Amazon is investing in the Amazon Rainforest. Sounds about right.
The international conglomerate worth more than $300B is teaming up with The Nature Conservancy to create a more sustainable income for farmers in Brazil while finding solutions to climate change. They’ve named the initiative the Agroforestry and Restoration Accelerator to help restore cattle pastures to native forest ground to trap and store carbon.
Desmatamento (“Deforestation” in Portuguese): The Brazilian state of Pará has 9% of the world’s tropical forest, but it’s losing 3,300 acres every day to deforestation—an average of 40% of the state’s deforestation over the last 13 years.
That’s where Amazon and The Nature Conservancy hope to incentivize small farmers and ranchers to plant cacao trees and other native species to reduce deforestation and create a new market for local farmers.
Come on, Jeffrey, you can do it: Amazon will assist with innovative farming methods through high-tech imaging that will monitor carbon sequestration. Amazon’s goal is to remove up to 10M metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions through 2050. That’s equal to one year of emissions from two million cars.
The Nature Conservancy says the project has developed steps to select eligible farmers and train them to produce cocoa. Farmers will have access to credit lines, sales support, and market opportunities.
Accelerate sequestration: Initially, the Accelerator will support 3,000 farmers and restore 20,000 hectares (nearly 50,000 acres) within three years. Possibly a better service than two-day shipping. Possibly.