On the 18th of June BHP Billiton Aluminium SA (ASA) joined the team from Wildlands Conservation Trust in visiting their Ongoye Carbon Sink Project, a project involving tree propagation, planting and a custodianship methodology and funded by ASA. Developed by Wildlands Conservation Trust, the Ongoye Sink Project is aimed at restoring as much degraded forest as possible while securing the maximum possible carbon credit for BHP Billiton.
It is estimated that each hectare of forest restored through the partnership will sink in the region of 125 tons CO2 over a 20 year period, and that this project will support the restoration of a minimum of between 500 and 1000 hectares of forest over a 20 year period, thereby sinking between 60 000 and 125 000 tons of CO2.
Talking during his visit to the project, Lucas Msimanga, Asset President at BHP Billiton Aluminium SA said, “This project is ultimately reforestation and carbon sequestration with a pro-poor focus benefitting the communities that are affected by the operations of BHP Billiton,” Mr Msimanga added that while the project has been running for 4 years, it still has 16 more years to go before completing the full cycle. “The aim for 2013 is the restoration of 500 hectares of land, and judging by our field visit today we are definitely on track,” he concluded.
The Ongoye Carbon Sink Project aims to entrench and support the Mzimela community’s custodianship of the Ongoye Forest and the many riparian systems that feed through the Mzimela community into the uMlalazi River. The Mzimela community has looked after this forest for centuries, and the forest itself is recognised internationally as being one of the best conserved and most diverse scarp forests in Southern Africa. Wildlands, together with BHP Billiton, has supported the establishment of an extensive network of “Tree-preneurs” throughout the Mzimela community.
Tree-preneurs is a term used to describe community members who grow indigenous trees and then barter what they have grown with Wildlands for vouchers that can be redeemed for livelihood support items such as food, clothing, bicycles, educational support or Jojo tanks, for example.
“The communities surrounding the Ongoye Forests in the Uthungulu District Municipality are the main beneficiaries of this project and these beneficiaries are currently registered with the Wildlands Conservation Trust,” explains Wildlands CEO Dr Andrew Venter. “This specific project will see hundreds of local community members (Tree-preneurs) benefit by bartering the trees they have grown, with an anticipated value of over R1.5 million worth of livelihood support items bartered this year alone,” said Venter.
Mabutho Khoza, a Tree-preneur from this community is just 18 years old and only has positive feedback regarding the Wildlands project, made possible by BHP Billition Aluminium SA. “The Wildlands tree planting project has made a huge difference in my family as there is no-one else working at home,” says Mabutho, who joined Wildlands in 2007. He believes Wildlands is a miracle, “They are changing people’s lives for the better, and teaching us about the environment while rewarding us in the process. We wouldn’t have done this by ourselves, we wouldn’t even be planting and growing trees if it wasn’t for Wildlands. I love Wildlands because they provide for me and my family.” Since joining Wildlands, Mabutho has been able to help to extend his home, which now has some six bedrooms. “My dream is to finish my matric and study in the University. I want to study Environmental Studies because I want to continue doing a job that will allow me to interact with the environment, especially trees,” he concludes.
WILDTRUST (registered as the Wildlands Conservation Trust - IT No: 4329/1991/PMB)