The Environmental Project Floryl

Global warming, or the green house effect, is a controversial issue of much debate and disagreement. The supporters argue that the implications of this warming is a potential catastrophe of a greater dimension than all hitherto known catastrophes, including AIDS. The green house effect arises when CO₂ and other potential green house gasses (such as methane), from human made productions and energy combustion, are emitted in such large volumes that these gasses form a layer in the atmosphere, turning the earth into a greenhouse with rising temperatures. These rising temperatures have consequences for all life forms on the planet.

Many people consider this green house effect a fact, and others do not. But regardless of whether there is accordance on this issue or not, the mere risk of there being some truth in it makes this a sufficiently extensive threat to force people to take action and seek to reduce and control the earth's CO₂ emissions.

On this background, many governments on a meeting in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997 agreed on a document, the Kyoto Protocol, concerning the national emissions of CO₂ and with dates for when the new restrictions are to be carried out. The protocol prescribes the industrialized countries to reduce their emissions with at least 5% compared to the 1990 level before the end of 2008.

The protocol states methods for obtaining this goal:

• Tree planting and sustainable forest management
• Research and promotion of new and renewable energy forms (such as biomass energy, wind power and hydro power)
• This is the treaty which the American government in the summer of 2001 decided not to ratify. This has resulted in international reactions from for example the German and the French governments. The Danish government has ratified the Kyoto protocol.

Many scientists, governments and individuals acknowledge the danger that the CO₂ emissions from the earth can threaten the temperature in the atmosphere and thereby cause unpredictable consequences. With an issue of such magnitude, others than governments also need to do something. With or without attention. With or without a pat on the shoulder. By themselves, and on their own account.

And some do take action. For example Shell.

Shell's Gigantic Environment Project
The project which Shell started in 1980 consisted of establishing large areas with plantations, which previously only had been dry, infertile and low vegetation. The Brazilian government at that time offered tax relief measures to companies in order to get them to open up large new areas with poor soils for cultivation. Shell and a series of other companies planted large areas with forests.

When the tax relief measures stopped, many of the companies stopped maintaining the plantations and parts of these have been lost because of the leaf cutting ants and fires, and now lie abandoned. Shell did not stop, and the Floryl project on 'Fazenda Jatoba' stood as the best maintained and well preserved.

The project: establish a gigantic plantation on land which can not be used otherwise, and where the existing vegetation is poor. The growth of the forest will then consume large amounts of CO₂, because all green plants obtain growth by transforming CO₂ into organic matter and oxygen. As long as the growth continues, and the trees are not felled, the CO₂-balance is pure gain, because it uses the CO₂ which is in excess in the atmosphere.

After some years the harvest of the forest will start, and if we imagine the whole forest being used in biomass combustion for producing electricity, then the CO₂-balance would be neutral. This means that it is possible to produce very large amounts of electricity with a neutral CO₂-balance, instead of having the always negative balances, resulting from the combustion of fossil fuels such as coal and oil.

After years of preparation to find the right place, the right soil and the right trees, Shell entered into the Brazilian company 'Floryl Florestadora' in 1980, which owned a piece of land of 103,800 ha - a rectangular formed block, 18 km on one side and 58 km on the other, situated in the middle of Brazil in the south western corner of the state of Bahia. A dry and infertile piece of land with low and scattered bush vegetation.

On this gigantic piece of land, as large as 1/3 of the Funen, Shell started planting in 1982 and continued up through the 80's until 36,000 ha were planted. In accordance with the Brazilian environmental law 20,000 ha of the around 100,000 ha had to be preserved as an untouched reserve for the protection of the natural environment.

On this important issue Shell went the extra mile with respect to protecting the nature. In stead of taking 20% of the poorest soil, and letting these remain untouched, Shell established the 100,000 ha with a series of so-called biological reserves, which function as biological corridors between the rivers for animals and birds. The biological reserves are 200 meters wide and are placed north-south from river to river (the two rivers make up the long sides of the whole estate) and are 15-20 km long.

Furthermore, there is the big biological reserve, which is two km wide and also stretches from river to river. In addition, the areas along the rivers have been designated nature reserves - towards the north with a width of 3-4 km, and towards the south with a width of 0,2-0,5 km. In total 30% of the area was allowed to remain in virgin condition.

Translation of a newspaper article written in 1992 by Frank Andean, the former general manager at Floryl Florestadora, the former owner of the farm Jatobá:

New Refuge for the Wild Animals of Brazil
Plantation forestry is often criticized for not doing anything to improve the environment or help nature and animal life. But the pioneer project at the Jatobá plantation disproves this criticism by bringing new life to its inhospitable natural environment and attracting wolves, panthers and toucans into its well protected areas.

In 1981 the Jatobá farm was just a piece of dry, infertile land with scattered and stunted bushes in the south western part of the state Bahia. Today Jatobá is the home of an extensive forestry project, led by Floryl Florestadora, a company under Shell Brazil.

Fazenda Jatobá covers one single block of land with 104,000 ha, an area comparable to the area where the city of Rio de Janeiro is placed. More than one third of this area - 37,000 ha - has already been planted with Pinus tecunumanii, Pinus caribaea and Eucalyptus grandis.

Forestry research projects cover another 600 ha, investigating different ways to optimize the production there, and how well 60 new and different species and varieties adapt.

The aim of the project Jatobá is to create a sustainable, planted forest resource, which can accommodate the future demand for wood. The plantation is run to produce wood for industrial use on a short rotation cycle; the eucalyptus are ready to be harvested after six years; the pine trees after twelve years.

The typical vegetation in this harsh corner of Bahia varies between 'cerrado' (savanna with low, deciduous bushes) and 'campina' (open land with grass tufts). These poor vegetation types are the result of poor soil, dry climate, and centuries of uncontrolled fires, which people have used for clearing land for grazing.

The soil in the area is a deep sandy latosol, which has on average 10-15% clay. Because the clay stems from quartz crystals it is infertile, and as a result of the fires the soil only contains between 1-2% organic material. The average rainfall is 1,400 mm. There are five months of dry season between May and September, and in September the soil's deficit of humidity has grown to 170 mm. The average yearly temperature is 21º.

The area lies far from towns, and the population is sparse. The main activities are soy bean production, extensive cattle grazing and small farming. Today the major part of the region's land is unused.

Fires are a constant threat, especially during the dry season. Firm precautions are taken to prevent fires, including a system of fire breaks at the perimeters and internal fire breaks. A forest patrol is constantly on the lookout for fires from the observation towers and from cars, when driving around on the 2,000 km of roads.

The aim at Jatobá has always been to preserve and protect and then let nature take its course. The effect of this policy is already visible after only ten years. The vegetation coverage and the number of plant species have grown markedly in some of the reserves. The bird populations are now plentiful and varied, especially at the rivers, and they include green parrots, red macaws and toucans. There are also considerable populations of deer, armadillos, mained wolves, and two kinds of panthers - the yellow brown and the spotted. The last three species are endangered in Brazil, and were not present here ten years ago. It is clear that many species, endangered or partly so, have moved into the protected area of the plantation.

During the period 1990-93 the Brazilian nature conservation institution FUNATURA carried out technical and scientific investigations for Floryl Florestadora. These show for example that there exist 148 different bird species, as well as jaguars, armadillo, deer and wolves. A diverse animal life, which is not restricted to the reserve areas, but is spreading well into the plantation also, which makes the project even better than expected.

FUNATURA's Investigations
Floryl decided in 1990 to implement an extensive investigation of the result of its own management of both the natural vegetation and the plantation. An independent organization, based in Brasilia, Funatura (a private foundation using university researchers as consultants), was appointed to carry out a series of studies. This work, which is paid by Shell Brazil with 500,000 USD (3,5 million Dkr), will evaluate many different aspects: the geology of the area; ground water level; the amounts and quantities of the river water; the characteristics of the soil in the reserves and the planted areas; climate; vegetation types in the reserves; animal- and insect populations.

The 'Cerrado' in its different variations is one of the most widespread vegetation types in Brazil, but has only attracted little scientific attention. The ecological project at Jatobá represents an ideal possibility of reestablishing the balance. It will be able to form the basis for a unique evaluation of 'cerrado' soils, the vegetation and the fauna, with or without fire protection, with or without human interference.

The experience from Fazenda Jatobá clearly shows that intensive, industrial forestry can be carried out, while many aspects of the original environment at the same time are improved. The increased understanding of these issues will contribute considerably to intelligent management of the 'cerrado' areas in the years to come.

Shell Brazil put much work into the project and is one example of big international companies actively taking part in nature protection.

Their reports tell for example the following about the preparatory work:

Experiments were made to find which tree species were best adapted to grow there. A small section of 100 ha was planted with 200 different varieties of pine and eucalyptus, which would make direct comparison possible with regard to which ones did best on the poor soil. Experiments were made with different ways of preparing the soil, with fertilizer, without fertilizer and with smaller amounts of fertilizer, and experiments with planting trees on soil where previously other crops had been cultivated. An interesting result was that trees growing on former soy fields, grew considerably faster than the others.

In between the 25 ha or 50 ha big plots there are roads, which are necessary both with regard to maintaining the plantation and in connection with fire prevention and harvesting. From the air the plantation has 'bare' spots spread out all over which look exactly like felled forest, but this is not the case. It is simply the original, low bush vegetation.

The plantation has a splendid perspective with far-reaching effects if it succeeds: to be able to produce energy, which it has taken enormous amounts of CO₂ to produce, and which releases not quite as large amounts of CO₂ during the transformation to electrical energy. If large percentages of the world's energy production was produced in the same manner, instead of by combustion of fossil energy, it would be a substantial and a decisive step in the right direction of a real CO₂ -balance. At the same time the project transforms infertile land areas to large biomass producing landscapes and nature reserves.

In October 1991 it was calculated that the environment project Floryl had cost Shell and the Brazilian state - in the form of tax rebates - 47,5 million USD, and that the energy plantation, as it can rightly be called, not quite ten years after the first planting, contained 3,3 million m³ of biomass. The forest grows with 700 m³ per day, or yearly with 240,000 m³. Today, year 2001, the total biomass of the forest is estimated at 6 million m³.

Floresta Atlantica takes over the Jatobá Farm
Shell however decided to pull out of the project. After a restructuring within the Shell companies, Shell Brazil offered the estate for sale, and Floresta Atlantica managed to acquire the estate and forest for 9 million USD. The "luck" of being able to buy a value of 47 million USD for 9 million USD was entirely necessary to even envisage being able to fulfill such a project without being Shell.

Floresta Atlantica now stood with the gigantic task of having to look after and maintain the plantation and preparing the energy production. To take on this task requires an effort for decades - and these are in no way short-term or halfhearted efforts. This was an effort which could neither count on success nor profit for the first many years, and therefore had to find its inspiration in the far-reaching perspectives for the future.

A few facts alone clearly express the extent of the task:

• 2,000 km of roads and fire breaks had to be maintained - of which the 140 km of fire breaks surrounding the most threatened areas had to be improved immediately.
• The leaf cutting ant had to be stopped from destroying the forest. During the first half of 1993, ten workers and two technicians combated the destructive leaf cutting ants on 12,000 ha; here were 44,000 ant nests. And this work has continued ever since.
• The forest had to be thinned; every third row had to be felled, so that the remaining two rows got more space and a larger share of the rainwater.
• There are 1,666 trees per ha. After 6-8 years a thinning must be carried out to ensure a continuous growth. If the thinning is not carried out, the growth will stagnate, because there is not sufficient rainwater and nutrients for 1,666 trees per ha. 180,000 m³ should be thinned every year.

The new owners were in no way ensured success in their endeavors. Full of courage they started to make plans and look for financial support from donors, justified in the project's qualities within environment and research.

Floresta Atlantica also applied to La Societé Verte, which accepted the cooperation and applied to the Foundation for financial support. (Later on the association L'Energie Eternelle took over the role of La Societé Verte.)

The project had three main issues:

1. To continue the ongoing environmental research project, which had the aim of producing electricity in a manner which does not deteriorate the earth's CO₂ balance.
2. To establish an income generating agricultural production which could pay for the maintenance of the forest, until the felling of the trees can give a surplus (Further into the future another and yet greater task was beckoning, the planting of a further 30,000 ha - but this was not included in this project)
3. To establish a power plant with a capacity of 1 MW for the production of CO₂-neutral energy from wood from the necessary thinning of the plantation. The aim was to create sufficient power for processing the trees felled in the thinning, so that it also in this way was possible to create a surplus for maintaining the forest.

Maintenance of the Energy Forest
This work consisted of the following main tasks:

• Fire protection and putting out fires. In 1993 sixty fires were spotted and correctly combated. Seven persons work constantly with keeping a lookout from the towers and with maintaining the fire breaks and the roads with a grader and tractors.
• Control and combat of leaf cutter ants and other insects.
• Prevention of squatting and destruction of the forest.
• Statistical analysis and measurements of the growth of the trees.
• Thinning of 36,000 ha of forest.
• Maintenance of workshops for repair of machines and vehicles.
• Maintenance and care of the buildings at Jatobá.

Establishment of an Income Generating Production
The intention was to establish an income generating production, which could pay for the maintenance of the forest. The establishment of an income generating agricultural production on the poor soil, however, did not succeed. An attempt with cultivating 30 ha of potatoes failed in spite of excellent expert advice. The reason was first of all the high content of aluminum in the 'cerrado' soil.

At the same time 500 ha were prepared for eucalyptus, and a nursery with one million seedlings was established. The planned planting and maintenance was to be financed by the potatoes. It could therefore not be carried out, but the nursery instead became income generating since the seedlings could be sold. There were also 150,000 well growing citrus seedlings in the nursery.

Since there were no means to invest in more experiments, which could be in danger of failing, the income giving agricultural production was changed to saw milling activity which at the same time could utilize the trees from the thinning. With the wisdom of hindsight it might look obvious with a sawmill in connection to the plantation. But since the plantation and its trees still were young, also the thinned trees were quite small, and this limited what kind of timber products one could produce. A great many things were tried - pallets, edge glued panels, fine boards. It ended with poles. Rounded, pressure treated poles. This was a product which could be marketed.

The thinned wood accounted in 1996 for 65,000 m³, of which 16-17% became marketable timber, that is 11,000 m³, corresponding to 500 truck loads. Today the volume of sold products has increased to 30,000 m³ sawn timber and poles, corresponding to 1,200 truck loads.

In 1994, 600 m³ were sold

In 1995, 2,700 m³

In 1996, 11,000 m³

And in 2002-3 the sawmill and the pole production are expected to pay entirely for the maintenance of the forest.

Establishment of the Power Plant
A power plant has been established with a capacity of 1 megawatt, which now produces all the electricity by burning the waste wood. The

CO₂-neutral energy production has started, and it generates electric power for the production at the sawmill and to the timber kilns. The establishment of the power plant has been a pioneer project which was far from having a sure success from the start. Actually the company, which had the contract for establishing the plant, gave up before finishing it. They withdrew from the project and left a nonfunctioning power plant. Floresta Atlantica then took over the completion. It was under these conditions that the Foundation made an extra grant of 750,000 Dkr.

When the power plant in 1996 had supplied half a year of stable electricity, the conditions were fulfilled so that Floresta Atlantica could take over the right of ownership to the plant.

In Short, and with a Long Perspective
Before 2010 an actual harvesting of the oldest parts of the energy forest is expected to start. Incidentally, it has been necessary to revise the harvesting schedules. Shell originally counted on harvesting after 18-20 years of growth. The actual growth of the trees during these past years seems more and more to indicate a 25-30 year growth period.

When the harvest starts the wood from this will be able to finance the planting of new areas, so that new areas continuously will be planted replacing those felled.

Eric Larson from Princeton University's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Center for Energy and Environmental Studies in May 1994 wrote to the Floryl project:

"From my discussions with many forestry researchers in Brazil it is clear that the data, which has been collected from the many trials and experiments at Floryl during more than ten years, represents the most comprehensive and detailed source of knowledge anywhere in Brazil (and probably in the whole world), with regard to plantation operation on cerrado-soils with limited rainfall.... [information, which can make it possible for us] .... to better understand the biophysical demands for a sustainable timber production on rainwater limited cerrado soils."

Shell developed a unique environmental research project. Floresta Atlantica has continued this project during ten years. A further ten years of thinning, maintenance, operation of commercial saw milling and power production are ahead. Next comes a further 10-20 years with planting of yet larger areas than the existing 36,000 ha, which are now growing and yearly increasing the world's biomass with 240,000 m³/year and yearly transform large volumes of atmospheric CO₂ into oxygen and biomass.

A gigantic project, which Floresta Atlantica deserves thanks for having taken over and continued, and which the Foundation deserves thanks for having been far-sighted and courageous enough to support.

Fazenda Jatobá
Fazenda Jatobá is known in the region as a good workplace, and is the only one of its size which ensures permanent employment in a region, where normally only employment by the day is offered. There are 300 permanently employed people on the farm.

The workers come from villages in the region, and Fazenda Jatobá's economic importance for development in these villages is evident.

The sawmill is a modern, industrialized workplace with good security systems, and courses for and education of the employees. The employees make up the region's highest qualified workforce within forestry, mechanics and administration.

The fazenda has a well functioning health post with a nurse. The fazenda offers facilities such as illuminated football fields, satellite TV, clubs and cultural arrangements with entertainment.

At the fazenda is a canteen, which provides everybody with good and nourishing food for free. In addition Fazenda Jatobá is a refuge from alcohol, a fact the employees prize highly, and which makes the fazenda a very calm and peaceful place as compared to the raw life of the towns.

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