Project goals
Reducing carbon
Together with our local partners, our goal is to absorb up to 1,915,709 tonnes of carbon over a 30-year period through our reforestation work.
Species-rich forests such as the Atlantic Forest, can absorb up to 40 times more carbon than monocultures.
Carbon sequestration in restored forests can be affected by many factors, including previous land use, restoration method, rainfall, soil structure and fertility.
We work closely with our scientists in the field to ensure we are confident in the carbon content we are calculating. As detailed in our Project Design Document, our carbon values are taken from scientific literature and local studies.
We combine remote sensing of the forest canopy height using LIDAR technology, together with measuring trees in sample plots on the ground and robust formulae to work out the carbon content from the biomass of restored sites.
We have reduced our carbon estimates by 20% to account for any errors in estimation, which means that the carbon values used in the project are conservative. It is likely that the forest is sequestering much more.
We have also included a 20% risk buffer of carbon credits that will not be sold. While the project costs fund the planting of trees in the buffer, carbon credits are kept aside as an insurance policy so that they may be claimed in the event of natural forest loss, such as forest fires caused by lightning strike.
Every tonne of Rewild Carbon sold represents 1 tonne of carbon to be sequestered over an average 30-year active lifetime of the trees we plant.
Each tonne sold is retired and recorded in our purpose-built in-house registry to ensure it is personal to the investor and cannot be re-sold or double-counted.
Reviving ecosystems
our goal by 2030 is to restore 5,000 hectares of forest through a combination of newly planted forest corridors and agroforestry.
We know that just planting trees is not enough - seedlings need to survive and grow. This is why our trees are planted in a considered way and nurtured for the first years of their lives to ensure maximum survival from the start.
Our trees start out as seeds harvested from carefully selected areas of wild forest to ensure genetic diversity. The seedlings are grown in community-run nurseries for 3 to 6 months in preparation for planting.
We analyse each planting site and choose the most appropriate restoration method for the land, depending on its previous use and potential to naturally recover from removed threats.
We then plant 2,000 trees per hectare, using more than 100 species of native trees, including some endangered and vulnerable tree species.
These trees are carefully chosen from 40 fast-growing “cover” species which quickly develop and shade out non-native grass species, creating conditions that favour the growth of other trees, and 60 slower-growing “diversity” species that will sustain the forest structure in the longer term.
The young trees are protected and nurtured for the 3-4 years it takes them to survive independently. If a tree dies during that time, we plant another in its place. The number of trees per hectare can be expected to increase significantly in this period and even double to approximately 4,000 due to natural dispersal and regeneration.
The process of planting and cultivating new trees is owned entirely by local families who colonised the area as part of the landless rural workers’ movement (Movimento dos Travalhadores Rurais Sem Terra) and is fundamental to providing local employment and improving local livelihoods.
We work closely with IPÊ, our partners in Brazil, to monitor the development of the new forest corridors and the wildlife living there, using various methods such as acoustic sampling, camera trapping, drones and remote sensing methods.
Each Rewild Carbon polygon or tree planting site is exclusive to Durrell, so we can track the number and location of the trees that your investment has funded, and you can follow your forest corridor as it develops.
Recovering species
By 2030, our goal is to restore the habitat for more than 100 mammal species, 439 bird species and 30 amphibian species that rely on the Atlantic Forest.
In line with our mission of saving species from extinction, we will contribute to the conservation of other threatened species in the Atlantic Forest ecosystem, such as jaguars, pumas, tapirs and armadillos.
At the heart of Rewild Carbon is the black lion tamarin, a species on the brink of extinction. This project significantly contributes to the conservation of black lion tamarins living in the Pontal do Paranapanema region.
Once thought to be extinct, these charismatic primates were rediscovered in 1970. Durrell has been working together with our partners IPÊ to save this precious species for over 30 years.
Only an estimated 1,600 black lion tamarins exist in the wild, almost all of them in Morro do Diabo State Park and the scattered forest fragments surrounding it. Population growth is limited as young animals are unable to find territory of their own in the restricted habitat and are dying in their attempts to leave the forest.
By planting new tree corridors, we are linking forest fragments and creating vital lifelines for black lion tamarins and the many other species of wildlife which depend on this fragile ecosystem. It can take as little as 1-2 years for the newly planted trees to provide cover for mammals.
Tamarins are hugely important for forest regeneration, as they are key seed dispersers and pollinators, therefore the young forest corridors benefit from tamarins using them.
In an established forest, tree holes provide sleeping sites for black lion tamarins and protect them from predators. Of course, it will be many years before our young forest can provide such shelter. So, as our newly planted trees grow and mature, we will place artificial nest boxes to provide safety for the tamarins as they sleep. However, it is not easy to design the perfect nest box! We have developed our own boxes and tested them on tamarins living in forest fragments at Jersey Zoo to come up with a design which can be successfully transferred to the Atlantic Forest.
Together with IPÊ, we are also constructing important wildlife bridges, which allow black lion tamarins and other mammals to safely cross the many roads which cut through the forest in the project region.
Rewild Carbon funding also supports the wider work of Durrell saving other mammals, birds and amphibians from extinction in Brazil.
Together with our local partners ICAS – Wild Animal Conservation Institute, we are working to save giant armadillos, giant anteaters, and other threatened species in the Cerrado ecosystem of Mato Grosso do Sul.
We are also working closely with Instituto Biotrópicos to help secure the survival of a rare group of tiny frogs found only in isolated patches of Atlantic Forest in the highlands of Minas Gerais state.
Rebuilding livelihoods
By 2030, our vision is to create direct employment for 250 families in seedling production, forest restoration services and monitoring, generate $9,175,000 of local income through community nurseries and forest restoration services and train 800 local people in seedling production and forest restoration.
Local people are the true guardians of this rich landscape and are at the heart of this project. The local community were involved in the project design and now help to manage the project, whether in seedling production at the nurseries, tree planting or monitoring the new forest as it grows.
Landscape planning at a regional scale is only possible where the local community is fully involved. All community members are encouraged to participate in regular Eco-negotiations, which provide a forum for discussion of local issues and solutions. Through a long process of building trust, solving conflicts and incorporating stakeholders’ interests in projects, these meetings are crucial to Rewild Carbon and planning for the region’s future.
Poverty is a huge challenge in the project region, and young adults often move away to seek work elsewhere. Forest restoration is key to generating income. Rewild Carbon provides training and sustainable job opportunities which significantly impact the income of local families and enable young people to remain in the region.
Local families benefit from increased income and food security through improved agroforestry production systems which form part of the project.
We also provide training in seedling production, forest restoration and agroforestry, and deliver environmental education workshops for school children.
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