
Greenchoice
Wetlands International works with Greenchoice since 2020. Greenchoice is a Dutch energy company with a sustainable mission. It aims to accelerate the energy transition in the Netherlands. The company supplies its more than 600,000 customers green electricity and forest-compensated gas only.
We are working together to accelerate and support climate change mitigation by protecting and restoring wetlands that yield climate, biodiversity and community benefits. We aim to be a catalyst that leverages further climate action by pioneering novel solutions and sharing our knowledge and experiences. Our first joint project concerns mangrove restoration in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa. We seek to develop more joint projects also in other types of wetlands and other countries.
The project in Guinea-Bissau will restore at least 2,500 ha of mangroves, removing carbon directly from the atmosphere and making a positive contribution to the local biodiversity and community in the process. The amount of carbon that can be sequestered in the growing mangrove trees and soil is estimated to be more than 1,000,000 tons of CO2 over a timeframe of 30 years. We expect that with the return of mangroves, bird diversity will increase and manatees, humpback dolphins and otters will thrive in the restored mangrove sites. Mangrove restoration measures will be combined with sustainable development. We expect that 1000 people will directly benefit through jobs, restoration work and biodiversity monitoring.
Greenchoice and Wetlands International adopt and promote Community Based Ecological Mangrove Restoration. Mangroves restored in this way survive and function better than planted mangroves. See: https://www.wetlands.org/publications/mangrove-restoration-to-plant-or-not-to-plant/.