In January of this year, Silva Tree was contacted by a friendly young reporter claiming to be doing a piece on the Carbon market and asked to see Silva Tree’s “reforestation program in action”.  Stating she was working for the Christian Science Monitor, Silva Tree was only too happy to help with her report.

Sacrificing valuable staff time, we picked up the American  reporter called Sara Llana and spent a full day showing her the project site, introducing her to the local people and explaining the investment module.  Sara and her assistant showed nothing but enthusiasm for the important work Silva Tree are doing in Panama, were photographed smiling and chatting with our staff and associates and thanked us profusely for all our help.  Sara Llana managed to conduct some informal chats with a few of the people near or on the Princess Project site but struggled to communicate as she does not speak Spanish.  She later conducted a telephone interview with Silva Tree Director Keren Katz, Carbon project developer and the only company representative on this subject.   During the interview it became very apparent that Ms Llana had very little understanding of the Carbon market or the certification procedure, and that she was very confused about the Princess Project as well as aggressive towards a Carbon market that she has very little knowledge of.  In response, Ms. Katz issued a formal statement to her, in writing, which she was instructed to use as the official stance of Silva Tree.  Ms Llana thanked Silva Tree and explained that they may get a small mention in a general piece to be published in the summer of 2010, probably July or August.

Yesterday, it was brought to our attention that a shockingly untrue report was published online about Silva Tree.  We were very saddened to discover that it was written by none other than Sara Llana, the Christian reporter whom we had tried to help with her story.  Her accusations and quotes are outrageous, based on gross misinterpretation or fabricated, and Silva Tree are taking legal action against the publication. It seems that Ms. Llana had the very clear intention of attacking the Carbon market in a report meant to discredit it, and was desperately scrabbling for anything that she could use to do just that.  She has twisted words, tactically used irrelevant quotes and shamelessly used false information to build a story that makes Silva Tree look like we have been misleading in some way.  Ignoring the official statement sent by Ms. Katz, Sara Llana has printed a confused and aggressive attack on Silva Tree which is both unjustified and irrelevant.

For the sake of our investors, associates and colleagues, this is our official reaction to the falsities written in the Christian Science Monitor, and associated blogs, websites and portals.

Ms. Llana claims that our project is not a genuine Carbon offset project on the basis that we have stated online that we are “VCS certified”.  Our website clearly states that we are developing a Carbon offset project under the VCS standard.  Achieving VCS certified credits is a process which takes several years, and Silva Tree is approximately 1 year into this process.  We have finished writing our PDD and are at the project validation stage.  When the validation is complete, the project will appear on the VCS website for public comment.  We have been in contact with the VCS for approximately 2 years and have recently been consulting with them on a technical basis whilst developing our monitoring plan.  In the world of Carbon offset jargon, “certified credits” are an actual tradable item and therefore the word is used carefully in these realms, which is what the Christian Science Monitor have latched onto as a false claim.  Silva Tree offer precise and complete information about the status of the Carbon offset project that we are developing and we feel we have made it absolutely clear that the project is in developmental stages, in the process of achieving VCS certification.  Moreover, the Carbon offset status of the Princess Project has little to do with the timber investment we are offering.  It is our company policy to develop Carbon offset projects but never has there been any mention of Princess Project investors receiving benefits from the sale of Carbon offset credits.  All of our marketing materials reflect this, including regular newsletters, online environmental certification documents and our website photo diary.

Ms. Llana claims that there have been conflicting statemements made by company representatives on the basis that she received different information between January and April.  The Princess Project has developed considerably over the last weeks and months, and progress should not be coined as inconsistency.

The report also criticises the number of jobs created by the project on the basis that the reporter only saw 10 employees at the project but conveniently omitted the fact that she visited on the weekend and during the dry season when planting activities do not occur.  Thanks to the rapid development of the project, Silva Tree will now in fact be creating approximately 2000 jobs, but not all of these will be at all times as planting season (April-December) is far more labour-intensive.

Eduardo Reyes was horrified at being mentioned in association with such an article and asserted “The article writtten by her only reflects her own opinion but not my opinion…I never talk on behalf of the Silva Tree Project to anyone except for the duties I was hired for”.   Martin Rivera, a freelance Real Estate Agent who is not a representative of Silva Tree said of the article: “In my opinion the article is the opinion of a group of individuals that are against the nature of this business.  Although she acted like she was very impressed and excited about the project, her whole objective was to discredit it. She made a good show.  I personally avoided an interview with her because it’s not my area of expertise.”  Yet Mr. Rivera is quoted in the article. Perhaps most outrageous is the quote attributed to Founding Director of the company Maurice Sjerps.  The article suggests that Mr. Sjerps asserts that returns from the Carbon credits are given to Princess Project investors.  As one of the company owners, a fact which Sara Llana also managed to get wrong, Maurice Sjerps would never make such a statement.  This quote has been completely fabricated or taken out of all context (the project offers double environmetal benefits for example) and heavily embellished.

The only solid basis for any criticism of Silva Tree is one sentence which was used in our Princess Project brochure saying “VCS Certified Project”, and we concede that this was probably incorrect wording to use considering the meaning of the word “certified” within the Carbon market and the fact that we are only in the process of becoming a certified project.  This wording has now been changed and was not intended to be misleading in any way.