Lars visits our projects in Ecuador
In June, Lars visited our afforestation project in the Pastaza province in Ecuador, where we have the following 2 afforestation projects:
- Balsa forests, where fast-growing balsa trees are planted that absorb up to 3 times more CO2 than an average Danish forest.
- Mixed Forestry, where a mix of balsa trees and other native species that can contribute to biodiversity is planted.
On the trip was Søren Hoff Brøndum, project manager and our partner on the projects.
It is planted together with 6 local village communities, all of which were visited on the trip. Their task is to take care of the trees under the expert guidance of Søren.
Project Wawazonia also has the socio-economic purpose of generating income in the Native American communities through investment in the production of balsa wood (wawa in Native American). The establishment and care of the new balsa forests provides employment in the Native American communities and enables the Indians to withstand the pressure of illegal logging. With the balsa forests, the sought-after wood can be produced on a smaller area and the need to cut it down in the original forest is removed. This benefits the original untouched rain forest, which covers 7% of the earth’s area and contains over 60% of the world’s biodiversity.
The project establishes an Indian climate fund that will initiate several other activities in the villages, such as tourism, handicrafts, fish farming, etc.
And what is the status then?
The status of the project is that the trees are doing exceptionally well and great praise was handed out to the locals for their fantastic efforts. At the same time, the locals showed their gratitude to us and our sponsors for the great help.
Watch video with project status about the balsa forests and their importance for the local population, from December 2024 here