Restoring the Azuero Peninsula
Once a lush native forest and biodiversity hotspot, only 7% of the forest cover in the Azuero Peninsula remains standing today. Entire woods have been slashed and burned for cattle ranching in the past 50 years, degrading land to such extent that farmers are no longer able to make a living off of cows.
Restoration offers a unique and compelling opportunity for landowners to earn a reliable source of income while contributing to ecosystem resilience.
By burning and slashing we have lost our forests, our water, and our way of life. We don’t want to change the landscape, only return it to its natural state
ERIC ELIAS DOMÍNGUEZ,
Azuero community member and cattle rancher
Azuero community member and cattle rancher
Project Azuero at a glance
Hectares
10,000+
Native tree species
75+
Trees being planted
6M+
Locals employed
300+
Community benefits
$70M+
Tonnes of co2 sequestered
4M+
Developed and Operated by Ponterra from start to finish
End-to-end control of our restoration process
Project development
Impact assessment
It all starts by understanding the status quo of a farmer and his/her land. We only proceed with a given landowner if we know restoration will address unmet economic and ecological needs and that the farmer actually wants our solution.
Land eligibility and analysis
With a willingness to act, we move on to the feasibility assessment to test if the land complies with our rigorous additionality, permanence and leakage standards.
Planting design
From preliminary plans to our full planting design, now is the time to get into the details, like selecting the specific planted areas and determining the mix of species that will result in the best outcomes.
Contracting
After legal and commercial due diligence, we present a lease offer to the farmer and work with him/her to fully understand and assess the proposed partnership.
Project operations
Seed collection, treatment and storage
Every single tree planted in Azuero can be traced down to a specific seed sourced and categorized by our team.
Sapling production
From germination to transplanting, our sapling production process is done entirely in-house and through a streamlined process to produce the highest quality saplings and reduce risks.
Logistics and distribution
We tackle the complexity of moving millions of saplings with our "last-mile" network of satellite nurseries, optimized distribution routes, and data-driven technology that allows us to track every seed from collection to planting to credit issuance.
Planting operations
Location, topography, soil composition… every property is different. We make a site-by-site planting design and operation strategy to minimize errors and improve ecological outcomes.
Maintenance
We maximize survivability of planted trees, incentivize natural regeneration, and promote biodiversity by performing rigorous maintenance for the first five years after planting.
Monitoring, Reporting and Verification
We manage and track the entire restoration and credit issuance process, both to improve our internal operations and to comply with the highest standards externally. We also share our results transparently in real time through our cloud-based tracking software.
Unparalleled ecological impact
Unparalleled ecological impact
- Restoring a biodiversity hotspot of global significance
- Protecting endemic animal and tree species
- Improving the hydrological health of an ecosystem suffering from chronic droughts due to man-made deforestation
- Sequestering millions of tons of carbon while cooling the area through increased vegetation cover
A new economic reality for local communities
A new economic reality for local communities
- Training, employing and supporting more than 300 members of the Santeño Community and enrolling over 150 smallholder farmers in the project
- Significantly increasing the take-home pay for farmers transitioning away from slash-and-burn cattle ranching
- Contributing to gender equality by creating unique employment opportunities for women
Get involved
Get involved
We work with landowners, funders, corporates, researchers, community organizations, and more – get in touch to learn more about our projects or what’s next at Ponterra.