GIZEH was a sponsor of the ‘World Forest Climate Initiative’, a co-operation between the Senate of Economy in Germany and the World Forest Foundation. The main aim of the initiative is to carry out worldwide reforestation and forest protection projects on 500 million hectares of land with an annual CO2 reduction of around 5 billion tonnes.
We have also joined other CO2OL and Forest Finest reforestation programmes with this pledge:
We plant one tree for every million containers we produce!
GIZEH Packaging has thus ensured the reforestation of around 4.000 trees planted in Ethiopia every year.
The project
Local communities in Soddo have developed the reforestation project together with the non-governmental organization World Vision. The objective is to protect the forest on the slopes of Mount Damota, which has been severely damaged, as well as to plant new trees and, in doing so, contribute to the long-term regeneration of the region’s ecosystem. The members of the five communities around Mount Damota are directly responsible for implementing the project and have already planted 48,000 new trees. The project is one of the first in the world to be certified according to the Gold Standard for Land Use and Forest Projects. In addition, the ecological and social benefits have been validated according to CCB standards.
Uses and benefits
Social fairness:
- Participation and self-determination for local communities.
- Long-term, social employment for the local population (over 100 workers)
- Training in sustainable agriculture: construction of a tree nursery with regional vegetables such as spinach and corn, as well as medicinal plants.
- Part of the income goes to training, health and environmental protection projects.
Ecological importance:
- Protected spaces for biodiversity.
- Protection against erosion and water through reforestation.
- Protection against mudslides.
- Stream restoration.
The location
The reforestation area is located in the mountainous region of South Ethiopia, 300 kilometers southwest of Addis Abeba, the capital. The area stretches across a total of 503 hectares, reaching the Mount Damota highlands to the north of the town Soddo.