- green-spots
- reforestation
- Nicaragua
- CommuniTree Carbon Program, Nicaragua
Problems
Nicaragua has the largest tropical rainforest north of Amazonia. A rainforest to dry-forest (rainfall) gradient stretches along the country's southern border, and rainforest to cloud forest (altitudinal) spans the Pacific lowlands and North Central regions. The Central region also features lowland pine savannas, cloud, and oak-pine forests. These species-rich forest ecosystems, however, are threatened by the vast and ongoing clearance of forests for agriculture. Only 27% of the country remains covered by forests, as deforestation is advancing at an average rate of 76,000 hectares per year, the second-highest deforestation rate in Central America (Global Forest Watch, 2022). Today, many areas of the country only feature patches of mature trees that once defined the landscape and provided abundant precipitation, water resources protection, and wildlife.
Solutions
CommuniTree Carbon Program
Author: Taking Root
The project works with smallholder farmers who possess documentation to prove they own their land. In Nicaragua, carbon rights are associated with land ownership. Private ownership of farmland can be acquired through land market purchase, inheritance, and land reform. Several broad categories exist, including legal deeds, individual land reform titles, and (problematic) informal titles (i.e., pieces of paper attempting to document recognized property rights and documentation issued in someone else's name). Strengthening property rights and modernizing land administration challenges Nicaragua’s social and economic development. Previous conflicts in the country and decades of inconsistent administrative decisions affected land records and tenure security. Given this context, farmers who want to participate in the project must possess officially recognized documentation in their own name to demonstrate land ownership. This will ensure the long-term sustainability of the trees planted and the lawful rights of the participant regarding the ownership of carbon credits generated through the project. Effects of activities on biodiversity and the environment Project activities affect biodiversity positively by improving biodiverse habitats through native species reforestation. The project emphasizes the collection of seeds from around the community whenever possible, instead of buying only from commercial suppliers, to promote genetic variation within species. A more diverse tree stock increases vegetation biodiversity within farms and at the landscape level while providing increased habitat for wildlife. Environmentally, planting trees on degraded land promotes the diversification of soil microbial populations, stabilizes the soil structure, and improves the capacity of the soil to hold and infiltrate rainwater, contributing to replenishing ground and surface water storage. The inclusion of nitrogen-fixing leguminous trees in the planting designs improves soil health and fertility. Project activities also affect the environment positively by contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and helping regulate temperature by increasing shade. Planting trees in areas close to critical watersheds helps regulate the hydrological cycle, helps stabilize river flows, improves groundwater recharge, and buffers against winds and intense rain events. Nicaragua maintains around 72 protected conservation areas throughout the country. MARENA, the Nicaraguan Ministry of the Environment, oversees the forest management in these areas. Due to the often-degraded state of these protected regions, the government actively promotes reforestation initiatives therein. Protected areas have individualized land use plans that delineate 1) core and buffer zones and 2) the harvesting and management of the forests in each zone. Taking Root collaborates with local farmers to plant trees on degraded lands within these buffer zones. In doing so, Taking Root engages closely with MARENA to ensure compliance with the area's land use policies and to secure the necessary permissions for wood harvesting, which is consistent with our Plan Vivo-approved planting designs.
Source: https://takingroot.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Communitree_PV_PDD2023.pdf
Gallery
4
Timelines
2023
The financing raised through the sale of carbon credits enabled the CommuniTree program to create critically important impacts across climate, nature, and local communities. Over the year, CommuniTree restored 3,720 hectares of new land, issuing 988,658 certified ex-ante carbon credits. Beyond removing carbon from the atmosphere, the program has supported 173 local permanent positions this year to help farmers start growing 5,096,559 million new trees. The program now works with 4,202 farmers, collectively restoring 14,864 ha across Nicaragua. Their forests are regenerating vital local ecosystems and watersheds, enhancing biodiversity, and building improved climate-resilient livelihoods for hundreds of local communities in Nicaragua.
2014
To accommodate the growing demand for Taking Root’s community-based offsets this coming year, the organization is expanding its project boundary to include the neighboring municipality of Somoto. Located north of the current project area, Somoto is very similar to San Juan de Limay in terms of climate and culture. This expansion means that the project is now in multiple locations. Taking Root’s team to conduct a new carbon baseline, recruit new farmers, establish a new team of community technicians, and create new jobs. The existing Limay team will train the new Somoto team, building their capacity to run the project successfully in this new location. Taking Root is thrilled with this new development as it demonstrates the project’s success and helps the organization further reach its goal of reforesting more areas and working with more farmers.
2012
August
A few producers did not meet their obligations and withdrew from the project. Consequently, some of the lands included in the project had to be removed, and the loans and materials these producers received had to be retrieved by technicians. Solution: This has allowed the organization to evaluate its system early in the project development. To prevent future breaches of contract. Taking Root held an operational team meeting to discuss various solutions. The team determined that adding a co-signer to new producer contracts was the best solution. Technicians also decided to communicate with the lost producers and have successfully received most of the materials and funds.
January
Taking Root launched Phase 1 of its CO2 Responsible promotional toolkit developed to help companies that purchase offsets better communicate their commitment towards their carbon responsibility. The Taking Root Montreal team developed and built this tool with the help of partners and stakeholders. The launch has been a great tool to test the market’s response to this opportunity and test-drive the CO2 Responsible microsite, a directory of participating products and services.
2011
Land-use activities for the 2011 vintage focused mainly on the Mixed Species Plantation. This technical specification involves planting and intensively managing multi-purposed mixed species forest plantations on participating farmers’ land. All of the species selected are native to the region and are chosen in consultation with local producer groups and professional foresters.