Transparency builds trust

For us, trust comes first! That is why we would like to transparently disclose all information and figures related to The Generation Forest.

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Where are our project areas in Panama?

359 hectares | 9 Fincas | 68% afforested
Agua Fria
In 2017, we began our first afforestation project in Panama and gave it the name La Reina. We bought this area of land to demonstrate how you can transform a monoculture into a Generation Forest.
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147 hectares | 3 Fincas | 49% afforested
Colón
Our fincas are located in the water catchment area of the Panama Canal, meaning that our forests not only absorb CO2 but also positively contribute to the water management of a waterway so crucial to the global economy.
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377 hectares | 4 Fincas | 14% afforested
Nicanor
Some time ago the forests here were cleared for grazing land. The previous owner used one of the spaces as a paddock.
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586,5 hectares | 8 Finca | 32% afforested
Lastenia
20 years ago, the area in which the fincas are located was covered with exotic wood forests.
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621 hectares | 15 Fincas | 79% afforested
Claritas
The area adjoins the indigenous territory of Guna de Wargandí. It reinforces the local protection zones and extends the existing habitats.
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277,5 Hektar | 2 Fincas | 0% afforested
Filo de Tallo
In the past, the land of the Filo de Tallo project area was completely forested, but today it is mostly pasture. The existing vegetation is grassland and scattered and grouped trees in the galleries of streams and watercourses.
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How does the difference between reforested area and area under ownership come about?

Our long-term goal is to reforest contiguous areas in order to provide the maximum possible protection and the largest possible interconnected habitat for flora and fauna. To this end, it makes sense to take advantage of the opportunity to buy adjoining areas when they are offered for sale simultaneously. As a result of Covid-19, land prices in Panama have fallen sharply at present. So it may be that we first buy more land and then gradually reforest it.

How do our concrete plans look for this year (2023)?

We want to significantly increase our pace again this year. So far, 750 hectares have been reforested, and together with our community, we also want to plant the majority of our most recently acquired land this year.

Our long-term goal is to reforest contiguous areas in order to provide the best protection and most contiguous habitat possible for flora and fauna. To this end, it makes sense to take advantage of the opportunity to purchase adjacent areas when they are offered for sale at the same time. Due to Covid-19, land prices in Panama have dropped significantly at the moment. Thus, it can happen that we first buy more land in order to reforest it step by step.

What percentage of the land has been afforested so far?

Afforested 750 ha

This corresponds to 32 %

Protected forests 278 ha

This corresponds to 12 %

Water bodies and infrastructure 129 ha

This corresponds to 5 %

Area growth in progress 1210 ha

This corresponds to 51 %

Certified and measurable impact for our climate

We are particularly excited about the positive outcome of our certification process with VERRA, a leading global organisation that develops and manages standards to achieve ambitious sustainable development and climate change goals. We don't want to just talk about what we can achieve. On the contrary, we want our projects to have a demonstrable impact. For this reason, we have had ourselves certified according to two standards: In addition to the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), we were assessed under the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standards (CCBS) in terms of our impact on climate, biodiversity and work with local communities. Initial results show: Each cooperative share stores on average at least one tonne of CO₂ per year.

An extremely important element of our concept is the successful certification by the Forest Stewardship Council. This is considered one of the highest sustainability standards in forestry and enables us to market our timber in a certified manner in the future.

We want to create awareness that sustainable forestry preserves forests, thus making an essential contribution to a healthy environment and at the same time creating fair employment.

How much money goes into managing our forests?

Our economic planning is projected for 100 years, so the financial expenses for managing our forests may differ depending on the state of reforestation. Particularly at the beginning of forestation, for instance, more costs are incurred than in the following years. What is more, the larger the total area under management, the cheaper it is to manage a single hectar forest.

This means that the capital invested for our members is distributed over many years in different proportions. That said, however, the planning results in a percentage distribution for each cost centre, which we can apply in equivalent form to a share price. This makes it clear how much money flows into which area.

Potential risks and how we prevent them

This section tells you how we deal with potential risks and how we prevent them.

More Information

How does our cooperative operate and function?

We at The Generation Forest eG are the owners of a wholly-owned subsidiary, Waldmenschen S.A., in Panama. This makes it easier for us to conduct business transactions, like land purchases, payments, certifications, etc. Waldmenschen S.A. owns the land directly. The outlay for purchasing land and managing the forestry projects are paid for through their account. Furthermore, it offers the advantage that we can employ our own people in Panama and purchase vehicles and equipment.

Our forest partners

Our partner Futuro Forestal is responsible for the operational work on the ground. The company was founded in 1994 by the Panamanian forest engineer Iliana Armién and the Hamburg geographer Andreas Eke. Both developed and tested the concept of the generational forest in cooperation with important actors such as the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, the United Nations Environment Programme and indigenous communities, on which our cooperative forests also thrive.

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How many jobs do the projects in our cooperative create?

Workers are hired to perform forestry work and work in the tree nursery through our forestry partner. Two types of employment contract exist here: permanent and temporary contracts (3 or 10 month). Most of the temporary workers are hired for the planting season and afterwards some of them are kept on to perform maintenance and other activities. From May 2022, we hired 53 new employees for the cooperative's reforestation activities. A total of 87 staff are employed via the cooperative, including administrative and forestry staff.

More information about our social impact

Document Library

Transparency is one of our fundamental values. In our library you will find all documents, such as financial statements, contracts and ownership certificates. If you don't find the document you are looking for, please contact us through your mailbox or at info(at)thegenerationforest.com. We will shortly get back to you and send you everything you need.

Name:
The Generation Forest eG

Registered office:
Register of cooperatives: GnR 1083
Register court: Hamburg

Address:
The Generation Forest eG
Große Elbstraße 145a
22767 Hamburg
Germany

Contact person:
Charline Joost
Große Elbstraße 145a
22767 Hamburg
Germany
cjoost(at)thegenerationforest.com

Year established:
Established in 2016 as Waldmenschen eG

Articles of Association:
Our cooperative's articles of cooperation can be viewed here

Ordinary members:
This list contains the ordinary members of the cooperative.

Management:
Executive Board – Dr. Mathias Hein, Charline Joost
Chairman of the Executive Board – Dr. Mathias Hein
Supervisory Board – Dr. Hans-Joachim Bellmann, Dr. Verena Sandner Le Gall, Axel Kleinefenn, Simon Daum, Andreas Eke
Chairman of the Supervisory Board – Andreas Eke

Tax auditor:
Prüfungsverband der Deutschen Verkehrs-, Dienstleistungs- und Konsumgenossenschaften e.V.
Gotenstraße 17
20097 Hamburg
Germany

This presentation provides you with information about the activities undertaken by the cooperative:

Forestry Reprt 2022

Employees: 16
Board members: 2
Honorary members of the Supervisory Board: 5

Detailed information on this can be found in our annual financial statements 2021.

Our forestry partner FUTURO FORESTAL is responsible for on-site operational work and carries out all forestry activities for the cooperative.

FUTURO FORESTAL has nearly 30 years of experience in the development, implementation and management of innovative tropical reforestation projects. Since its foundation in 1994, Futuro Forestal has gained extensive experience in a wide selection of native tree species, reforested more than 10,000 hectares of land, was the first company in Panama to obtain FSC and B-Corp certifications and developed the generation forest concept. Therefore, Futuro Forestal is the ideal partner company to implement our projects on-site and manage them for us through our subsidiary Waldmenschen, S.A.

Since July 2017, the cooperative has been the sole shareholder of the subsidiary Waldmenschen S.A., registered under Panamanian law.

To comply with the cooperative's promotional purpose, long-term investments are made in forest projects in Panama via the subsidiary Waldmenschen S.A., which are financed by the members' credit balances. The business assets also serve to finance the cooperative's ongoing expenses.

In 2022, a further investment Arboreal B.V. was acquired, registered under Dutch law, which was renamed Generation Forest Invest BV at the end of 2022.

Generation Forest Invest (GFI) is a holding company based in the Netherlands and the owner of Futuro Forestal, as well as the tree nursery in Panama, which also supplies our projects with seedlings. GFI pursues the goal of creating generational forests on a large scale and thus counteracting climate change and species extinction. GFI implements generational forest projects for both the cooperative and other customers and also develops its own projects. The investment in GFI is of strategic importance to the cooperative.

This letter from the independent management consultancy WLP contains a tax assessment of the structure of business relations with Panama.

There is no single member whose shares account for more than 10% of the total annual income. Therefore no names can be listed here.