href="https://thefutureforestcompany.com/what-we-do/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here on their website. </a>
But to us FFC are our beloved <a href="https://ecologi.com/">tree planting</a> partners in the UK and are responsible for the last 5000-10,000 trees we have <a href="https://ecologi.com/projects/reforesting-dalry-scotland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">planted up in Scotland</a>. They were founded with the aim of tackling climate change through reforestation projects and other means of drawing down carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. They buy degraded land and plant it up with forests using a native species mix, and then do all they can to protect the land so that the forests can survive for hundreds to thousands of years.

When we sat down with Jim we were keen to hear an explanation of the history of the land we&#8217;re reforesting together. &#8220;Our site in Scotland was formerly an upland pasture farm. The sheep and cows on this farm over-grazed the land, leaving it with poor soil quality and a significant lack of biodiversity.&#8221;  The team has been busy planting your trees to change this land for the better, planting 6000 new trees in October alone. As these trees grow they help to improve the soil biology. Leaf drop every year adds the fertility back into the soil and other life starts to move back in, first bacteria, then insects and then further up the food chain. According to Jim, the site is now overrun with voles that have brought birds of prey back to the area. &#8220;You now see hen harriers, an endangered species, regularly on site, when before the sighting of a bird of prey was rare. This is yet another sign that the land is already starting to recover&#8221;. 
Another way that the FFC are improving the biodiversity of our forest is to wild grazing of <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CA2W_vgHY3Z/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wooly pigs.</a> This is not only extremely cute but they also encourage rapid recover of the local biodiversity. Having livestock such as pigs living and grazing on the same land where trees are planted is a technique called <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/agroforestry" target="_blank" rel="noopener">agroforestry</a>. These pigs churn up the soil, which allows the seed bank to come up to the surface, improving the species diversity of the forests.  One problem that can be common in forests in the UK is that bracken can take over the area. This forms a thick mat of dead bracken, which suffocates the other plants. Over a number of years, bracken can completely take over the area, leading to a poor mix of species. That’s where the pigs come in. They trample and clear the bracken, giving space for new life to push through it. The manure that the pigs produce also helps to add nutrition to the soils, working as a natural fertiliser for the trees.

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Innovative solutions to tackle climate change

One of the really interesting things that we found out whilst talking to Jim was that the team are also investigating other methods of capturing carbon dioxide, to use alongside planting forests. For example, they have been experimenting with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biochar#:~:text=Biochar%20is%20charcoal%20that%20is,soil%20for%20thousands%20of%20years." target="_blank" rel="noopener">biochar </a>which is another way of storing carbon. Biochar is a charcoal-like product that is produced from taking biomass and burning it in the absence of oxygen (a process called <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/pyrolysis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pyrolysis</a>). This biomass can be any carbon product, including forest waste, straw or even cardboard or paper. Typically, the organic matter used is agricultural residue, forestry waste and animal manure. The biochar that is produced has an enormous amount of carbon locked up inside of it – it is between 75-90% pure carbon. After being produced, the biochar is crushed up and spread amongst the forest floor, distributing the captured carbon.  This is where the magic comes in, normally biomass would rot down, which would then release CO2 and methane into the atmosphere. But through the process of creating biochar, the gases are stored within the soil. Research suggests that this carbon can remain stored in the soil for many centuries. 
What’s more, the application of biochar can help the soils to recover even if it&#8217;s extremely degraded. This means that once a sapling is planted and the biochar is spread the sapling will have an extra boost, helping it to grow big and strong.
Another interesting fact about biochar is that it acts as a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/soil-amendment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">soil amendment</a>, creating a platform for bacteria to colonise and thrive. This helps with the process of attracting new life to the area and improving biodiversity. Biochar also improves the drainage of soils and helps with water retention in times of drought. So, biochar application has the potential to take in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and provide benefits to the soil- this is a win-win situation for the land, the trees and the local life.
Research within the scientific literature suggests that biochar application has the potential to remove up to <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aabf9f/pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">11.9 GTCO2</a> from the atmosphere each year if it becomes a widely adopted practice. The Future Forest Company are in the process of appointing a Biochar Project Manager who will be managing the set-up of their Biochar Project on the Glanaros Estate on Mull.

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Another technique for drawing in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere that the team is experimenting with is <a href="https://earth.org/enhanced-weathering-for-carbon-capture/#:~:text=Enhanced%20weathering%20is%20a%20carbon,are%20weighed%20against%20the%20benefits." target="_blank" rel="noopener">enhanced weathering</a>. Now this is not to be mistaken with your every day &#8216;Weathering&#8217; which is the process whereby rocks are broken down physically into smaller rocks, then sand, mud and clay. Due to a large amount of  CO2 in our atmosphere, our rain is acidic. This acidic rain reacts with rocks and soils it lands on, gradually breaking them down into minute grains and forming bicarbonate. This is then transported to the ocean by rivers and eventually forms carbonate rocks with the carbon locked up inside of them. Natural rock weathering is one of the most important ways that CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere are kept stable over geological time and it absorbs around 0.3% of global fossil fuel emissions.
Enhanced weathering involves increasing the scale and the rate of natural weathering in order to take in more CO2. This involves grinding up large amounts of rocks and spreading them over regions where <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/weathering/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">chemical weathering</a> occurs naturally. These rocks will react with rainwater and absorb the carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, permanently locking it away. Scientific studies suggest that applying this rock to the soils can also improve soil health, boosting nutrient levels and helping to restore degraded agricultural soils.  
This process of enhanced weathering is less advanced than the use of biochar in reforestation. Although the science is reasonably well established, how it works in the field is less well understood. However, it is well established that this technique has a huge potential for carbon capture and storage. CO2 taken in is stored permanently, and studies have shown that there are 430 billion tonnes worth of carbon removal under the UK. Of course, not all of this is extractable (we can’t start digging up mountains), but it represents a big potential for mitigating climate change. One point of contention with enhanced weathering is that it requires a huge amount of energy for extracting, grinding up and transporting the rock. If this technique became more widely established, it would be really important to try and ensure this energy comes from renewable sources.

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There's lots of exciting possibilities ahead

From this conversation with Jim we&#8217;ve now found a greater appreciation for their work and a new knowledge of the diverse ways in which we can capture carbon beyond planting trees. What’s more, is that these natural solutions not only work wonderfully by themselves but when paired with reforestation they can multiply the environmental benefits. In the interview, Jim highlighted that he and his team place a big emphasis on getting things done quickly, as we need to draw CO2 out of the air as fast as possible to stop the climate crisis. These technologies may provide a way for regenerating forests and planting trees to have even more of an impact.
We want to thank Jim for his time, and to thank the entire team at The Future Forests Company for their tireless innovative work. And thank you to everyone from our community who has supported our UK forests.

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The Million Tree Pledge: an effort to change the world  

<h3>“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” &#8211; Margaret Mead. </h3>
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This quote displayed at pride of place on the Million Tree Pledge website really sums up what they, as a movement, are trying to do. They have created a platform to connect and inspire small groups of people to help change the world by making a commitment to plant 1 million trees each.

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The Million Tree Pledge is a group of businesses and ambitious individuals who have come together to take action and do something radical in response to the climate emergency. Each pledger has made a bold, two-part commitment to: 
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<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Plant over 1 million trees by a specific date (most pledgers have chosen 2030.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Find at least two other pledgers to do the same, ensuring that the initiative grows exponentially. </li>
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The Million Tree Pledge aims to have tens of thousands of pledgers in the next few years, collectively planting billions of trees around the world in the places where they are needed the most. This community is rising up, to draw carbon down from the atmosphere, drawing down significantly more carbon than their own lifetime emissions. That&#8217;s why the slogan for this pledge is the powerful  #RiseUpDrawDown.

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There are many ways to change the world and many different things that are needed. However, at Ecologi, we believe that planting trees is a great way to start, and the folks at the Million Tree Pledge definitely agree with us there. It’s now common knowledge that one of the best tools to tackle the climate crisis and keep our temperatures from rising above 1.5°C is to plant trees.
Trees are also crucial in preventing ecological collapse and preserving the world&#8217;s biodiversity. They provide habitat, shade, shelter and food for local wildlife, support local communities and stabilise soils to minimize the risk of natural hazards like landslides. They also help to purify air and water sources and even have a positive effect on our mental health.

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The founding members of the Million Tree Pledge were already drawing down their carbon footprints by planting trees through Ecologi. A number of them had the same personal ambition of planting 1 million trees. When they realised this, Marcus Hemsley, one of the founders, came up with the idea of a pledge site where people could formally commit to planting 1 million trees and also encourage others to do the same. 
Launched on Earth Day 2021, there are already 34 individuals and businesses signed up to the Million Tree Pledge and 31 million trees have been pledged so far!  In just 8 months, the MTP has already collectively planted 4.8 million trees, and are aiming to reach 5 million by the end of the year.

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The great thing about the Million Tree Pledge is that it is for everyone, with an emphasis on SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises), with ambitious sustainability goals. It’s all about providing small businesses with a way to have a massive impact by taking on a huge challenge and setting themselves ambitious targets that will involve making some changes and employing some pretty creative initiative and engineering in order to achieve them.
Some examples of businesses that have already committed to this challenge include <a href="https://ecologi.com/create" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Create</a> (283,223 trees so far!), <a href="https://ecologi.com/thrive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Thrive Accountants</a> (57,439 trees), and <a href="https://ecologi.com/propellernet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Propellernet</a> (358,747 trees so far!).

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In August 2021, <a href="https://ecologi.com/krystal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Krystal Hosting</a> became not only the first member of the Million Tree Pledger to complete their pledge, but also our first Ecologi partner to achieve 1 Million trees planted!
We’re so proud to work with Krystal and we love seeing all their inspiring, planet-saving work. Planting 1 Million trees is only one part of Krystal’s wider green strategy which includes being one of the first website hosting services to be powered by 100% renewable energy, having their data centre facility supplied by 100% green power, and offering their staff incentive schemes to encourage all Krystal employees to switch to 100% renewable energy at home too.
A great many other businesses have signed up so far too! Some of these include:  

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<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://ecologi.com/fountainpartnership" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fountain Partnership</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://ecologi.com/create" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Create</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://ecologi.com/bother">Bother</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://ecologi.com/cannabrew" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cannabrew</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://ecologi.com/propellernet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Propellernet</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://ecologi.com/parcelmonkey" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Parcel Monkey</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://ecologi.com/bakedin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bakedin</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://ecologi.com/eetgroup" target="_blank" rel="noopener">EET</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://ecologi.com/utilities4lessltd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">U4L</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://ecologi.com/thrive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Thrive Accountants</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://ecologi.com/remarkably" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Remarkably</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://ecologi.com/climbingtrees" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Climbing Trees</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://ecologi.com/bima/msq" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MSQ</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://ecologi.com/londonspeakerbureau" target="_blank" rel="noopener">London Speaker Bureau</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://ecologi.com/reverse">Reverse</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://ecologi.com/glowinnovationlimited" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Glow Innovation Limited</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://ecologi.com/glowinnovationlimited/fineartbykirsteenthomson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fine Art By Kirsteen Thomson</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://ecologi.com/glowinnovationlimited/chloebullock" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Materialise Interiors</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://ecologi.com/glowinnovationlimited/simbiotikltd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Simbiotik</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://ecologi.com/reddico" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reddico</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://ecologi.com/majority" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Majority</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://ecologi.com/jeremystern" target="_blank" rel="noopener">PromoVeritas</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://straightforward.design/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Straight Forward Design</a></li>
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The Collective Forest - making the MTP accessible to all 

The Collective Forest is another amazing collective action story from our Million Tree Pledge community. Laura Gelder-Robertson from <a href="https://ecologi.com/glowinnovationlimited" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Glow Innovation Limited</a> set up the Collective Forest as a way to make the Million Tree Pledge accessible to everyone &#8211; even the smallest of micro businesses! 
In order to join the Million Tree Pledge, businesses and individuals need to have 10,000 trees planted with Ecologi or another verified tree planting provider. (It’s important that these trees are planted with reputable providers to ensure they can be evidenced). This 10,000 tree buy-in (just £1,240 through Ecologi) is still a big reach for micro businesses, sole traders and new businesses just yet starting out, and some just can’t afford this outlay. So, to make the movement more accessible, Laura decided to start a collective forest in which smaller businesses could team up to work towards the goal of planting 1 million trees.  
On the first Monday of COP26, Laura marked the occasion by spending her entire life savings on planting 100,000 trees. She hoped to inspire others to join her in working as a team to reach 1 million, and this hope has already been proved possible. Small businesses that want to take part now just need to put forward 1000 trees (£124)  to join Laura’s ‘Parent’ Ecologi forest and become part of the movement. This Collective Forest has already welcomed two new pledgers, <a href="https://ecologi.com/glowinnovationlimited/fineartbykirsteenthomson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fine Art by Kirsteen Thomson</a> and <a href="https://ecologi.com/glowinnovationlimited/chloebullock" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Materialise Interiors</a>. You can see how the Collective Forest works by viewing Laura’s <a href="https://ecologi.com/glowinnovationlimited" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Glow Innovation Limited forest</a>.
In an<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWeoF6n7dg0" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> interview </a>with Marcus Hemsley, Laura talked about what drove her to start the Collective Forest. She said that she knew some of the pledgers, and everything they were talking about was about 100 times more ambitious than what she was thinking at the time. She thought  “I’m a one woman band &#8211; but what&#8217;s stopping me from becoming just as ambitious as them?”. So, Laura pitched to the group that she could probably plant 100,000 trees, and probably find another 9 small businesses that could do the same, and it is certainly already looking that way. 
In this interview, Laura describes the warm reception she received from alumni at Cambridge University and how people high up in big businesses, sustainability and multinational corporations were just a little bit gobsmacked (as we all were!) If one person can pledge that much, it makes the 1 million trees that they planted as a massive business last year pale into insignificance. This was exactly Laura’s intention: getting everyone to amp up the ambition. She emphasises that it is all about doing everything we can to massively up the commitment from everyone.  By throwing down the gauntlet to all businesses, we can make sure that everyone gets involved in the fight to reverse the climate crisis and show the bigger businesses exactly how much is expected and needed from them. She says, “Time isn&#8217;t on our side”, and “it&#8217;s absolutely an emergency”, and that we need to act NOW.
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In her interview, Laura mentions ‘The Hummingbird Mindset”. This is the African fable about a fire in a forest. While the fire rages through the trees, all the animals are watching in fear apart from the smallest hummingbird who keeps on filling its beak with water from the river to drop on the fire. It returns countless times in an effort to distinguish the fire. When asked by the other animals “what is it doing?”, it replies, “I’m doing the most I can”. 
The message from this rings strong in that if everyone did the maximum they could do, we would be so much more likely to be able to “put out the fire”, and halt and reverse the climate crisis. Individuals and small businesses can and must do their part, whether that is pledging to plant 1 million trees with the <a href="https://www.milliontreepledge.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Million Tree Pledge</a>, or forming an <a href="https://ecologi.com/glowinnovationlimited" target="_blank" rel="noopener">alliance</a> in order to do so. We have to all take action and do the most that we can &#8211; it&#8217;s the only way in which we actually can change the world.
<a href="https://ecologi.com/plan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sign up today to take real climate action with Ecologi</a>.

Updates

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From 1st February 2022, the cost of purchasing a verified tonne of carbon reduction via our API is increasing from £3.70 to £6.50. The same change has been implemented on our platform as of today (18th January). These changes are due to significant increases in market prices. This will not affect subscription plans at this time.
Industry-wide, the cost of buying and retiring one tonne of carbon <a href="https://carboncredits.com/carbon-prices-today/">has increased dramatically over the past year</a>. This means we need to update the pricing for carbon via our API, so that it more closely matches the real cost of carbon in the market.
At Ecologi, impact is our foremost goal which means we continuously strive to balance cost and quality. <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dACvzjE5nBE1cKZBAhYzsUa7rIiLJqCWXVgY4bNS8_Q/edit#gid=766227634">Our public ledger</a> gives you direct insight into our purchasing philosophy and visualises how we distribute our income between operational costs and impact. 
If you have any questions, please contact <a href="mailto:sales@ecologi.com">sales@ecologi.com.</a>
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FAQs

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We love planting trees – but that’s not all we do. Ecologi also helps preserve the world’s existing forests by supporting carbon reduction projects that prevent degradation and deforestation.

Why are forest protection projects important?

Home to most of the world’s biodiversity, forests also play a crucial role in supporting the supply of water, and help to combat climate change. Additionally, forests all over the world provide livelihoods for local communities and are essential for food production. The forest protection projects Ecologi supports are important because forests across the planet are being destroyed at alarming rates. Since the 90s, roughly <a href="http://www.fao.org/3/ca8642en/CA8642EN.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">420 million hectares of forest</a> have been lost to make room for <a href="https://ecologi.com/articles/blog/industries-and-sectors-driving-deforestation-what-you-need-to-know" target="_blank" rel="noopener">other land uses</a>, like agricultural expansion.   
Tackling deforestation helps us to tackle our planet&#8217;s biggest problems: the climate crisis and the biodiversity crisis. Deforestation is the leading cause of biodiversity loss, while the associated carbon emissions of land-use change are thought to be <a href="https://drawdown.org/solutions/forest-protection" target="_blank" rel="noopener">10-15% of the world&#8217;s total</a> emissions – more than the entire global transport sector.

Avoiding deforestation is part of the solution

Put simply, we can combat deforestation just by planting more trees. The FAO 2020 <a href="http://www.fao.org/3/ca8642en/CA8642EN.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">State of the World’s Forest Report</a> says that we need large-scale reforestation to meet the <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals" target="_blank" rel="noopener">UN Sustainable Development Goals</a> and stop –and reverse– biodiversity loss. Through forest restoration can we restore habitats and ecosystems, and create jobs and generate income for local communities. Reforestation is an effective nature-based solution to climate change, but making sure areas of existing forest stay in tact is just as important.

Over <a href="http://www.fao.org/3/ca8642en/CA8642EN.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a third (34%)</a> of the world&#8217;s forests are primary forests. These are naturally generated forests of native tree species where there are no clearly visible indications of human activity. Primary forests are invaluable for their biodiversity, carbon storage and other benefits to ecosystems.
Comparing primary forests with both secondary (those established through natural expansion and around 14–16 years old) and planted forests, <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/104/47/18555" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one study of species richness</a> found that 25% of the species were unique to primary forests, with almost 60% only present in primary forests. If we allow the destruction of primary forests to continue, we risk losing species that we can never get back.

Forest protection projects and carbon storage

Primary forests, or old-growth or virgin forests, are also a priority for valuable carbon storage. The likes of the Amazon, Congo and Great Bear Rainforest have mature canopy trees and complex understories, containing <a href="https://www.drawdown.org/solutions/forest-protection/technical-summary#:~:text=Project%20Drawdown%20defines%20forest%20protection,replaces%20non%2Dprotected%20forest%20land.&amp;text=They%20represent%20massive%20storehouses%20of%20carbon%20in%20soils%20and%20biomass." target="_blank" rel="noopener">an estimated 300 billion tonnes of carbon</a>. 
According to Project Drawdown, forest protection has the potential to avoid the emission of <a href="https://www.drawdown.org/solutions/forest-protection/technical-summary#:~:text=Project%20Drawdown%20defines%20forest%20protection,replaces%20non%2Dprotected%20forest%20land.&amp;text=They%20represent%20massive%20storehouses%20of%20carbon%20in%20soils%20and%20biomass." target="_blank" rel="noopener">5.52 to 8.75 gigatons of CO2e </a>between 2020 and 2050, while <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-019-0485-x" target="_blank" rel="noopener">another recent study</a> shows that avoided deforestation offers between 7.2 and 9.6 times the potential for low-cost climate mitigation as reforestation. 
Of course, forest restoration is still vital, but prevention is better than cure. As well as planting new trees, we should also protect existing forests because they store more carbon, and contain plants and animals that we may never see in planted or restored forests. That&#8217;s why, at Ecologi, we do both!

Forest protection projects Ecologi has supported

These projects are part of the Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (<a href="https://www.un-redd.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">REDD+</a>) scheme. They place an area of forest under protection through long-term forest management. These are some of the forest protection programmes Ecologi has supported most recently:

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<h3>1. Preserving prime Brazilian rainforests</h3>
This project is protecting and restoring 186,219 hectares of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. This area of the rainforest hosts eight endangered mammal species, and numerous endangered bird and plant species. The project will prevent the deforestation of 30,0006 hectares over its 30 years project lifetime, which equates to 14,507,808 tCO2e in emissions reductions. 
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<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Emissions avoided by Ecologi through this project: 1300 tCO2e </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Sustainable Development Goals supported: Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, Goal 13: Climate Action and Goal 15: Life on Land. </li>
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<h3>2. Protecting the Amazon Rainforest from deforestation in Brazil</h3>
Ecologi has supported a fantastic project protecting 496,988 hectares of the Brazilian rainforest, rich in biodiversity and containing several species of extreme ecological and social importance. Six critically endangered or threatened species will benefit from the reduction of threats as a result of the project activities. For the 30-year phase of the project, an estimated 15,491,971 tonnes of CO2e will be saved from entering the atmosphere.
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<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Emissions avoided by Ecologi through this project: 1750 tCO2e </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Sustainable Development Goals supported: Goal 2: Zero hunger, Goal 4: Quality Education, Goal 5: Gender Equality, Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, Goal 13: Climate Action, and Goal 15: Life on Land </li>
</ul>

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<h3>3. Protecting and restoring the Pacific Coast of Columbia</h3>
This avoided deforestation project based on the Pacific coast of Columbia protects 83,452 hectares of land containing over 831 bird species, 195 amphibians, 167 mammals, 210 reptiles and 5124 plant species. Illegal timber extraction has historically been an important source of income within this project zone, and the project aims to relieve the pressure on the forests by supporting the development of sustainable economic and livelihood alternatives. 
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Emissions avoided by Ecologi through this project: 2500 tCO2e </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Sustainable Development Goals supported:  Goal 1: No Poverty, Goal 2: Zero Hunger, Goal 4: Quality Education, Goal 5: Gender Equality, Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth and Goal 13: Climate Action.</li>
</ul>

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<h3>4. Preserving the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor in Guatemala</h3>
This project sets out to protect and restore 54,157 hectares of land in the Guatemalan section of the Mesoamerican biological corridor by saving the existing areas of forest, establishing areas of reforestation, reducing illegal logging and providing alternative revenue streams from forest production, like sustainable agroforestry. 
Additionally, this project offers community objectives, like providing full access to reproductive health information and care for local women, and ensuring that a sufficient household income for local people is provided from sustainable practices.
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Emissions avoided by Ecologi through this project: 4400 tCO2e </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Sustainable Development Goals supported: Goal 2: Zero Hunger, Goal 3: Good Health and Wellbeing, Goal 13: Climate Action, Goal 14: Life below Water and Goal 15: Life on Land. </li>
</ul>

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<h3>5. Peruvian protection of the Amazon</h3>
We have supported this project which is protecting 98,932 hectares of the Amazonian rainforest in the Madre de Dios region of Peru. This project secures the long-term conservation and sustainable management of the forest, promotes a healthy wildlife habitat, and will prevent 659,793 tonnes of CO2e from entering the atmosphere each year. 
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Emissions avoided by Ecologi through this project: 4450 tCO2e </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">SDG co-benefits: 
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">Goal 1: No Poverty, </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">Goal 3: Good Health and Wellbeing, </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">Goal 4: Quality Education, </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">Goal 5: Gender Equality, </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">Goal 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure, </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">Goal 10, Reduced inequalities, </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">Goal 11: sustainable cities and communities, </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">Goal 12: responsible consumption and production, </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">Goal 13: Climate Action, </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">Goal 15: Life on Land, </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">Goal 16: Peace justice and strong institutions; </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">Goal 17: partnerships for the global goals. </li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>

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The co-benefits of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)

Ecologi only supports and funds carbon offsetting projects which support SDG 13 – Climate Action. However, many of the projects we support – especially those avoiding deforestation – offer SDG co-benefits. This means that they provide a verified and well-documented benefit to other goals in addition to Climate Action. To find out more about our SDG co-benefits, have a look at our <a href="https://ecologi.com/articles/updates/ecologi-impact-report-2020" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2020 climate impact report.</a>

Summary: Why forest protection projects are important

Protecting existing rainforests is a vital strategy to tackling the climate and biodiversity crisis. Forests contain vast amounts of biodiversity and store masses of carbon. That&#8217;s why Ecologi plants thousands of trees AND funds forest protection projects through carbon credits, benefiting both wildlife and the community. 
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<a href="https://ecologi.com/plan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sign up</a> to Ecologi today to help fund these amazing projects to protect existing rainforests around the world.

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