10 July 2015

Chocolate will taste even better thanks to Ecotierra, a Sherbrooke-based SME that has concluded a major environmental partnership with French chocolate maker CÉMOI, the Office Ivoirien des Parcs et Réserves (OIPR – Ivorian Parks and Reserves Authority), and the Fondation pour les Parcs et Réserves de Côte d’Ivoire (FPRCI – Foundation for the Parks and Reserves of Ivory Coast).

The project aims to reduce deforestation, preserve thousands of hectares of tropical forests in Ivory Coast (thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions), and improve the quality of life of Ivorian cocoa producers in a sustainable way.

To achieve this, Ecotierra plans to focus on cocoa plantation yield improvement, as well as on carbon finance, through which large companies, local businesses, and individuals can purchase carbon credit offsets, from Ecotierra in particular.

The project will be implemented in 2015, next to West Africa’s largest rainforest, Taï National Park, which has been designated a biosphere reserve and is registered on UNESCO’s list of world heritage sites. Ecotierra will help preserve the wildlife and plants in nearby forest, by diversifying the species of trees in cocoa plantations, for example.

Covering 536 000 hectares, an area 10 times the size of the Island of Montreal, Taï National Park will at the same time incorporate the REDD+ mechanism (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation).

In addition, cocoa producers will become involved in the fight against climate change through CÉMOI’s Transparence Cacao program.

Already operating in Canada, Peru, and Columbia, Ecotierra is now opening a new office in Ivory Coast.

Sources : Ecotierra and EstriePlus.com

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