The first trees to be planted are those that grow best under the sweltering Amazon sun. Then it will be the turn of more fragile species, which thrive in their shade.
Some of the newly planted trees are already several meters tall.
Among them are 300,000 specimens of six species threatened with extinction according to the IUCN Red List. They include yellow ipe, a tree that is emblematic in Brazil.
Mombak aims to plant at least 30 million trees by 2032, across an area five times the size of New York’s Manhattan island.
The project is financed by private investors, as well as by organizations such as the World Bank.
The United States in November announced a $37.5 million loan to Mombak, during a visit by US President Joe Biden to the Amazon.
Contracts with companies include a precise tonnage of emissions to be offset over a specific period.
Microsoft’s contract aims to offset 1.5 million tonnes of carbon — one of the largest of its kind in the world, according to Mombak.
