ESG Report 2022 single pages web - Flipbook - Page 29
Coastal Rainforest Protection REDD+
Project, Colombia
Colombia's Pacific coast is one of the world’s biodiversity
hotspots, as it is home to 10% of the planet’s animal and
plant species. The tropical rainforest climate combined
with patches of dense forest provide an ideal home for
exotic animals such as jaguars or toucans. Unfortunately,
due to economic activities which promote deforestation
such as timber, mining or coca production, the existence
of this hotspot and its animal inhabitants has been under
pressure for decades.
By conserving over 500,000 hectares of moist tropical
rainforest, the project’s verified avoided carbon emissions
amount to 2,000,000 tonnes annually while preserving the
living space of rare animals and plants at the same time.
It also improves the well-being of over 40,000 people: the
project’s area is one of Colombia’s poorest and historically
marginalised regions and the local population relies to
a large extent on the revenue from illegal activities such
timber extraction, which leads to forest degradation. This
project introduces alternative agro-ecology practices and
the local population are trained to earn income in more
sustainable areas such as the colouring for cosmetics and
food (annatto), the production of foods like acai or coco,
responsible fishing in collaboration with restaurants in
richer areas of the country and tourism.
To ensure that these practices are followed through, the
project puts a focus on local community engagement
by cooperating with 19 indigenous organisations to
implement policies for local monitoring and control of
community resources. This project positively impacts
around 10,500 in the project area. This project is certified
under the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) and contributes
to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals: SDG
8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG 13: Climate
Action and SDG 15: Life on Land.
Planting trees in Brno, Czech Republic
A team of 26 colleagues from our office in Brno, Czech
Republic, planted 100 trees in a new tree alley being
developed as part of a walking/bike route Šaratice (about
20km from our office). The fruit trees were 1.5m high and
included a mix of Apple, Plum and Cherry trees.
The project contributed towards achieving the United
Nations Sustainable Development Goal 13:
Climate Action.
ENVIRONMENT
RWS — ESG Report 2022
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