Ecological

Planting trees to absorb CO2 is, according to the IPCC, the most natural and effective way to fight against global warming. The arboRise project wants to reforest by relying on Nature’s ability to regenerate itself. This is organic reforestation.

Indeed, reforestation projects often focus on a limited choice of species (teak, eucalyptus, pine, etc.), leading to fragile and non-resilient monocultures. Such reforestation is not sustainable. In addition, their costs per hectare are often high (around 2’000 Euro) because a large part of the reforestation budget does not go to the trees.

arboRise tries another approach. Instead of replanting seedlings raised in nurseries (typically an “industrial” method), arboRise opts for direct seeding, which is particularly recommended for remote areas or on eroded sites. This makes it possible to increase the reforested areas to compensate for the forests destroyed each year by anthropic pressure. By dispersing seeds on the fly in these environments, seed trees are naturally reintroduced on these sites, initiating a virtuous circle. In order to rely on natural selection, which decides which seeds will germinate, arboRise uses seeds from a wide range of local forest species (see here). Strengthening biodiversity ensures the resilience of the young forest, which absorbs more carbon than monocultures.

The seeds are certainly the most important element for our reforestation. These are harvested locally (short circuits to minimise grey energy) thanks to farming families from the region, each owning one of the 40 local species chosen. In addition to providing a supplementary income to these families, rewarding the harvesting of seeds is a call to preserve their trees. Before spreading the seeds, they are coated with a mixture of clay and charcoal (“seedballs” technique) to protect them from insects and rodents until they germinate in the rainy season (instead of using pesticides as in some reforestation campaigns).

arboRise is aimed at donors in high-income countries who want to take concrete steps using natural processes. For CHF 200 each donor gives Mother Nature a helping hand and contributes to reforest an entire hectare of land. Every year, as a donor, you will receive an aerial photograph of “your” hectare and you can thus see how the plant cover is progressing and your personal impact in the fight against global warming. A donation for one hectare is equivalent in tropical forests to the storage of 37 tons of carbon per year (gross primary carbon production), almost the weight of the huge 40-ton trucks that criss-cross Guinea (and Europe).

arboRise operates in Guinea (Conakry) because the strong rainy season favours the growth of vegetation. Guinea is “the water tower of West Africa” as three major rivers are born there and supply water to several countries suffering from recurrent drought. Restoring forest cover will safeguard these rivers. In order to avoid human pressure, our organic reforestation is taking place in less densely populated Upper Guinea, in remote areas on bare mountain ridges, where a green barrier against desertification (due in particular to the Harmattan, a desiccating wind blowing from the Sahara) is urgently needed.