CLIMATE PROTECTION PROJECT © 1986 Panda Symbol WWF ® «WWF» is a trademark registered by WWF. Images: Christian Lamontagne & PUR Projet Aprosacao Reforestation Project Community-led reforestation and agroforestry with small-scale cocoa farmers in Coop-project-financing: 2013–2021

Honduras-Aprosacao is an agroforestry and reforestation project in the Olancho region, near the National Park. It was launched in 2012 with Chocolats Halba and the financial support of Coop as a carbon sequestration project. The project was co-designed with the organic and Fairtrade coopera- Honduras, tive Aprosacao and its small-scale farmers, from which Chocolats Halba, a , subsidiary of Coop, sources cocoa. It implements a new type of economic activity for the Aprosacao cocoa farmers by planting timber trees which ab- sorb greenhouse gases, alongside the traditional cocoa plant. These planting systems diversify and increase the farmers’ revenues whilst protecting and restoring local ecosystems.

Technical partner

March 2020 | wwf.ch/insetting 7,462 51,000 214 214 17 17 2019 2021 2019 2021 2019 2021

JOBS TONS OF GREENHOUSE GASES HECTARES CREATED REDUCED REFORESTED

The project is «Gold Standard» certified. The verified results (2019) and the expected impacts of the Coop-project-financing (2021) are reported in line with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.

Context Historically, cocoa cultivation has played an important role in Honduras. In 1998, Hur- This pioneering ricane Mitch devastated 70% of crops in the country, causing irreversible destruction to project reduces cocoa fields in the northern and eastern part of the country. Over the past few decades, the region was deforested for the extensive development of pasture lands. To revive the greenhouse gases country’s cocoa farming tradition, farmers in the Olancho region began planting cocoa as well as hardwood trees in 2008. Thanks to replanting effort, the Aprosacao cocoa cooper- directly in Coop’s ative was born and today, it holds both Fairtrade and organic certification. supply chain. Project While some support exists for the development of new cocoa parcels, farmers have limit- ed means to finance shade tree planting and setup of agroforestry systems. In 2013, Coop

started to finance the Aprosacao Reforestation Project, to compensate its CO₂ emissions as well as source sustainable and fairly produced cocoa. Along with the Aprosacao co- operative and its small-scale farmers, PUR Projet, Chocolats Halba, Coop and WWF are implementing a best-in-class cocoa value chain thanks in part to the agroforestry practices and the restoration of degraded areas. The farmers are planting timber trees on their own land, following various models: agroforestry with cocoa, sylvopasture and pure reforestation. To ensure the permanence of the timber trees planted and the long-

term CO₂ absorption, the project is implementing awareness raising campaigns, capaci- ty building workshops and farmers trainings. «We are seeing more and more people Impacts and project benefits becoming aware and The project is facilitating diversified incomes as well as increasing pride within the getting involved after Aprosacao farming communities. Trees are increasingly seen as a true heritage for the seeing positive first re- future generations of , in a context where migration to the US is frequent. sults. They are feeling In addition to socio-economic benefits and the sequestration of CO₂, the project increas- that our environment es biodiversity at plot level, improves ecosystem services like soil enrichment, soil ero- is affecting us and sion prevention and water regulation and strengthes the resilience to the impacts of climate change. A study conducted in 2014 by PUR Projet showed that the concentration this is why we have to of soil macro-biodiversity can be 4 times higher in agroforestry and reforested systems protect it.» than in conventional agriculture. Isabel Arias, Aprosacao cocoa farmer, says what the project means to him and the cooperative.

Official project name: GS 5012 Aprosacao Reforestation project: Community Reforestation and Agroforestry with Small-scale Cocoa Farmers in Honduras | Gold Standard link: https://registry.goldstandard.org/projects/details/1808 | GS ID: 5012 | Issuing credits: GS VERs | Project partners: APROSACAO, Chocolats Halba, Coop, Instituto Nacional Agra- rio, Instituto Nacional de Conservacion y Desarrollo Forestal, PUR Projet, WWF | Video link: English: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlzlHgIoNiw&t=1s

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