FAQ
Q. How much of my contribution will go towards purchasing and reforesting land?
A. All money contributed goes directly to the trust fund to purchase land and plant trees. Like any other organisation, charities have administration and income-raising activities, which ensure their development and effectiveness. While these activities are important, we endeavour to keep these costs to a minimum.
There are various checks and balances we put in place so that you can be assured that we are doing what we claim and that our projects are achieving their objectives.
Q. How can I see the impact of my contribution with my own eyes?
A. There are several ways:
1. First, a satellite map of each Wild Again forest will be placed on this website, as the forests are acquired. The webpage will specifically show the land that has been funded by each contributor over £50. The land area purchased from smaller contributors will be shown in indicative fashion.
2. Second, a permanent and public record will be held on site at the forest, showing the name, city and nationality of the contributor (unless they prefer to be anonymous) for contributions over £50.
3. Third, photographs will be shown on the webpage showing the growth of the forests over time.
4. Fourth, where possible, each forest will have public access, so that contributors may visit their forests and experience them first-hand. However it is anticipated there will necessarily be some caveats to this access: in cases where access to certain parts of the properties could be dangerous to the public; and in cases where access over certain parts of the properties could be damaging to particularly fragile local environment. Further, it will be necessary to limit the terms of access in compliance with local laws: for example the lighting of fires on the land might not be allowed, or at least during particular times of year, in accordance with local fire bans. Access is expected to be limited by the entry points to the property from public roadways or other public access points.
Q. How will the sites to be protected be identified?
A. A number of criteria are used in the identification of suitable sites. The primary criteria are as follows:
Denigrated condition of the land. The site must have been deforested, and be capable of being reforested (for example, in cases of desertification or where all topsoil has otherwise been eroded it may be impossible to reforest a particular piece of land).
Environmental sensitivity of the land. This criterion involves sub-criteria of site-specific potential reforestation benefits from:
- reduction in the susceptibility of erosion, desertification or flooding;
- restoration of natural wildlife habitats;
- restoration of catchment systems for significant natural bodies of water (lakes and rivers) as part of a wider ecosystem; and
- CO2 absorption from the density and speed of organic growth.
Value for money. This is measured in £ per acre of acquisition cost, as well as £ per acre of on-going management cost (including for example and where applicable: pest control costs; third party fire insurance; fencing; and local council taxes). To the extent carbon credits from carbon sequestration can be obtained from a particular site, the value of these carbon credits will be taken into account as an offset against the acquisition and on-going management costs. The ability of eco-systems to self-regenerate from natural regrowth, without the need for large-scale and costly plantings, is also taken into account.
Ability to acquire. A higher preference, all other things being the same, is given to land for which Wild Again Reforestation Trust can hold the title. Political stability is also a consideration in this criterion: jurisdictions with a strong history of respect of property rights are preferred over those with a weaker history.
Support from local communities. A higher preference, all other things being the same, is given to land for which there is a high level of support from local communities for reforestation.
Availability of public access to the land. Land adjacent to a road or a public waterway is preferred over land that has limited access.
Visual appearance of the land. Land that is clearly visible from public viewpoints and/or has significant natural features (such as lakes or mountains) that will be visually enhanced by reforestation, are preferred.
Q. Who identifies the sites to be protected?
A. The process of determining short-lists of potential sites, against which the above criteria are applied, involves:
Research by the Trustees. Research includes web searches, review of journal and academic papers, expert reports, referrals from other environmental and/or charitable organizations, and direct approaches from local community organisations.
References/ referrals from donors and members of the public.
The compilation of potential sites and the application of the above criteria is conducted by the Trustees of Wild Again, with support as is deemed necessary from external and local environmental experts.
Q. Who decides what trees to plant?
A. Wild Again employs local forestry and environmental experts to ensure that the species of trees planted are appropriate for the specific location concerned. The species vary from location to location because the best mix of trees in one location might not be the best mix in another. In most cases, reforestation is most successful when an initial fast-growing species is established to stabilise the land and provide shelter from the wind and sun for the more slow-growing and permanent species.
Q. Who holds title to the property acquired?
The Wild Again Reforestation Trust – i.e. Wild Again itself – endeavours to obtained title to all property acquired. The ability to hold the title to the land is a key criterion used in the identification of suitable sites.
In some limited cases, Wild Again may identify opportunities to reforest land without taking title to it. For example in the CSW Community Conservation Corps project, the land is owned by the local government and Wild Again’s role is to assist with tree planting.
All contributors to Wild Again can specify whether their contribution is to be used for land acquisition, or for other projects such as the CSW Community Conservation Corps project.
Q. Who owns Wild Again?
A. Wild Again does not have any shareholders. We are a charitable company limited by guarantee - dedicated to reforestation and reducing global warming by reforestation. Wild Again is structured so that no funds may be distributed except for purposes of land acquisition, land management, and related expenses.
(Wild Again is the trading name of Wild Again Reforestation Trust Limited, Registered Charity No. 1120213 England & Wales.)
Q. How much CO2 does a regenerating forest absorb?
A. As a guide, one hectare of rainforest equals about 400 tonnes CO2 stored. As a rainforest regenerates from bare land, it absorbs 10 tonnes (10,000 kg) or more per hectare per year.
Q. Will the forests generate carbon credits?
A. Yes. It is expected that many Wild Again forests will generate carbon credits from the CO2 they absorb. The process of creating carbon credits from reforestation is still very new and the process is evolving. One such program is underway in New Zealand and is known as the Permanent Forests Sink Initiative or PFSI. Refer to www.maf.govt.nz/forestry/pfsi. A large CO2 market already exists in Europe (the Emission Trading Scheme or ETS) as part of Europe’s response to the Kyoto Protocol. However carbon credits from reforestation are not yet eligible to participate in the ETS, and this is one of the reasons why initiatives like PFSI are a good fit for Wild Again. Under PFSI for example, carbon credits from reforestation can be sold in secondary markets, and Wild Again will obtain and sell carbon credits on these markets where possible.
Q. What will Wild Again do with any revenues raised from selling carbon credits?
A. Any revenues raised will be used to offset the cost of purchasing and planting land. Effectively this means that contributions to Wild Again have a multiplier effect. Each piece of land reforested can earn a return, which in turn can be used to purchase additional land for reforestation. (This benefit is not taken into account in the estimates of reforestation costs reported elsewhere on this website.)
Q. Will reforestation solve global warming?
No. The use of fossil fuels is the main cause of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. To solve the greenhouse gases problem we will have to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. This is difficult because the momentum behind the emission of greenhouse gases is staggering. Electricity power plants are not going to stop generating overnight. People will not stop driving in cars or flying in airplanes. Nevertheless we need to actually take steps today to fix the greenhouse gas problem, to avoid the implications of global warming tomorrow. Reforestation is one of the steps we can take today.
Q. What is the Kyoto Protocol?
A. Following the original Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was introduced and has now been ratified by over 140 countries. In 1997, at the fourth Conference of the Parties to the Convention, (often referred to as 'COP 4'), the Kyoto Protocol was signed. This set out the targets for the industrialised countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
The Kyoto Protocol was ratified by the required number of countries in February 2005 and came into force. This means that in the five years between 2008 and 2012 each signatory country has to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions below what they were in 1990. The total emissions reduction is 5.7% below 1990 levels, although each country has a different target. The reduction for the UK for example is 12.5%.