Carbon Storage
Monoculture tree plantations are said to provide the “ecosystem service” of carbon storage, which is promoted as a solution to halt climate chaos. But carbon is only stored in the trees for a short time, until they are cut down. Therefore, relying on plantations to store carbon is a false solution to avoiding climate chaos. Carbon offset plantations allow polluting companies to continue burning fossil fuels.
Bulletin articles
27 June 2024
Behind every tree plantation developed for carbon offsets, there are external agents seeking to profit from increased control over the land. And while they all have the same colonial approach, these plantations can vary widely: they can be large-scale monocultures or schemes with smallholder farmers; they can include exotic species or native species; and some of them may even exist on paper only.
Other information
27 June 2024
A report documents how a tree planting carbon project in Port Loko, Sierra Leone is violating the country’s community rights laws and risks locking families into 50-year contracts. The British oil company BP has already paid USD 2.5 million to Carbon Done Right, one of the companies behind this tree plantation and carbon offset project.
Other information
9 January 2018
Bulletin articles
9 January 2018
This article gives an overview on the industrial tree plantation expansion threat in eastern and southern African countries, its external drivers, as well as the challenges this expansion presents to affected communities struggling to defend their land and livelihoods.
Publications
5 October 2016
Download the publication. Also available in Swahili.
Bulletin articles
30 November 2011
Bulletin articles
5 December 2007