Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world, spanning 587,000 square kilometers. Home to 5% of the world’s plant and animal species, the biological importance of the island cannot be overstated. It is also home to 20 million people, 70% of whom work as small-scale farmers that are both poor and vulnerable to climate change impacts and extreme weather events. 

Generations of unsustainable land use practices have left large tracts of land degraded and unproductive. The VERAMA project aims to reinvigorate 6,400 hectares of land by planting 2 million trees on land that had fallen into disuse due to being severely degraded. The carefully selected cashew varieties being planted will produce commercially valuable premium quality cashew nuts as well as carbon credits, bringing needed new revenue streams to deprived remote communities. These plantations will also help to restore nutrient levels in the project lands thanks to the leguminous plants being cultivated on the soil surrounding the trees. 

While the total project area is over 17,000 hectares, only 6,412 hectares are being utilized for the plantation. The remaining 11,000 hectares are co-managed with local communities, with activities including water harvesting, biodiversity conservation and community activities and infrastructure development. The buffer zone will provide valuable ecosystem services while also supporting local biodiversity. The carbon benefits of the project will be accrued as the cashew trees mature, storing over to 800,000 tCO₂e in tree biomass and soil over the 40-year project term.

A key component of the project is community development. The plantation will support three local villages by providing jobs and basic services funded by sales of cashews and carbon credits.  Services will include water and energy infrastructure, education and health facilities, and road construction. The project has conducted formal stakeholder consultations over the past ten years and received strong support from local communities.