Unitán: carbon certification and afforestation with native species, a pioneer project in Argentina
Unitán, a tannin company in northern Argentina, is working on the development of reforestation projects to reduce the demand for native forest timber and generate energy. These practices, with the support of ProSustentia, made it the first Argentine company to issue forest carbon credits under the Verra VCS standard.
The Unitán project is carried out in five properties located in Chaco and Formosa provinces, in the northeastern region of Argentina. Since September 2016 to September 2024 1,354 ha had been planted and it is expected to raise to 1,650 ha.
This is an afforestation project in extensive areas of cattle pasture and abandoned agricultural land. The plantations include native species(Schinopsis balansae) and exotic species (several varieties of eucalyptus, including Eucalyptus gxc). The objective of the project is to generate, as a priority product, logs for the tannin industry and, secondly, bioenergy. The project is located in a region where commercial forestry plantations are uncommon, if not non-existent. In turn, afforestation with Schinopsis balansae avoids the use of wood from native forests.
ProSustentia supports Unitán throughout the entire certification process, from the development of the project document, validation, registration, monitoring, verification, and issuance of carbon credits in the voluntary market. The second verification of the project to issue new carbon credits is currently underway.
