From August, 2007 through September, 2014, Triumvirate Environmental Corporation of Somerville, Massachusetts sponsored 5 carbon-offset forests in the UNFCCC-AIJ program managed by Reforest The Tropics.  They total 20 acres (8 hectares) of new designs of farm forests.  There are 15 acres in the Las Delicias farm and there are 5 ares in the Hiner Ramirez farm.  Both farms are in the Atlantic Zone where rainfall is plentiful year-round, the soils are good and the trees we use can grow very fast.  Each has a 25-yr contract signed by Reforest The Tropics.  All of the CO2 sequestered by these forests during this period may be used to balance U.S. emissions.  The forests are managed by RTT staff.

As of January 2020 when last measured, the five forests have captured a total of 1452 metric tonnes of CO2e for the Triumvirate carbon account.

• All RTT forests use mixed species designs to reduce risks from diseases or insects. Designs differ for research purposes.

• Farmers are given grants to help defray the establishment expenses such as site clearing, purchase of seedlings, weeding, replanting, pruning and leaf-cutting ant control.

• Several financial models are being tested including one in which the farmer is paid per tonne of CO2 captured in the forest.

• All forests are measured and analyzed each year.

• All forests have been or will be thinned for farmer income (selling the thinned logs) and to stimulate the growth of the remaining forest. Thinning is done between the 5^th and 7^th year depending on the growth rate, and every 5 years thereafter.

• Thinnings temporarily reduce the amount of CO2 in the forest until the remaining forest, now stimulated, regrows to the initial CO2 content and beyond.

• These are research forests to learn how best to design and manage carbon-offset forests.

The graph below represents growth in Triumvirate’s second forest that was planted in 2010 in Las Delicias.  As of the last measurement in 2020, this 2.7 acre forest has captured 231 MT of CO2e.