In 2002, the Home Depot Foundation partnered with Reforest The Tropics to sponsor a demonstration forest to explore the possibilities of balancing US greenhouse gas emissions while producing wood on farms in the tropics. The forest was planted in the Atlantic Zone of Costa Rica on the Las Delicias Farm, which is owned by the Rojas family. The photo above shows a sign in the Home Depot Forest that reads “A Forest to Fix Carbon.”
The graph shown below details the carbon sequestration and growth rate in the Home Depot forest. The total amount of CO2e stored in the forest in the past 16 years is 443 metrics tonnes. The average annual sequestration is 26.8 MT CO2e/year.
RTT works with a limited number of farms in Costa Rica in joint ventures sponsored by US donors. Donations to RTT from The HD Foundation provided a grant to the farm, a contribution towards the costs of establishment, and the management of this research project.
Long-term management and profitability for the farmer are the keys to long-term carbon storage in sustainable forests. This project is managed by RTT under a written 25-year agreement between RTT and the farm owners. The forest belongs to the farm while the rights to the CO2 sequestered belong to the Home Depot Foundation through RTT during the agreement.
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