OFP Insider #15: The Importance of Local Communities in Scaling Forestation

In the southwestern region of Karnataka, India, water sources are drying up at an alarming rate. A lack of rainfall in 2023, likely caused by global changes in climate patterns, officially qualified it as a drought year and made dwindling resources scarce. In the area, a 20% reduction in water supply to consumers has called for long-term sustainable solutions. Sri Dena Bhagat Guruji is a leader within the Amrit Mahal Community Forest. He sends the OFP team a video reporting from the ground in the village of Challakere Taluk, next to fields of green saplings awaiting plantation.

“The temperature stands at 40 degrees celsius. There is no shade, hardly any rain, and our groundwater reserves are scarce.” Heat seems to perspire through the camera as he wipes his brow. “Once there is rainfall, we are immediately ready to plant 20,000 saplings.”

Small scale landowners and local community initiatives are a driving force behind forestation worldwide. As a recent Renoster article discussed, these are the people that can both benefit the most from entering carbon markets and who will also feel the far reaching impacts of climate change firsthand.

Similar to the Amrit Mahal Community Forest, there are thousands of forest initiatives around the world that drive international climate goals from the front lines, on the ground. Local communities hold valuable knowledge about the land and an understanding of how important healthy ecosystems are to livelihoods. This demographic deserves access to cost effective, scalable entry into global carbon markets, for the benefit of their local communities and collective climate action.

Open Forest Protocol works to empower communities with a system built for small and large projects:

?? Access to cutting-edge digital measurement, reporting, and verification (dMRV) tools and high-value carbon credit generation is now in the hands of any sized forest project around the world.

??Payments and any carbon credits generated are received directly by the projects themselves, cutting out unnecessary and draining third-party intermediaries.

?Through the OFP mobile app and ease of data uploads, this system allows projects to make their own frequent measurements, which are then reviewed by Validators. Bypassing classic lengthy systems of verification, efficiency, and scalability are inherent.

Learn more??

Amrit Mahal Community Forest Story:

Green News to Know ??

?? State of the Web3 Carbon Market- Mercy Corps Ventures

Mercy Corps Ventures recently published a thorough overview of the state of the Web3 carbon market, calling for increased usage of blockchain technology to continue to make markets accessible and scalable for all.

?? Its Time to Scale a Credible, High Impact Carbon Market- TIME

In a groundbreaking piece out of Time, authors call for scaling of credible and high impact carbon markets- its about time ?? Dive in!

??Wildlife Population in Decline & Other Climate Stories to Read This Week- World Economic Forum

The World Economic Forum has rounded up some more top climate news of the week as well as jarring information about global wildlife population decline. Knowledge is power ??

If you are a local project looking to enter the OFP Ecosystem, don't hesitate to get in touch:

We are excited to be back in your inbox, and we thank you for coming to our tiny, green corner of the internet. Follow along for more product, forest, and climate tech updates as we continue to grow! ????