« back to projects

Silva Tree Princess Project

The Princess Project is a pioneering reforestation venture in central Panama. 1,500 hectares of land, currently used for cattle grazing, are being reforested with the fast growing tree Paulownia (also known as Princess Tree or Empress Tree). Paulownia is a fascinating species; believed to be the fastest growing hardwood in the world, it can be harvested 4-5 times in the space of just one Teak harvest and it provides an array of environmental benefits, from soil regeneration to an extraordinary rate of carbon dioxide uptake.

The Princess Project is a commercial timber plantation which is also being developed as a Carbon Offset Project, following CDM guidelines developed for the Kyoto Protocol and verified to meet VCS standard, with environmental and socioeconomic benefits at the core of the project. The trees will be harvested after their fifth year of growth and sold as a sustainable timber product. New trees will regenerate from the roots to create three more cycles of growth and harvest over the 20 year project term. The investment opportunity is based on the sale of the project’s timber to local and international timber markets.

Environmental & humanitarian benefits

In 1947, Panama boasted an impressive 70% forest cover but by 2005 this figure had sadly dropped to just 42% (1). Forests are the lungs of the Earth and their destruction is estimated to be responsible for up to 25% of the world’s Carbon emissions. Forests are also crucial to the natural water cycle, to the country’s amazing biodiversity and to the prevention of soil erosion, a problem which is already affecting areas in Panama (please see Siglo XXI project).

Experts point out that the most significant cause of deforestation of Panamanian rainforest since the 1960s has been cattle ranching which required the conversion of large areas of rainforest into pasture land. The Princess Project aims to restore some of Panama’s forest cover with a tree which is believed to be the fastest growing hardwood in the world. In 2008, just 5371 hectares of land were reforested in Panama, so the 1,500 hectare Princess Project is equivalent to almost 28% of the entire country’s reforestation efforts in 2008, or 75% of national reforestation in 2004 (2).

Panama possesses 1569 known species of mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles, of which 5.5% are endemic (which meaning they only exist in Panama) and 6.1% of these are threatened. Panama is also home to 9915 known species of plant, of which 12.3% are endemic (3). Although not native to Central America, Paulownia is a Tropical species originating from the Far East, and has been grown in the USA for nearly 200 years. It can provide shelter, food and a home to local animals, much like the previously dominant natural rainforest, and is well suited to the climate and terrain that Panama offers.

The Princess Project offers stable employment to local people as well as potential income to independent farmers. The Princess People community education program encourages local farmers to move their activities towards sustainable practices such as forestry, and away from deforestation. The project infrastructure implementation benefits all local communities and individual support programs such as digging of water wells and bridge repairs are undertaken as needed (please see community projects).

The Princess Project is causing widespread excitement, so much so that the Panamanian governmental department of environment (ANAM) is working with Silva Tree on a research project with a view to introduce the species to the government run reforestation program Siglo XXI (please see Siglo XXI project for more details)

1. Pérdida de Cobertura Forestal entre 1947 y el año 2000, Estrategia de REDD 2008-2012, ANAM Gobierno Nacional
2. ANAM
3. World Conservation Monitoring Centre

Princess Project Planting Begins

Thursday 29th of October 2009