Today Ecobase, an Estonia-based developer of European forestry carbon projects, announced that it has secured over €2.5 million in Seed funding to scale up its pan-European afforestation/reforestation (ARR) program.
Ecobase was founded in early 2021 and aims to unlock carbon finance for European landowners.
The company provides European landowners with a platform and support network to incentivise ARR activities in degraded/abandoned areas and transition to more sustainable forestry practices.
Over the last two years, the company has become the sole partner for some of the largest European landowners, who collectively have sent over 188,000 hectares of land to the company’s ongoing ARR program.
According to Jaan Sepping, the founder and CEO of Ecobase:
“Carbon markets represent a novel financing solution to add and restore European forestland. While forest subsidies have been in place in many European countries for creating new forests, payment rates have been insufficient to motivate landowners to participate in such schemes.
Planting forests is a long-term commitment, and given the absence of financing mechanisms that make ARR activities commercially feasible in a shorter time frame, it becomes very difficult for landowners to cover their costs. ARR with carbon income is a fundamental necessity to support the expansion of forestland.
Ecobase encourages the creation of native, mixed forests by providing the landowner with an alternative income which does not rely on timber value.
We aim to drive significant positive environmental change while also providing economic incentives for landowners.”
The investment was led by Combiwood Grupp, one of Estonia’s largest vertically integrated groups of woodworking companies.
The funding will help Ecobase accelerate its platform capabilities and new product development, as the company aims to offer solutions that support its landowners in every aspect of forest management, from new forest creation to enhancement of existing forest practices
Lead image: Quaritsch Photography.
