Helping Families Sustainably Preserve Their Natural Legacies

Carbon projects are a major opportunity for climate mitigation, but for many small family-owned forests, joining carbon markets is too expensive and complex. Since family forests make up 36% of forest land in the U.S., there is huge untapped potential for these forest owners to participate in these programs.

The Family Forest Carbon Program (FFCP) is an innovative program undertaken by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the American Forest Foundation (AFF) which brings together forest owners and companies to make it easier for small family-owned forests to participate in carbon markets. By working together, family-owned forests can become a major player in the fight against climate change.

The FFCP provides many benefits for both forest owners and nature. By providing a new source of income to forest owners through carbon credits, this program helps prevent the conversion of forest land to development. Forest owners also implement sustainable forest practices that not only store carbon, but also improve wildlife habitat, protect water resources, and improve forest resiliency

To ensure the credibility of the offsets established by this program, TNC’s science team is working with Verra to develop and validate a new methodology that accurately measures the additional carbon stored in family forests that are part of the program.

The model established by this program will help to pave the way for increased carbon sequestration on privately-owned forest land, while helping companies reach their sustainable development goals. This Natural Climate Solutions initiative can truly help reduce emissions and fuel economic growth for landowners.

Learn more about the Family Forest Carbon Program here and here.