In recent decades, sustainable resource management has evolved from a marginal topic in a handful of developed countries into basic management practice throughout the globe based on economic, social and environmental benefits. Sustainable resource management is a key aspect of growing economies and strong agricultural and forestry sectors - especially in tropical countries.

Demand for industrial rubber, be it from synthetic or natural sources, is expected to experience strong growth in the coming years. Most natural rubber is produced in conventional plantations in a limited number of tropical countries, including Guatemala. However, the sustainable growth and production of rubber remains a poorly known topic needing further development to ensure a long-term sustainable supply of this important industrial commodity.

The Sustainable Rubber Tree Plantation project is the first of its kind in Latin America that seeks full FSC certifications for its plantations, guaranteeing a sustainable management of resources and generating additional social and environmental benefits. The project owner and FSC accredited certifiers have been cooperating in setting up and implementing the principles and criteria that guarantee the sustainability of the plantation. First Climate is proud to support this venture as the main off-taker of carbon credits.

Deforestation accounts for 20-25% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions. We therefore believe that it is important to conserve existing forests and to promote sustainable forest and plantation management. Afforestation and reforestation, sustainable forest management as well as avoided deforestation are central to a holistic climate change mitigation approach. To ensure sustainable climate benefits, we require verifiable evidence for the quantification and permanence of the carbon sequestration of forests. All of our forestry projects are verified by reputed high-quality carbon standards.

The Carbon Sequestration in Rubber Plantations on the North and South Coasts of Guatemala is an example of a project illustrating how sustainable development can be made viable in a developing country.

2,328 hectares of degraded and degrading land in the Departments of Suchitepequez and Izabal are being replanted with rubber trees with the aim of creating a model of sustainable competitiveness in the natural rubber sector in Guatemala. The project is introducing innovative practices such as carbon financing and a tool-kit of methods and knowledge related to carbon project development and sustainable rubber tree plantations. Certified under the Forest Stewardship Council, the plantation is changing the socio-economic situation in the region, increasing income and employment opportunities for Guatemalan farmers who are among the poorest in the world.

In a part of the world where slash-and-burn is a prevalent method of land clearing for subsistence farming and cattle ranching, the project fights poverty, fosters economic development and preserves and replenishes natural resources.

This project was brought to life by the Grupo Agroindustrial Occidente, which has fifty years of experience in growing and managing rubber tree plantations and trading rubber commodities. The Rainforest Alliance, which works to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable practices in agriculture and forestry, verified that the project was in conformance with the Voluntary Carbon Standard, 2007.1 in April of 2011 and certified it to the standards of the Forest Stewardship Council in May, 2011.