Terraformation Introduces World's First Biodiversity-Focused, Carbon-Funded Forest Accelerator to Increase Global Land Restoration Efforts
The Seed to Carbon Forest Accelerator, the world's first biodiversity-focused, carbon-funded forest accelerator programme, has been launched by Terraformation, a global reforestation company.
Over the next ten years, we will need thousands of new reforestation teams to capture carbon on a large scale and lessen the effects of climate change. This will be easier to do with the new forest accelerator, which will give forestry teams the tools they need to start and grow restoration projects. Some of them are early-stage financing, training in restoring native ecosystems in a way that makes them more resilient, and tools that help make projects more transparent in the early, very important stages.
This all-in-one platform for starting and building forestry teams is unique in the industry, and it helps a lot to increase the amount of carbon stored in forests.
The carbon buyers and companies that provide early financing to accelerator cohorts lock in access to the premium-quality carbon credits the projects generate. Buyers get access to a portfolio of verified carbon credits from projects in different parts of the world chosen by the company's carbon science team. Terraformation wants to find financial partners so it can start a new group of accelerators early next year.
The accelerator programme is a direct response to the biggest barriers to large-scale restoration. For example, in a recent survey of 230 forestry organisations from around the world done by Terraformation, 95% of respondents said that funding was their biggest worry. The accelerator builds on Terraformation’s successful pilot restoration projects. Since 2020, when the company started its global programmes, it has successfully started 16 restoration projects in 11 countries and created more than 400 new sustainable jobs.
Yishan Wong, founder and CEO of Terraformation, said: “The planet needs to rapidly scale reforestation efforts to address the climate crisis. And more investors than ever are looking for opportunities in carbon capture. But there hasn’t been a clear vehicle providing those investors access to high-quality carbon credits. At the same time, communities around the world are launching vital restoration efforts but lack the funding, training, and technology they need to scale. Our accelerator will rapidly expand the number of high-quality forest restoration projects and increase the planet’s capacity for carbon capture.”
María José Iturralde, co-founder of Humans for Abundance, a Terraformation restoration partner, said: “Funding can turn land management around by supporting new sustainable business models that replace deforestation for profit. Startup capital creates opportunities for training, education, and infrastructure that allow communities to sustainably restore ecosystems and commercialise their new products in a new way.”
Source: Terraformation
