Forest Regeneration in the Wetlands of Lithuania with Padvariai Project by Hold.earth

11,000 saplings sprinkle the ground in Padvariai, Lithuania, ready to restore previously degraded and unused land into a thriving natural habitat and valuable ecosystem. This wet landscape is home to Black Alders, Birches, Oaks, a variety of bushes, bird nesting sites, and a local community active in planting and caring for the trees. Integral to fostering a sense of ownership and environmental stewardship, the Padvariai initiative ensures ecological benefits for generations to come.

Hold.earth is the managing organization of Padvariai, and has led with a vision to transform degraded lands into thriving forests across the Baltic states. Having planted nearly 100,000 new saplings, an ethos of vibrant habitat creation for local wildlife and community engagement has emerged. Hold.earth is spearheading global carbon reduction initiatives with afforestation projects like Padvariai in Lithuania.

Working with Open Forest Protocol, hold.earth will generate high integrity carbon credits as a certified project in Europe to open the pathway to carbon financing and enter the Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM). Aiming to fill the gap of high quality credits within the demand of the European market, hold.earth has chosen OFP with a shared vision of tackling carbon market challenges such as greenwashing, lack of transparency, and scarcity of quality head on.

In Lithuania alone, more than 50 hectares of forests have been planted that feature diverse, native trees such as Black Alders, Birch, Oak, Pine, Fir, Larch. These forests are home for a variety of wildlife like foxes, deers, does and rare bird species.

Challenges that the Padvariai project currently faces include ensuring the survival of newly planted trees amidst changing environmental conditions, particularly droughts that can affect growth. Regular data uploads to Open Forest Protocol will sustain and support the forest over the long term. Securing funding for expansion and community engagement are also ongoing challenges, alongside navigating regulatory processes.

“We're excited to work with the Open Forest Protocol (OFP) to provide verified carbon credits, ensuring transparency and credibility in our projects. This partnership strengthens our reputation and helps clients achieve their sustainability goals by ensuring genuine carbon reduction. By documenting all our projects on the OFP atlas, we maintain strict monitoring and reporting standards, supporting biodiversity and environmental conservation. This milestone is a big step toward our goal of offsetting 10 million tonnes of carbon per year by 2050, and we're thrilled to collaborate with OFP on this journey.”

OFP's stringent standards align with hold.earth’s commitment to transparency and credibility in conservation efforts. By utilizing OFP to certify projects, rigorous monitoring and verification of tree growth, biodiversity enhancement, and carbon sequestration is realized.

Looking toward the future, hold.earth and Padvari’s visions include flourishing forests to support ecosystems and biodiversity across Lithuania and beyond. With a goal to expand across the EU and the United States to continue planting diverse groves, hold.earth aims to achieve an annual offset of 10 million tonnes of CO2 by 2050. Through partnering with Open Forest Protocol, real impact can be measured, translating to long term environmental sustainability.

Explore Padvari by Hold.earth on the OFP Atlas Explorer: https://atlas.openforestprotocol.org/1669222736006

Visit their website: https://www.hold.earth

Check out their LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hold-earth/