Compensated Carbon ensures nature preservation

- 13/05/2012

Virada Digital

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The concept of carbon footprint helps demonstrate the environmental impact of actions of people and companies and bring awareness as well as search for alternatives for recovering devastated areas. In Paraty the process is coordinated by the Arts and Sciences Research and Studies Lab(Lepac), with the University of Campinas (Unicamp).

The project was implemented in 2010 and the changes observed are considerable. The project coordinator, Thierry Cintra Marcondes explains that, before the project implementation, 100 forest fires were registered annually along Rio-Santos Highway, which represents around 300 hectors of native forests destroyed.

The measurement of compensated carbon offers an estimate of the area being destroyed and educate people on the how to empower the recovery process. He explains that choice of species is made taking into consideration the types that grow faster in order to restrain the fires.

In Virada Digital's case, the calculated impact took into consideration the amount of people and the kind of commuting used so they could get there. Therefore, 64 trees were planted to erase our carbon footprint.

Since the project implementation, over 4000 species of trees from Mata Atlântica were planted. Over the same period, the number of fires was reduced to 26. However, to recover the whole devastated area, it will take more than 40 thousand species to be planted.

Lepac's representative presents calculus on carbon compensation.