roburna forest program
The world needs more forests
Earth is rapidly losing its forests - 129 million hectares were cut down
between 1990 and 2015[1], an area the size of South Africa. Deforestation is
responsible for an estimated 20%[2] of annual global carbon emissions, as well
as the harder to quantify effects of soil erosion and biodiversity loss.
between 1990 and 2015[1], an area the size of South Africa. Deforestation is
responsible for an estimated 20%[2] of annual global carbon emissions, as well
as the harder to quantify effects of soil erosion and biodiversity loss.
Forests do much more than sequester carbon; they protect land, water and air and preserve biodiversity.
Growing forests leads to many benefits, starting with removing vast amounts of carbon from the air
and storing it in the biomass.[3] Older trees store more carbon (and the longer they live and the bigger they get,
the more they store); while younger or more rapidly growing trees remove more of it from the atmosphere.
Beyond offsetting carbon, forests also benefit life on the planet[4] by:
- generating oxygen and retaining dust floating in the air;
- reducing overall temperature, as well as temperature fluctuations;
- regulating precipitation and wind;
- cleaning water and reducing fertilizer runoff into rivers;
- lessening the impacts of floods;
- reducing or reversing soil erosion and halting desertification;
- housing 80% of terrestrial biodiversity, with innumerable benefits for the health, resilience and richness of ecosystems;
- providing immense resources for human activities, from agricultural productivity to scientific discoveries.
MUCH MORE THAN A PLANTATION
A forest is much more than a plantation
Historically, afforestation favored plantations of single species, as a means to generate
income from timber and other products. Monoculture forests do have carbon benefits—204 million acres of new
plantations could sequester 18.1 gigatons of CO2 over a 30-year period.[5] But as they are grown as even-aged
monocultures, intensively managed and harvested on relatively short rotations, there are concerns that
plantations may negatively impact biodiversity.[6] A stand of a single species does little to promote plant
and animal diversity, is much less resilient to diseases and pests, and can even cause harm by overusing
water or mineral resources in the soil, especially if the species in question is not native to or not
prevalent in the area.
We need to stop thinking of trees as individuals and instead focus on ecosystems,
promoting natural diversity.
A SANCTUARY OF NATURE
The Roburna Forest: a sanctuary of Nature
“Robur” is a Latin word meaning oak, but also strength and resilience.
Oaks are true guardians of the land, growing to majestic sizes and typically having long lives.
They are also great “carbon sinks”, absorbing and trapping huge quantities of carbon in their wood fiber,
while also acting as protectors and food source to many other species in their vicinity, creating their
own mini-ecosystems around themselves. This is the ethos of Roburna.
This is NOT a plan to buy carbon credits from third parties, or engage in artificial, mono-culture plantations. The Roburna Forest will be just that – a FOREST – a diverse, layered and balanced ecosystem of species native to their areas.
The Roburna Forest will be planted on land owned by Roburna and its affiliate organizations, so there is no risk of losing control over the planted areas in the future.
Planting activity will focus on the main species of trees and shrubs that create an environment encouraging other species of plants, fungi and animals to settle in – thus working with Nature, not against it.
As the first blockchain designed to function exclusively on renewable energy sources,
ensuring carbon neutrality,
Roburna was always meant to stand for environmental sustainability.
Now, the Roburna Forest Program aims to take one step further, towards carbon negative status.
[1] Rodney J. Keenan, Gregory A. Reams, Frédéric Achard, Joberto V. de Freitas, Alan Grainger,
Erik Lindquist. (2015). Dynamics of global forest area: Results from the FAO Global Forest Resources
Assessment 2015, Forest Ecology and Management. Vol. 352, 9-20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2015.06.014.
[2] Somers, Ben & Asner, Gregory. (2013). Mapping tropical rainforest canopies using multi-temporal
spaceborne imaging spectroscopy. Proc SPIE. 8887. 04-. 10.1117/12.2028508.
[3] Julio Alves, Mariana Oliveira, Robin Chazdon, Miguel Calmon, Andreia Pinto, Eduardo Darvin,
Bruna Pereira. (2022). The Role of Assisted Natural Regeneration in Accelerating Forest and Landscape
Restoration: Practical Experiences from the Field, World Resources Institute. https://doi.org/10.46830/wripn.21.00081
[6] Corsa Lok Ching Liu, Oleksandra Kuchma, Konstantin V. Krutovsky. (2018). Mixed-species versus monocultures
in plantation forestry: Development, benefits, ecosystem services and perspectives for the future, Global
Ecology and Conservation, Vol. 15, e00419,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2018.e00419.