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Rooted in Community: A Facilitator’s Journey in Forest Conservation
In this thoughtful reflection, Hadi Prayitno, Stakeholder Engagement Manager at Wildlife Works Indonesia, shares his experiences.
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The growing threat of climate change is driven largely by increasing carbon footprints from human activities. The accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere leads to global warming, causing severe weather events, rising sea levels, and biodiversity loss. Combatting this requires urgent decarbonization. Then, compensating for unavoidable emissions with carbon credits throughout the decarbonization journey will advance the speed of global efforts in mitigating climate change.
WHAT ARE CARBON CREDITS AND HOW DO THEY WORK?
Carbon credits are tradable nature conservation financing units, with each carbon credit representing the reduction or removal of one metric ton of CO₂ or its equivalent. They were created as a mechanism to create new financial streams to help fight climate change.
WHY INVEST IN FOREST CARBON CREDITS?
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
Purchasing REDD+ carbon credits supports projects that reduce emissions by stopping deforestation and protects critical habitat for endangered wildlife and a healthy planet.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Forest Carbon Credits create access to funds for forest communities to develop their self-determined sustainable development pathways.
CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY
Carbon credits are a way for companies to take accountability for their unavoidable emissions, while on their path to decarbonization.
WHY INVEST IN CARBON AVOIDANCE PROJECTS ALONGSIDE CARBON REMOVAL PROJECTS?
The climate crisis is accelerating, and we're falling further behind every day. Every tonne of carbon we continue to emit contributes to building up a debt that we'll have to pay back later, except the exponential 'interest' on this debt is rising global temperatures and all the disastrous consequences that come with it. Carbon prevented from entering the atmosphere earlier has a greater positive impact on reducing cumulative global warming.
While Afforestation, Reforestation, and Revegetation (ARR) projects can be important activities for restoring forests, it is critical that we first and foremost prioritize preventing the deforestation of intact forests. The carbon emissions resulting from deforestation and forest degradation significantly exceed what ARR projects can absorb. One study published in Nature found that while one hectare of deforestation on average emits 355 tons of CO2, one hectare of reforestation only absorbs 6.7 tons of CO2. Newly planted forests require decades to sequester as much carbon as what’s currently stored in the old-growth forests, and one meta-analysis found that the survival rate of newly planted trees was only 56% after five years. Furthermore, old-growth forests have higher carbon densities than younger forests, provide more ecosystem services, and support a greater level of biodiversity.
While some believe that protecting forests is not as “permanent” of a solution as technological removals, some of our planet’s forests are hundreds of millions of years old. While individual trees live and die, the forests themselves are the original, and durable climate solutions for many generations to come. Additionally, carbon removal technology is still in its infancy, and it would be imprudent to rely on this method as a panacea for future climate mitigation efforts.
We must take immediate action and invest in protecting our planet’s standing forests and their biodiversity today.
Climate change poses an existential threat to humanity, but luckily, one of the greatest solutions to this threat is right in front of us - protecting our natural world.
Research shows that if managed properly, forests, grasslands, and wetlands have the potential to provide over a third of the emission reductions needed by 2030 to keep global temperature increases under 2°C.
It can take several decades to over a century for a newly planted tree to sequester the same amount of carbon as an old growth tree, which is why it’s critical to protect our planet’s forests that are still intact.
Beyond carbon sequestration, nature-based projects like REDD+ and forest carbon projects yield significant benefits through various ecosystem services. For instance, healthy forests and wetlands have improved water filtration, provide natural flood protection, enhance biodiversity, and boost soil health. These additional benefits translate to substantial cost savings compared to engineered solutions for the same services.
Nature is an extremely powerful and intelligent force, and if given the chance, has the ability to significantly contribute to the fight against climate change.
We continue to encourage companies to decarbonize their businesses first and report their emissions and impacts on biodiversity loss. Then, use high quality forest carbon credits as an essential tool to protect forests throughout the decarbonization journey to meet our Paris Agreement goals.
Projects that generate carbon credits must meet stringent standards to ensure that the reductions are real, measurable, and permanent. Carbon credits fund projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions or remove CO₂ from the atmosphere. These projects can include avoided deforestation (protection of threatened forests), afforestation, renewable energy installations, and energy efficiency improvements. Once verified, the credits can be traded on carbon markets, providing a financial mechanism for organizations to invest in sustainable practices.
Avoided deforestation, or Forest Carbon Credits, or REDD+ credits (the type of projects that Wildlife Works develops) is defined as preventing deforestation by creating a change in policy, funding, actions, goals, etc. By stopping deforestation that would have happened due to high economically-driven threats, REDD+ projects can prevent carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere.
WHY CHOOSE WILDLIFE WORKS?
A LEADER
We authored the first methodology for avoided ecosystem conversion that allowed Kasigau Corridor REDD+ to be the first verified REDD+ project in the VCM, and charted a path for other developers to increase the use of this mechanism to protect forests. We are now working with industry stakeholders to ensure developers have better guidelines for the use of methodologies that result in high integrity credits. Wildlife Works is leading in the transition to nested projects, as the Mai Ndombe REDD+ Project was the first to be nested into a jurisdictional program.
OUR CONSERVATION MISSION AND VALUES
Wildlife Works was founded in 1997 on the idea that if we want wildlife in our world, conservation efforts must work for local communities who share their environment with wildlife. Our mission is to develop market-based solutions for wildlife conservation that drive measurable sustainable development to local communities.. Learn more about our values here.
COMMUNITY CORE-BENEFITS
Our REDD+ projects are designed from the outset to first and foremost put local communities in charge of their own development plans through job creation and community-determined development projects. These core development activities sustain conservation outcomes, which is why we refer to them as “core-benefits” instead of co-benefits.
By creating jobs, improving infrastructure, and supporting education and healthcare, our projects are co-designed with local communities to ensure that conservation efforts are sustainable and invest in their economic development.
CERTIFICATION AND STANDARDS
Wildlife Works adheres to the highest standards for carbon offset projects. Our projects are verified by leading certification bodies, ensuring transparency, accountability, and real impact in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. As the market evolves, we will continue to stay ahead of quality standards, prioritizing our community-centered values. We support the work that standards are doing to ensure developers have better guidelines for the use of methodologies that result in high integrity credits.
INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES:
Purchase carbon credits to invest in forest conservation through our exclusive partner Stand For Trees
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
VERIFIED CARBON PROJECTS
A carbon footprint measures the total greenhouse gases emitted directly or indirectly by human activities, usually expressed in equivalent tons of CO₂.
One carbon credit equals one metric ton of carbon dioxide, roughly the amount absorbed by 40 tropical rainforest trees annually. A metric ton of carbon dioxide is about the size of a 2 story house.
One ton of carbon is emitted from driving 2,500 miles driven by an average gasoline-powered car or flying a 3,000-mile round-trip flight for one passenger. (source) In the United States, a typical American diet can contribute 2.5 tons of CO2e per person each year. (source)
Carbon credits fund projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions or remove CO₂ from the atmosphere.
Carbon projects can include avoided deforestation (protection of threatened forests), reforestation, afforestation, renewable energy installations, and energy efficiency improvements. Wildlife Works focuses on Avoided Deforestation, or REDD+ projects that protect intact forests.
REDD+ stands for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation. These projects specifically focus on forests. Learn more here.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
PARTIAL CLIENT LISTS
CARBON RELATED BLOG POSTS
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