At this event, WGW Agroforestry presented its unique Tree Outside Forests (TOF) plantation concepts and signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Uttarakhand to collaborate on the realisation of various plantation projects. In total an area of up to 10,000 Acres will be developed in Phases, and will result in a Total Investment of Rs. 2,000 Crores. The land will be either leased from the Uttarakhand Govt., private land holdings and/or land owned by involved and benefitted farmers. In addition to unprecedented Carbon Sequestration and Hardwood production, agriculture / horticulture / floriculture produce will be grown between the trees, which will also improve food security in the region.

Large-scale Job Creation with special focus on Social & Economic Upliftment will bring multiple benefits like long-term job opportunities, skill enhancement, and additional income generation for the rural population, with a special focus to more than double the income of Small & Marginal Farmers. Therefore, these plantation projects will make an important contribution to increase the Green Cover of India and preventing rural de-population, which is also in line with one of the vital points of the speech given by the Hon'ble, Prime Minister, Shri. Narendra Modi Ji, that he has the aim of creating 2 Crore ‘Lakhpati Didis’ in villages.

Therefore, the realisation of these plantation projects will make an important contribution to preventing rural de-population, as Prime Minister Modi also called for in his speech.

A central component of these sustainable plantation projects is the use of the Phoenix One® Paulownia tree. It is the tree with is both the "fastest-growing hardwood tree" on earth and absorbs / sequestrates the by far largest quantities of CO2 worldwide (up to 35 metric tonnes per Acre per Year)! This makes the tree a valuable tool in the fight against climate change. Planting Phoenix One® Paulownia trees not only removes CO2 from the atmosphere, but also produces high-quality hardwood that is used in various industries, thus reducing the high and expensive dependency on imported wood through domestic cultivation.

WGW Agroforestry is proud to be working with the government of Uttarakhand on this ground-breaking project and is committed to ensuring that sustainable solutions in the fight against climate change are also implemented for the benefit of the rural population.