Reforestation
Reforestation as a donation or as an offset : what’s the difference?
There are three key differences between our offset-accredited reforestation activity and our non-offset accredited reforestation activity:
There is no scientific tracking of the carbon removal associated with the reforestation
Given the above, there is no standard 'monitoring period' for the project (most quality reforestation offset projects run for a monitoring period of more than 50 years)
The funding is delivered on a 'per tree' or 'per stem' basis vs funding a tonne of carbon removal.
These differences do not mean that the projects are of higher or lower quality. It is simply a different method of funding reforestation activity, and is usually delivered by non-profit development partners (as non-profits cannot deliver carbon offsets!)
Veritree process for verification
Whilst carbon sequestration is not tracked across this type of funding, veritree’s verification and tracking system is very rigorous. It is currently set up with 3 levels of verification, starting on the ground and ending with a final internal audit:
Level 1 – The first level of verification is complete once planting planters have submitted their planting form, activities, and applicable evidence through veritree’s Collect App. Field evidence collected here includes planting photos, eDNA sampling, bio-acoustic monitoring, etc.
Level 2 - During the second level of verification, planting site management (leads and supervisors) checks the data and information submitted via a planting site review and data check. This level also reviews and ensures all Planting Session info has been submitted and correct. This includes: GPS coordinates, # of planters, # of trees, and the tree species breakdown.
Level 3 - The third and final level of verification is conducted by veritree. At this stage, all submitted data and evidence is analyzed by their internal machine-learning algorithms to check for accuracy.
Each Planting Session must successfully complete each level before it can proceed to the next, and all three levels must be passed before its trees are available to allocate to partners as a final planting session in veritree's Partner Portal.
Survivability checks are performed at 6, 12, 24 and 36 months intervals. These sessions and reports are tokenized and recorded on the blockchain for permanence and transparency and are visible on Furthr's internal Corporate Partner Portal.