The Trocano Project: The Offsetting Project Protecting the Amazon Rainforest

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The Trocano Project: The Offsetting Project Protecting the Amazon Rainforest

Amazon Rainforest in the Trocano Project Area of Borba, Brazil

Located in Borba, Brazil, 1.3 million hectares of Amazonian Rainforest is protected in the The Trocano Project area. To you and us, that’s roughly eight times the size of London! These guardians of the rainforest provide three key benefits to the area that are imperative to a global effort to act to save the Amazon from deforestation before it’s too late.

Carbon

The Trocano Project’s main activity is the protection of 1.3 million hectares of rainforest that is at risk of deforestation.  This one activity serves a three-fold benefit:

1: The protection of the project area ensures all carbon that is already stored in the trees continues to be stored.

2: The protection of the project area ensures that the trees continue their job of absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere, year on year.

3: The protection of the rainforest from deforestation ensures that the carbon stored in the trees does not get emitted and the carbon stock of the forest is maintained.

This simply described trio of carbon benefits are the real and measurable outcomes of successfully implementing the Trocano Araretama project  They highlight the significance and value of the project, and of protecting the rainforest as a whole.

They are ensuring that this vast area of Amazonian rainforest stays intact and continues to deliver on the these important benefits, both for the absorption of CO2 as well as the prevention of additional emissions into the atmosphere.

Biodiversity

The Trocano Araretama project area, as you would expect from being in the Amazonian rainforest, is rich in biodiversity and the project has an abundance of varied and endangered endemic biodiversity species.  

Where the project area is located in the Madeira River region, there are some species that have a geographic distribution solely in this area.  Tropical micro-regions such as the Trocano Araretama project area are extremely sensitive to the threat and effect of deforestation as these negative impacts may cause the loss of important flora and fauna that are known of and also potentially new species, some of which are yet to be discovered.

This is not only in terms of the mammal species found present in the area, such as the howler monkey, giant river otters and the river dolphin, but also the considerable reserve of food plants as well as those with medicinal qualities.  Research suggests that around 70% of modern medicines are derived from rainforest plants, particularly in cancer treatments.  During our project implementation we have discovered that the guarana, copaiba, crajiru and annatto are all present within the project area and all have been found to have some level of medicinal benefit.

This short introduction just barely touches on the importance of protecting the biodiversity within the Trocano Araretama project area and the benefits there are to ensuring it remains intact.

Community Benefits

The Trocano Project brings numerous benefits to the communities present in the project area.   

The benefits that have been brought to the area to date include supplying clean drinking water to local communities and building and renovating community centres and schools.  The project has also held youth workshops to educate them about the benefits of protecting the environment.

The Trocano Araretama project has supported the Fênix Karate Club in Borba as part of its social benefits program.  

The team has received funding for members of the club to attend national and international competitions, as well as providing uniforms and much needed training equipment to allow the members to practice their sport safely.

The Fênix Karate Club is not just a pastime for the local children – it contributes to the health of the young people and their development as positive citizens. The Club offers key skills to those who take part, including respect, social interaction, hard work and discipline and promotes an important emphasis on excellence in education.

Since the Trocano project has supported the Club, they have been able to attend a number of events and have achieved great results, including a number of gold, silver and bronze medals, as well as one team member being specifically called up for World Junior U21 Championship.

How does carbon offsetting work?

A carbon offset is a reduction in emissions by a project or organisation caused elsewhere. When a certified project like Trocano removes 1 metric tonne of CO2e, they are awarded a carbon credit by a regulation body. In their case, it’s the NFS who ensure the project carries out the three aforementioned objectives of carbon removal, socio-economic benefits and biodiversity protection. Read more about this in our blog post.

How do Earth Rewards Points support the project?

Carbon credits are bought by us and tokenised using our super smart blockchain platform into points worth 1kg of CO2e reduced for 1 point offset in-app. Read more about how Earth Rewards points work to help remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and how offsetting them balances your carbon footprint here.

How do I get free offsets?

Download the Earth Rewards app to earn over 90kg worth of CO2e to be offset from your carbon footprint thanks to supporting Trocano. It’s completely free and not invasive with data!

Where do I download the Earth Rewards app?

The app is free for iOS and Android now in over 30 countries across North America and Europe.

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  1. […] Rewards supports The Trocano Project; a forest protection and avoided deforestation project in the Amazon Rainforest. They do a […]

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