Biodiversity
Perhaps the single most important by-product of offsetting CO2 is the preservation of biodiversity. Regeneration is fast in the tropics and a good level of biodiversity will return to an area within two years of growth.
The WLT project selection criteria [http://www.worldlandtrust.org/projects/criteria.htm] ensures that actions target sites with high biodiversity and level of threat. They also assess the likelihood of success on the ground.
In most cases we work on the edges of important forest tracts where the land carries a mix of isolated forests, patches of degraded woodland and cleared fields. The work halts the advancing line of deforestation, buffers and extends the forest itself, fills in gaps and creates corridor linkages between large forest blocks. This increases the size of protected habitats and enables wildlife to move safely across larger areas.
Creating the conditions for natural regeneration is an important approach. Where we plant, we use a mix of native species selected to accelerate the return of the physical and biological structure of the natural forest. If we use non-native species it is solely as a direct or indirect step towards natural forest conservation – e.g. to create the right soil or shade conditions.
All the sites are either in existing nature reserves or are identified as strategically important and purchased to add them to existing reserves. These reserves are owned, protected and managed in perpetuity by our local project partners.
Details of how these criteria are applied are given for each Project Area.
