May the forest be with you
Your February walk with Morfo
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Let's grow!
Pascal, co-founder of MORFO
🌳 - THE FORESTS
Two weeks ago, MORFO was in the North of Rio de Janeiro to conduct a new reforestation project. The famous environmental journalist André Trigueiro filmed it. Millions of people were able to discover his report on Globo's Jornal Nacional, one of the most significant and long-running news programs around Brazil. This project has been conducted in partnership with Instituto Terra de Preservação Ambiental, which has been doing fantastic work in the region, with local teams, for over 20 years.
A recent investigation into Verra, the world's leading carbon credit provider, revealed that over 90% of their rainforest offsets are likely "phantom credits" and do not represent real carbon reductions. In this article, we explore the 5 main questions we were asked on the carbon offset subject.
Spoiler: Yes, the current carbon offset system needs to be improved. MORFO is working on it. If you want to get involved in this project, tell us.
🌳🌳 - THE TEAM
They recently joined our team. Welcome to…
Gregory Maitre (Country Manager Brazil), Emira Cherif (Head of Research), Arnaud Lienhard (Head of Data Science, Computer Vision et Machine Learning), Quentin Franque (Head of Marketing & Communication), Eva Montalban (Laboratory Operator), Marie de Lassus (Partnership & Land Scouting for Brazil), Yan Marron e Mota (Project Manager for Reforestation), Kenza Bouzoubaa (Chief of Staff), Rebecca Montemagni Almeida (Forest Operator Engineer)…
We are creating a new agronomic research program called VEGE+. This program will run for 24 months. It will be divided into 3 sub-programs:
a second research collaboration with UMR LSTM (IRD/CIRAD/INRAE) named VEGEDRONE II
a research collaboration with the LASEM laboratory of the University of Sao Carlos in Brazil, a leading reference in forest restoration in Brazil
a scale up of our internal laboratory, multiplying our analysis capacities by five
In the next few weeks, you can meet us in Guyana, Brazil and Gabon :
Projects in Guyana: Our operations team is in Guyana to conduct 3 projects, reforesting 50 ha. We’ll soon share pictures on our Linkedin Page.
One Forest Summit in Gabon: Meet us at the One Forest Summit organized by President Emmanuel Macron and President Ali Bongo in Libreville, Gabon (March, 1st and 2nd).
Eyes in Brazil: In April, our Executive Team will be landing in the Brazilian lands for a roadshow in the following cities: São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Brasília and Belém! Is your city on the list? Get in touch with Gregory and let's grab a coffee!
What are the new solutions that are helping CSR leaders reach their 2030 goals? Join our live online event on 6th April, 5:00 PM CET to find out! We are bringing together global experts on ESG and CSR to discuss the latest innovations in carbon sequestration and biodiversity.
🌳🌳🌳 - SOME GOOD SEEDS
On the path to transparency: The UK's Carbon Trust has launched a new certification scheme for products with low carbon footprints, called the Carbon Trust Standard for Low Carbon Products. The standard requires products to have a carbon footprint that is at least 20% lower than the industry average, and companies must provide transparent data on the product's life cycle emissions. The scheme is aimed at helping consumers and businesses make informed choices about the environmental impact of the products they purchase.
Equity-centered restoration: In a recent study, published in BioScience, Sara Löfqvist and her colleagues at ETH Zurich revealed that the effectiveness of ecosystem restoration projects can be improved by considering social and equity issues.
Good initiative in England: The UK Forestry Commission is launching an exhibition celebrating the contributions of women in the forestry sector.
By the NASA Earth Observatory: Nepal was able to successfully regenerate its forests through the Community Forest Program, which gave control of the forests to local communities, resulting in an increase in forest cover from 26% to 45%.
We should get out of the “offsets” mirage which would miraculously “cancel” CO2 emissions that will remain for centuries in the atmosphere and thus contribute to global warming. One solution would be to abandon the term of “carbon credits” for the benefit of what could be “positive impact certificates” aimed at both the carbon, biodiversity and social aspects by respecting the rights of use of the populations.
Alain Karsenty, environmental economist, research director at CIRAD, Usine Nouvelle
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