Vaca Diez 2020-2024

Guardians of the Vaca Diez Forest

A Legacy of Protection in the Heart of the Bolivian Amazon

For over a quarter-century, the pristine forests of Vaca Diez have stood as a testament to what patience and commitment can preserve. In 1998, when the decision was made to end logging operations and begin conservation, few could have imagined the challenges that would follow - or the extraordinary biodiversity that would flourish under protection.

Spanning 1,056.5 hectares of Bolivian Amazon, this landscape tells a story of resilience. Towering native trees, many reaching heights of over 12 meters, form a verdant canopy that has remained largely untouched for 17 years. Beneath this emerald ceiling, a symphony of life unfolds: jaguars prowl ancient pathways, birds call across the morning mist, and countless species find sanctuary in this critical habitat.

Why Your Support Matters

These carbon credits represent more than numbers - they're a lifeline for one of Earth's most vital ecosystems.

Every credit you purchase directly funds the ongoing battle to protect this forest from illegal logging and agricultural encroachment. This isn't theoretical conservation - it's active defence of a landscape under constant threat. Consider the impact:

• 27 years of conservation effort since 1998, protecting what would otherwise have been cleared
• Over 1,000 hectares of Amazon rainforest actively defended against destruction
• Thousands of tons of CO₂ kept locked in living biomass instead of released into the atmosphere
• Critical jaguar habitat preserved - these apex predators require vast territories and are indicators of ecosystem health
• Regional climate stability maintained through intact forest hydrology affecting areas far beyond project boundaries

Without carbon certification and the financial support, it provides, this forest faces an uncertain future. The pressure from illegal loggers and cattle ranchers is relentless. Your participation in this project creates the economic incentive needed to keep these forests standing - trees that have been growing for decades, some for over a century, and would take generations to replace.

This is conservation meeting innovation, tradition embracing technology, and local stewardship gaining global support. The future of Vaca Diez isn't just written in policy - it's written in every choice we make today.

The Story Behind the Forest

But this is not a story without tension. Private land situated at the frontier of agricultural expansion faces constant pressure. Illegal loggers eye its valuable timber. Cattle ranchers see opportunity where conservationists see irreplaceable ecosystem services. The forest's very existence hangs in a delicate balance.

The strategy to protect it has been as innovative as it is necessary. By creating a protective buffer zone through sustainable agroforestry and silvopastoral operations, the forest's defenders have built a living shield around its core. It's a model of how conservation and careful land use can coexist, each supporting the other.

A Forest That Breathes Life

What makes this forest irreplaceable extends far beyond its trees. Natural water currents weave through the land, creating a self-sustaining hydrological cycle that nourishes the soil and maintains moisture levels crucial for the entire region. This forest doesn't just exist—it actively prevents erosion, reduces evaporation, and stabilizes productivity for communities both near and far.

This is a typical Amazonian forest in the truest sense: a complex ecosystem of native trees, rich biodiversity, and interconnected natural systems. The project area comprises 29 distinct polygons, with 2 featuring dense evergreen broadleaf forests and 27 consisting of grasslands - each playing its role in the larger ecological tapestry.

Project Area Breakdown:

• Total area: 1,056.5 hectares
• Evergreen broadleaf forest polygons: 2
• Grassland polygons: 27
• Native trees: Many exceeding 12 meters in height
• Conservation period: 17 years of pristine protection
• Total conservation history: 27 years since 1998

Precision Through Technology

This project employs the latest Carbon Spaces methodology, bringing rigorous, ISO 14064-verified monitoring to these remote forests. Through enhanced satellite and meteorological data integration, each hectare is tracked with unprecedented accuracy and consistency.

Methodology Highlights:

Enhanced Data Integration: The updated methodology integrates multiple satellite and meteorological data sources to ensure consistency in results over time, providing smoother and more reliable month-to-month carbon estimates while reducing fluctuations that can affect credit accuracy.

Expanded Training Data: By incorporating observations from various sources, the system has significantly increased the amount of training data per monitoring station. This improvement enhances accuracy particularly for diverse land cover types and regions with previously limited data.

Full Compliance: The system maintains ISO 14064 verification at the system level and is fully compliant with the latest SBTi (Science Based Targets initiative) and GHG Protocol requirements - the gold standards for corporate climate action and greenhouse gas accounting.

Verification Standards:

• Methodology: Carbon Spaces
• System verification: ISO 14064 certified
• Compliance: SBTi and GHG Protocol aligned
• Monitoring: Continuous satellite and meteorological tracking
• Data reliability: Enhanced through multi-source integration

Protect. Preserve. Persist.

The future of Vaca Diez Forest begins with your choice today.