Where pastureland once stood: how reforestation is bringing back Panama's forests
For decades, large areas of forest in Panama were cleared for extensive cattle ranching. What remained were degraded grasslands with low biodiversity and severely weakened soils. This project intervenes exactly where the forest has disappeared.
Across a total project area of 13,242 hectares, comparable in size to Paris, 8,539 hectares of degraded land are being transformed into species-rich mixed forests. The plantations consist of native tree species and teak. In parallel, cocoa is cultivated in an agroforestry system, promoting biodiversity and creating additional sources of income for the local population. The forests are managed and certified to FSC standards.
The project creates jobs in rural regions of Panama and places particular emphasis on fair and safe working conditions. Employees regularly participate in training sessions, including on fire protection, occupational safety, and sustainable forestry practices. A publicly accessible grievance and input mechanism ensures that local stakeholders can raise their concerns at any time.
More than 26,000 people in the surrounding communities benefit directly and indirectly from the project, including through improved local infrastructure and economic development.
The project contributes to the the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals
How afforestation, reforestation and agroforestry contribute to climate action
There is a wide range of approaches to restoring degraded landscapes and increasing carbon sequestration. These include afforestation (establishing forests on previously non-forested land), reforestation (restoring degraded or deforested forest areas), and agroforestry systems that integrate trees into agricultural land.
Climate projects that combine these approaches take a holistic view of land restoration. They enhance natural regeneration processes, actively plant native tree species, and integrate trees into farming systems. This not only increases carbon storage in biomass and soils while improving biodiversity, soil fertility, and water retention.
Local communities play a central role in implementing these activities, drawing on traditional knowledge and sustainable land management practices. Measures such as protecting regeneration areas, planting native species, establishing agroforestry systems, and implementing soil and water conservation techniques help restore ecosystems while supporting livelihoods.
Research shows that forest restoration and improved land management have significant potential to mitigate climate change by removing CO₂ from the atmosphere. Projects that combine afforestation, reforestation and agroforestry therefore represent a highly effective and scalable nature-based climate solution. The afforestation, reforestation and agroforestry projects in the ClimatePartner portfolio are registered with international standards.
The project aims to contribute to these United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Four criteria for projects to meet quality thresholds
The life cycle of a climate project
A climate project has a set life cycle consisting of various phases, from the feasibility assessment to the retirement of Verified Emission Reductions (VERs).
The project developer reviews the general feasibility of the project, the project design, and the financing. Then, the Project Design Document (PDD) is prepared, which contains all the basic information about the project, such as the objective, location, timeline, and duration.
In this phase, independent auditors examine the PDD and the information it contains. This phase often also involves field visits with on-side interviews and analyses. Auditors are accredited, impartial assessors who have to be approved by the relevant standard as a validation and verification body (VVB). TÜV Nord/Süd, S&A Carbon LLC., and SCS Global Services are examples of VVBs."
Once validated, the project can be registered with a standard such as the Verified Carbon Standard or the Gold Standard. All high-quality climate projects are based on international standards. They provide the framework for project design, construction, carbon accounting, and monitoring. Recognised standards make the climate project system and the projects themselves resilient, traceable, and credible.
After the climate project has been registered, the monitoring begins. Here, the project developers monitor and document the data of the project activities and progress. The duration of the monitoring phase varies from project to project: it can cover two years, but documentation over five or seven years is also possible.
At the end of each monitoring phase, a VVB checks and assesses whether the values and project activities stated in the monitoring report are correct. As with validation, visits to the project site are often part of the verification process.
Once verified, the emission reductions that were confirmed in the verification phase can be issued as VERs. The steps of monitoring, verification, and issuance of VERs are repeated regularly and are therefore considered as a cycle.
Once a VER has been used, it must be retired. This process is also reflected in the registry. If the financing of a climate project is done through ClimatePartner, the VERs are bundled in a system certified by TÜV Austria and then retired on a regular basis. This ensures that each VER can no longer be sold and is only used once, preventing double counting.
Explore our projects
Biochar for Climate Action, Healthy Soils, and Better Harvests
A certified climate project combined with additional commitment
Expansion of renewable energy generation in Asia
Ceramic water filters save CO2 and improve health
Improved cookstoves worldwide – for better health and cleaner air
A certified climate project combined with additional commitment
Powering access to renewable energy in Africa
A certified climate project combined with additional commitment
Restored ecosystems remove carbon
Turning degraded farmlands into healthy ecosystems
Improved cookstoves - better for health and the environment