Climate Wise has always focused on identifying projects to work alongside where there is a partnership between the implementation of the project and Climate Wise. To date, Climate Wise has supported third party projects, either being those with an accreditation such as Gold Standard, the United Nations, Clean Air etc, or some with equally transparent reporting such as the Eden Project. Projects are selected based on a number of criteria with carbon sequestration being the most highly weighted element, but including job creation, local community impact, lifestyle improvement etc.
With the Bermuda Seagrass Project, Climate Wise partners with the Government of Bermuda and a number of leading companies to deliver a project aimed at restoring seagrass beds around the Islands of Bermuda and we are proud to announce our land-based project, the Imire Climate Wise Reforestation Project.
Who is Imire?
Based in Zimbabwe, Imire is dedicated to protecting wildlife and strongly believes that rural communities and conservation programmes can successfully thrive side by side, working together to ensure the protection of our natural heritage. Their vision is to enhance the relationships between tourism, conservation programmes and community areas through long-term, sustainable environmental management and positive community projects.
Wildlife and endangered species conservation is Imire’s primary focus. They believe that the key to sustainable conservation practices is through collaboration with local communities. Their objective is to ensure the safety and security of wildlife by enhancing the relationship between tourism, conservation programmes and their surrounding villages, through long-term, sustainable environmental management and positive community projects.
Climate Wise has selected to partner with Imire on this project as the organisation is a third generation, respected, and well-established conservation organisation who share the vision that Climate Wise holds of working hard to try and leave the planet in a better state then when we found it.
Imire Reforestation Project
The reforestation and regeneration of indigenous woodlands is a major area of focus for Imire as an organisation. The vision is to reforest land that was historically cleared for agriculture with indigenous trees, with the ultimate aim being to guarantee and accelerate the re-establishment of healthy forest structures by regrowing the forest canopy and preserving biodiversity within the ecosystem.
The project will section off by fence concentrated areas of between 15 hectares and 18 hectares in order to intensively regenerate old agricultural land back into indigenous forest. The areas are fenced off from the main conservancy area and isolated in the initial phase to protect the young trees from over browsing by wildlife, thus giving them the optional opportunity for establishment and best possible growth rates.
Indigenous trees will be purchased from locally owned tree nurseries at a mature and established stage of 2 years old, transported to Imire and planted within the concentrated areas by locally employed community members. Phase 1 of this initiative will be fully funded by Climate Wise and sequester 8,255 tCO2.
How Does Reforestation Help?
The increasing number of trees diminishing from our planet is intensifying the greenhouse gas effect, in turn, exacerbating climate change. Forests are the lungs of the planet, life on earth would not survive without them. They play a crucial role in the fight against climate change by absorbing approximately 20 billion tonnes of CO2 each year. Forested areas are essential to our survival and that of numerous other species from the water we drink to the air we breathe.
By regrowing the forest canopy and preserving biodiversity within the ecosystem, reforestation helps the environment by accelerating and/or guaranteeing the re-establishment of healthy forest ecosystems. Reforestation achieves a number of objectives, all seeking to restore the services forests provide:
- Employment opportunities – stimulates rural development by helping to promote inclusive local employment.
- Restore biodiversity – planting a diverse mix of flora will provide natural habitat to many species helping restore wildlife populations.
- Improved water quality – trees intercept and uptake precipitation reducing inputs to streams and filtering minerals and metals that hinder water quality.
- Carbon sequestration – forests play a vital role in carbon capture and mitigating climate change and global warming.
- Education & outreach – Involving the local community in tree planting makes them an essential part of restoring the rich natural heritage of the area.
- Protecting human health – Healthy forests, healthy planet, healthy humans
How to get involved?
Climate Wise projects and third-party projects alike are funded by supporters to Climate Wise, being individuals personally offsetting their footprint; company employees as part of a company offset plan; and companies themselves who choose to offset their footprint as part of their path to Climate Neutrality on their path to Net Zero. As an individual, by offsetting your personal footprint at www.climate-wise.com you will automatically be supporting this, and other, important initiatives.
By computing your carbon footprint with Climate Wise, your company will be presented with opportunities of projects which can be supported by matching your offset objectives and this project will be one of those you are able to consider.
For companies who do not yet compute their footprint, why not start the journey by supporting this project as a starting point to your journey and contact us at info@climate-wise.com for more information about creating your Net Zero plan and supporting this and other initiatives.
Imire itself offers a volunteer programme which volunteers pay to attend. This helps to fund their important work and working with the elephants, the black and white rhino, and assisting in the day to day running of the operation, your time will be used in a value adding way and one of the tasks is to assist with the preparation and planting of the forest.