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“While much of the debate on stopping climate change has focused on curbing emissions from industry and transportation, forest protection is one of the most powerful and cost effective tools we have to reduce global carbon emissions,” Karen Foerstel, spokesperson for the Nature Conservancy told MediaGlobal. “In addition to stopping forest destruction, planting new trees helps remove the carbon dioxide that is already in the atmosphere. Restoring degraded and destroyed forestlands around the world has the potential to absorb 3.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide each year until 2030.”
The centerpiece of the Global Forestry Plan is the planting and harvesting of the Kiri tree, which will prevent the need to destroy existing trees for lumber. Kiri trees have been developed over 20 years to be able to sequester a great amount of carbon dioxide –2.5 tons each—making them ideal for fighting global warming and earning carbon credits for ECO2 to sell on the market. The trees to be planted on Malakula are expected to store 7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in the first planting cycle alone. Kiri trees were bred for their strength, resistance to disease, ability to grow in limited space, and 7-year harvest cycles (very fast compared to most trees). A harvest cycle is the time it takes a nascent tree to grow to a harvestable size. Kiri trees also regenerate from stump to new plant rapidly after harvest, which makes them ideal for use in sustainable lumber production.
“Sustainability is central to the economic and environmental appeal of the Kiri tree’s use within the Global Forestry Plan and ensures a consistent and long-term revenue steam is delivered whilst creating hundreds of jobs for local communities and a positive environmental outcome.” Andrew Laing of ECO2 marketing and communications told MediaGlobal in an email. “This alone directly contributes to reducing the need to cut down old growth forests thereby preserving them for future generations.”
The people of Vanuatu can benefit greatly from the ECO2 project. According to ECO2’s core philosophy, ECO2 projects must bring income and industry to local communities through the strengthening of a sustainable lumber industry. This particular project will bring 300 or more jobs to Malakula. ECO2 also pledges to involve local people in the planting and regenerating process, educating them on sustainable forestry, a benefit that will hopefully pay dividends in knowledge and profit far into the future.
It is no accident that ECO2 chose Vanuatu as the first site for its expansion into the developing world. “The climate [of Vanuatu] provides adequate rainfall and plenty of sunlight. This allows the Kiri tree to grow at its maximum rate (ours grow 20 feet [6 meters] in their first season and a height of 80 feet [25 meters] and diameter of 20-inches [50 centimeters] in 7 years). This enables maximum carbon sequestration and quality of timber,” Laing wrote. “Secondly, Vanuatu has been heavily impacted by deforestation in the past, leaving communities, such as those on the project area on the island of Malakula without many opportunities for sustainable long-term employment.”
The Malakula Reforestation Project is currently awaiting the completion of an Environmental Impact Evaluation for the project, but hopes to begin work officially in the first quarter of 2010. The project is expected to sustain itself for over fifty years, so ECO2 could be bringing benefits to Vanuatu for a long time to come.
