‍Wildsense provides projects you can trust

Wildsense is a revolutionary project certifier, with the ambition to scale down costs and time related to the certification of reforestation and ecosystem restoration projects. Their goal is to cut down middlemen and connect project developers directly with financers to ensure that the largest part of the investment reaches projects on the ground.

Wildsense carefully selects projects based equally on their impact on carbon, biodiversity and local livelihoods. Wildsense's selection criteria follow a recognized and strict set of rules:

• The right trees: All planted trees must be native species, preferably endemic to the region. A minimum of two species, preferably at least three must be planted. Crop plans must be appropriate for the project’s location.
• The right community: In order to favor community ownership of projects, tree planting must be carried out by locals, preferably women. All workers must be paid fair, living wages.
• The right place: Projects must improve ecosystems on which local livelihoods depend. Projects that form corridors between or buffer zones around existing habitats are preferred, especially if the habitats are home to endangered species.

Cutting-edge satellite imagery is used to verify forest cover on a monthly basis. In addition, annual field audits are being performed. In this manner, Wildsense complies with recognized principles set forth by the Taskforce on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets (TSVCM) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC):

• Additionality: Project carbon baselines are measured before restoration begins and the carbon potential is estimated over the lifetime of the project.
• Permanence: Forest cover change is monitored to ensure that the project’s integrity is maintained for the entire duration of the issuing period. A conservative buffer of 20% is withheld as an insurance pool.
• No leakage: Forest cover of the leakage belt is monitored in the same way to ensure that the project does not negatively impact surrounding ecosystems.
• No double-counting: Each project is added to the Wildsense registry for transparent accounting of every tonne of carbon sold.

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The Manjarisoa Tropical Inland Reforestation Project Phase I by ForestCalling Action

Since 2020, ForestCalling Action has been working towards curbing deforestation and saving tropical forests of Madagascar. Their model focuses on acquiring threatened rainforests with the goal to create natural reserves, and to protect their biodiversity and ecosystems. In 2021, they restored over 25 ha of the Rabesoa forest in Madagascar, protecting an estimated 200 lemurs which are an endangered species on the island. In addition to reforestation efforts, their aim is to create local employment by hiring local scientists, managers and forest rangers, all committed to protecting threatened territories.

5 fast-growing endemic species have been selected to be planted on the site to foster the reintroduction of the lemur: Aramy (Canarium madagascariense), Harongana (Harungana madagascariensis), Mantaly (Terminalia mantaly), Tavolo (Cryptocarya crassifolia), and Vintananona (Calophyllum chapelieri). These tree species are only found in Madagascar and have a carbon sequestration capacity ranging from 0.46 tCO2e to 1.88 tCO2e per tree over the next 20 years, and a planting density of around 400 to 1,600 trees per hectare. The reforestation plan has been designed based on the Malagasy National Inventory, research from the CIRAD, and local informal data (i.e experience from other project developers and nurseries in the region).

The planting of 194,484 endemic trees over the 300 ha will absorb approximately 115,951 t CO2e of which 92,761 can be sold as carbon credits. The remaining 23,190 will be set aside as an insurance pool to make up for any potential losses in case of unexpected events.

In this phase of the Manjarisoa restoration project, 91 people will be hired for different activities such as the creation of the nursery, sowing, planting, operational coordination, guarding the forest, technical supervision, administrative work and financial management. Local communities will be paid more than local living wages for their work and ForestCalling will aim at achieving gender parity within its local hires. In Phase II of the project, a more comprehensive social program will be carried out, including the development of local economic alternatives, to decrease dependence on the forest as a resource. This program will be aimed at improving local livelihoods and securing the protection of the forest for the entire duration of the project, and beyond. In Phase III of the program, more locals will be hired to work in the lemurs reintroduction center.