Trees for All - from grass to forest in Southeast Asia

Focus area alignment

Global Climate Action


Duration of support

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Theory of change

The grasslands in Southeast Asia are a kind of grassphalt: the land looks green, but has almost as little value for nature as asphalt. Thanks to reforestation, we ensure that the degraded land regains value for the climate, biodiversity, and the people in the region.


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In Southeast Asia lie millions of hectares of grasslands that were once tropical rainforest. The landscape appears green and healthy during the rainy season, but appearances are deceiving.

The suffocating grass hinders the natural growth of new forest. During the dry season, the grass is bone dry, a fire hazard, and spreads rapidly. Animals find no food or shelter there. The land offers hardly any benefits to humans either, as growing food is barely possible. The land is a kind of grassphalt: it looks green, but has almost as little value for nature as asphalt.

Trees for All is working on transforming these invasive grasslands into tropical forests. We do this through our ‘From Grass to Forest’ program, in which we work closely with local partners and village communities.

We do this in locations where invasive grasslands pose a major problem, such as in Indonesia on Sumba, in West Papua, on Bangka, and in the Philippines on the island of Luzon.

Impact

In these pilot projects 52 000 tonnes of CO2 are expected to be sequestered over the next 40 years. Of this, the CO2 sequestration realized through the donation from the Alphatron Foundation amounts to 11 375 tonnes of CO2 over the next 40 years.

Between 70 and 83 households are participating, cooperating and benefiting from the impact of this project.

Biodiversity is being increased, including the following animals: Sumba cockatoo, Sumba hornbill, birds of paradise, echidna, tree kangaroo, Celebes tarsier, sea turtles, Philippine eagle, and the tarsier.

What’s the partnership with Alphatron Foundation like?

The contribution from the Alphatron Foundation has provided a fantastic and highly valuable boost to launch the 'from grass to forest' project in Southeast Asia. Their involvement truly makes the difference in the successful completion of the pilot projects. As a result, we hope to attract multiple investors in the near future, enabling thousands of hectares of grassland in Southeast Asia to be transformed into species-rich, healthy forests.