The Somos Forest in Haiti

Description

The Somos Forest

This reforestation package is intended to be an exclusive offer for the organization Somos.

The project entails the planting of 167 trees per year. The estimated total CO2 offsetting power per year is expected to be on average 25,050 KGs.

The project aims at protecting and restoring forests on a massive scale by involving local farmers and creating livelihoods for people living in extreme poverty by offering them the dignity of employment and the possibility to become transformational agents of global forest restoration.

CO2 Offset per tree: 150 KG
Average Lifetime: 90-150 years

The project in Haiti
Agroforestry is a land-use management system in which trees are grown around or among crops or pastureland. This diversification of the farming system initiates an agroecological succession, like that in natural ecosystems, and so starts a chain of events that enhance the functionality and sustainability of the farming system.

Benefits
This intentional combination of agriculture and forestry has multiple benefits, such as increased biodiversity, improved soil structure and health, reduced erosion, and carbon sequestration.

The theoretical base for agroforestry lies in ecology or agroecology. Agroecology encompasses diverse applications such as water retention of soils; biodiverse habitats; protection from pest, disease and weed outbreaks; protection of soils from water and wind erosion, etc.

Biodiversity
Biodiversity in agroforestry systems is typically higher than in conventional agricultural systems. Two or more interacting plant species in a given area create a more complex habitat that can support a wider variety of fauna.
Agroforestry is important for biodiversity for different reasons. It provides a more diverse habitat than a conventional agricultural system in which the tree component creates ecological niches for a wide range of organisms both above and below ground. The life cycles and food chains associated with this diversification initiate an agroecological succession that creates functional agroecosystems that confer sustainability. A further contribution to biodiversity is that the germplasm of sensitive species can be preserved. As agroforests have no natural clear areas, habitats are more uniform. Furthermore, agroforests can serve as corridors between habitats. Agroforestry can help to conserve biodiversity having a positive influence on other ecosystem services.

Other environmental goals
Carbon sequestration is an important ecosystem service. Agroforestry practices can increase carbon stocks in soil and woody biomass. Trees in agroforestry systems, like in new forests, can recapture some of the carbon that was lost by cutting existing forests. They also provide additional food and products. The rotation age and the use of the resulting products are important factors controlling the amount of carbon sequestered.

By financing one tree in this project, you will plant one of the following Agroforestry trees (funds are equally split among species, in order to support biodiversity):

Annona muricata;
Prosopis juliflora;
Artocarpua altilus;
Carica papaya;
Spanish Cedar;
Catalpa longissima;
Cedrela odorata;
Citrus aurantifolia;
Citrus aurantium;
Citrus maxima (Burman);
Merr. Citrus maxima hybrid;
Citrus paradisi;
Coffea arabica;
Delonix regia;
Gliricidia sepium;
Leucaena leucocephala;
Malpighia punicifolia;
L. Mangifera indica;
Persea americana;
Senna siamea;
Syzygium samarangense;
Tamarindus indica;
Theobrama cacao.

Please note that average lifetime and KG of CO2 offset are conservative estimations made by Evertreen based on external consultants, papers, articles and comparable platforms. In case of numerous planting orders, agroforestry trees in this project may be substituted by singling or mangrove trees of the following species:

Avicennia marina;
Rhizophora mangle;
Prosopis juliflora;

The management of the work, the procurement of resources and materials as well as the survival of the trees over time will be carried out by Evertreen’s planting partner Eden Projects.