![]() For example, New Englanders may lose an area of forest nearly twice the size of Rhode Island over the next 50 years. Protecting society's canopyįorests provide valuable co-benefits to communities and companies. restoration economy alone generated $9.5 billion in annual economic output in 2015 and created an additional $15 billion in indirect and induced output, estimated the report, while the ecological restoration industry employed 126,000 Americans in 2014, exceeding jobs in coal mining by 59 percent. ![]() Meanwhile, population growth and expanding consumer demands are pressuring natural ecosystems. According to TNC, one-third of agricultural landscapes were degraded in 2010, and signs of degradation can be found in every ecosystem around the world. This is essential for sustaining the human population, not just biodiversity. "There is the opportunity to deliver value to society."īesides serving the market, forest restoration improves water quality produces sustainable timber, fuel and fiber improves soil health provides food and forest products creates rural jobs benefits biodiversity improves air quality helps mitigate climate change and creates recreational opportunities for communities. "The business of planting trees is going to be one of the biggest climate stories of the next 20 years," Justin Adams, managing director for global lands at TNC, told GreenBiz, likening it to the burgeoning renewables industry in the mid-'90s. ![]() They may count among their end markets sustainable timber, livestock feed or consumer products on grocery shelves. ![]() The "restoration economy" is a network of businesses, investors and consumers that engage in economic activity related to restoring land - in this case either through reforestation (replanting a degraded area) to agroforestry (establishing tree-based agricultural systems). The business of planting trees is going to be one of the biggest climate stories in the next 20 years. The report profiles these and 12 other businesses successfully seeding growth opportunities in the restoration economy - including tech startups, smallholder finance and timber companies - to inspire venture capital, private equity and impact investors who know little about restoration opportunities. "The restoration economy is at the take-off stage," wrote WRI President and CEO Andrew Steer and TNC President and CEO Mark Tercek in the report, "The Business of Planting Trees: A Growing Investment Opportunity (PDF)." The note: "New business models are emerging, technology is advancing and governments are showing political will."īusinesses such as BioCarbon Engineering, which uses specialized drone technology to reforest remote landscapes, literally are taking off, melding engineering advancements to restore age-old ecosystems while search engine Ecosia (a B Corp) contributes its profits to plant trees. Companies around the world are branching out into forest conservation, finding that restoring deforested and degraded land yields high returns for investors, entrepreneurs and the environment.Ī new report from the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the Nature Conservancy (TNC) found that businesses across the technology, consumer products, project management and commercial forestry sectors are making money from planting trees, with sales growing up to 10 times per year.
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