Kokonut is a project that brings prosperity in the social, economic, and environmental aspects without displacing its citizens from their lands.

Kokonut Methodology Positive Impacts

1. It doesn't degrade the soil; on the contrary, the coconut husks are used as fertilizer, and the harvested wood is used for making furniture and other products, not to mention the coconut and its derivatives like milk, water, and oils.

2. The plantations will be home to thousands of birds, bees, and microorganisms, in short, instead of depleting environmental resources, they contribute to biodiversity preservation and water improvement and protection.

3. It promotes a regenerative and environmentally friendly agricultural model, enhancing the quality of life for communities.

4. It advocates for a model where the community is an integral part of the project, directly benefiting from the profits and creating decent employment for hundreds of families.

5. This project will put Las Salinas on the international stage, bringing more investment along with it.

This model proposes to dispossess citizens of their lands, bringing misery with it. Sugar cane production relies on subsidies provided by society and the environment, which must be accounted for.

Sugar Cane Production Negative Impacts

1. The cultivation of sugar cane involves excessive use of toxic materials, destroying all biodiversity, and soils, poisoning water, deteriorating the atmosphere, and harming the health of ecosystems and the populations that support and surround it.

2. Intensive sugar cane farming, like livestock farming, focuses on land grabbing and the consequent displacement of communities.

3. Burning sugar cane is a common practice throughout plantations, resulting in devastating consequences for the environment, people's health, tourism, and the landscape.

4. It generates greenhouse gases, contributing to global warming.

5. It's imminent that sugar cane brings the presence of Haitian nationals, creating new settlements (Bateyes) without any regulation or conditions.

Fertile soil is not only a primary condition for human well-being but also human existence. That's why regenerative agriculture, along with other sustainable agricultural practices, is crucial. Soil degradation, by significantly reducing its nutritional value, biodiversity, and suitable planting areas, leads to long-term food scarcity.

At Kokonut, we focus on implementing regenerative organic farming, which benefits the soil by revitalizing and preserving its fertility for the future, with the well-being of future generations in mind. The regenerative agriculture techniques we aim to implement have the purpose of mitigating the negative consequences of agricultural activities.

To fulfill the concept of "regenerative agriculture," we will rehabilitate the soil and keep it productive for as long as possible to avoid aggressive expansion into new areas. This is why maintaining soil fertility is very important for producing quality crops that meet human needs.

At Kokonut, in addition to maintaining the fertility of currently cultivated areas, we will be implementing regenerative agriculture techniques in abandoned territories beyond agricultural activities. This includes reforestation, river restoration, fortification of buffer zones, ecological and regenerative aquaculture, and more.

The environmental impacts of regenerative agriculture include carbon sequestration, removing emissions from the atmosphere, reduced water and soil pollution by using fewer chemical inputs, improved biodiversity, and more. Kokonut is located in the Salinas Municipality, Barahona Province, an area where the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources identifies two protected areas: the Sierra de Baoruco National Park and the Cabral or Rincón Wildlife Refuge.

Advantages of Regenerative Agriculture

1. Organic Soil Rebuilding and Mineralization, with Fertility Recovery.
2. Carbon Dioxide Absorption.
3. Drastic Reduction in Emissions and Resource Consumption Due to Tillage.
4. Soil Erosion Prevention, Beneficial for Hydrogeological Territory Safety.
5. Groundwater Protection, Thanks to Reduced or Absent Pesticide and Fertilizer Runoff.
6. Reduced Costs Associated with Pesticide Management and Treatments.

Fertile land also absorbs much more atmospheric CO2 and can store it as carbon in the soil, reducing its concentration in the atmosphere. This results in purer air to breathe and helps mitigate the greenhouse effect. Furthermore, preserved natural habitats are a necessary condition for promoting biodiversity.

What is EBF?

The Ecological Benefits Framework (EBF) is a new paradigm. It provides a foundational architecture to radically transform global carbon and ecological benefits markets both by increasing transparency, trust, quality, and equity and by accelerating the coordinated delivery of positive financial and environmental impacts.

By developing a shared framework, EBF can create alignment across public and private sectors to support the rapid deployment of strategic capital for activities that create measurable, life-affirming ecological impacts. The unprecedented coordination of financial markets, UN agencies, NGOs, companies, and philanthropic interests will bring attention to—and help create—a shared pathway for accelerated solutions.

Why do we need a common framework for ecological benefits?

We need to move out of the Age of Extraction and enter the Age of Regeneration. Over the past 12,000 years, human history has borne witness to the unyielding pursuit of resources through extractive, one-way practices. The repercussions of this Age of Extraction are everywhere: biodiversity collapse, species loss, water scarcity, barren topsoils, unbreathable air, climate change, and the threat of worsening living conditions for hundreds of millions of humans.

Is EBF a data standard or a certification?

Neither. It is a set of definitions and agreements. Taken together, they form a playbook. Bluetooth is a technology standard. It’s a wireless communication protocol (or digital handshake) that allows any Bluetooth-enabled device (e.g., a cell phone) to communicate to similarly enabled devices (e.g., refrigerators, headphones, televisions, light bulbs, etc.) regardless of manufacturer, brand, or model.

Is this framework for ecological benefits designed to replace carbon markets?

No, it is an expansion.

The compliance and voluntary carbon markets serve valuable roles by helping interested parties reach their stated objectives related to sustainability – from ESG to compliance, to business and financial goals – while also contributing to the fight against climate change. However, when considered holistically, carbon is part of larger natural systems that include air, water, soil, biodiversity, and equity.

Can the operational efficiency and scale of carbon markets improve by incorporating a shared framework for ecological benefits?

Projects and claims placed on carbon markets are rewarded for activities that reduce, eliminate, or avoid the emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere. But GHG emission reductions are not the only benefit happening. Air quality may also improve. Biodiversity may increase. The quality of life in impacted communities may improve for people living in impacted communities.

Learn more about EBF Framework at their website.