The release of the CommuniTree Carbon Program’s 2024 annual report marks the end of another successful year. In 2024, the program welcomed 464 farming families, planting over 1.9 million trees across 1,417 hectares, bringing the total area restored by the program to 17,288 hectares throughout Nicaragua. With the largest monitoring campaign conducted in the program’s history, 5,481 hectares of historically planted land was monitored, with over 76% of that land meeting program targets. These restoration efforts are restoring six national watersheds, supporting 172 permanent local jobs, and directing over US $40 million to local communities.

Though the program could have done so much more and further expanded in 2024 if demand was greater. The voluntary carbon market faced continued challenges throughout the year, having shrunk to 38% of its 2021 peak. As a result, the program issued fewer carbon credits and restored less land than it could have.

The carbon market still has the potential to drive transformative financing for climate action, livelihoods and nature conservation. CommuniTree is a case study showcasing how a decentralized model can drive large-scale forest restoration and deliver high-integrity carbon removals to create lasting benefits for the climate, nature, and local communities. This model has the potential to meet the quality and scale demanded by the carbon market 2.0, with CommuniTree ready to deliver wins for investors, buyers and communities in the years ahead.

“None of the impacts created would be possible without the incredible team behind CommuniTree, the communities we work with, and the partners who believe in our mission. Your continued support drives everything we do, and we are deeply grateful.”

– Kahlil Baker, CEO of Taking Root

2024 Highlights: Building capacity to scale with integrity

Alongside the program’s expansion in 2024, the program made significant strides to enhance and sustain quality and performance as the program scales. The program built significant local capacity, launching a purpose-built training center in Somoto. This enabled 61 training sessions covering key topics such as recruitment, nursery management, planting, and monitoring, ensuring teams and farmers have the skills they need to succeed. Pre-recruitment screening checks were also implemented, allowing technicians to assess farmer and parcel eligibility earlier in the process, which streamlined recruitment and improved program effectiveness.

Alongside these advancements, CommuniTree further built operational resilience, expanding its network of central nurseries, increasing the number from 22 in 2023 to 40 in 2024. This expansion improved access to quality seedlings, reduced transportation costs, and enabled more farmers to join the program.

Technological improvements were also key to scaling CommuniTree this year. Taking Root’s technology platform was upgraded with a faster, more user-friendly web application, which enhanced program reporting and parcel performance tracking. This has enabled the program’s teams to monitor farmer progress more effectively and prioritize support for at-risk parcels, driving greater efficiency across operations.

Looking ahead to 2025: Delivering ex-ante and ex-post credits for corporate commitments

As CommuniTree approaches its 15th year as a certified Plan Vivo project, it continues to stand out as a proven, high-impact model for community-led reforestation. The program offers corporates a trusted, high-quality solution for reducing emissions and driving meaningful climate action. In response to the evolving needs of the carbon market, from 2025, CommuniTree is planning to transition to Version 5 of the Plan Vivo Standard so the program can issue both ex-ante and ex-post carbon removals. This will allow the program to meet a broader range of corporate carbon, climate, and nature commitments.

“Looking ahead to 2025 our vision is to improve productivity—producing more and better with lower costs—while scaling our operations without compromising our commitment to social and environmental impact.”

– Elvin Castellon, Executive Director of BOSNICA

To support this growth, CommuniTree is raising funds from project-level investors to accelerate its expansion across Nicaragua. This investment will help bridge the gap between early project costs and the delivery of ex-post credits. As the program shifts from being exclusively financed through ex-ante carbon credit sales to a combination of ex-ante credit sales and project investment, the following elements will be crucial:

• Investment: Additional financing needed to bridge the gap between early operation costs and the delivery of ex-post credits.
• Market Demand: Securing demand for future credit issuances and partnering with buyers of forward order carbon removals and long-term offtake agreements.

Let’s partner to restore nature and reverse the climate crisis

With over a decade of operational success, proven scalability, and a track record of delivering high-quality carbon removals, CommuniTree offers a unique opportunity to build partnerships focused on restoring the world’s forests and supporting farming families. With the right support, we can raise the bar and push the industry to new levels of scale and quality.

For the first time, we are offering the delivery of both ex-ante credits to meet corporate’s climate contributions, and long-term offtake of future ex-post carbon credits. We are also actively raising funds to accelerate the expansion of our forest restoration model across Nicaragua. This presents a unique opportunity to strengthen and build partnerships united by a shared mission: restoring the world’s forests, removing carbon and supporting the livelihoods of farming families.

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