South Africa's spekboom restoration projects face scrutiny over transparency and project failures

A Mongabay investigation has raised concerns about the transparency and efficacy of spekboom-led ecosystem restoration projects in South Africa, which are financed through carbon markets. The World Bank issued a $120 million outcome-based bond for these projects, with Amazon committing to buy carbon credits from the first developer. However, the report highlights instances of project failure and a lack of public scrutiny over international corporations' investments. One project, Return to Thicket, is replanting spekboom cuttings rescued from a previously failed restoration effort, aiming to sequester 10.3 metric tons of CO2 per hectare per year over three decades across 2,100 hectares.

This summary was written by carbon.fyi from the reporting linked above. It is not a quotation; cite the original source.