What is carbon sequestering?
People often talk about adopting sustainable practices to reduce carbon emissions for climate change. But what about the carbon already present in the atmosphere? The concentration of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere is currently at nearly 412 parts per million (ppm) and rising. This represents a 47 percent increase since the beginning of the Industrial Age, when the concentration was near 280 ppm, and an 11 percent increase since 2000, when it was near 370 ppm.
From 2016 to 2021, India lost 140kha of humid primary forest, making up 16% of its total tree cover loss.
Carbon Sequestration has become the buzz word off late but is often less understood.
Carbon Sequestration is the process of reducing the already existing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The process is capable of preventing carbon from entering the Earth’s atmosphere and preventing it from growing warmer. This can happen biologically through forests, grasslands, soil, oceans, and other bodies of water or geologically in the form of underground geological formations or rocks. Carbon sequestration is the solution to the growing concern around climate change and is the solution to achieve the targets set in the Paris Agreement and COP26 to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Ikaya pledges to prevent the earth from warming any further! Join Us!
How can Ikaya help in removing carbon from the atmosphere?
Afforestation
Miyawaki Forestation is a way of rejuvenating forest cover across the planet by naturally restoring the landscape and habitat of that place. The name is coined after a Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki. The technique not only helps build dense forests but also ensures that the plant growth is much faster resulting in denser than usual forests.
How does Ikaya practice the Miyawaki method?
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Site inspection- We undertake site visits to capture details such as the location, topography, area, structures, water sources, etc.
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Soil testing/analysis-We then collect samples of the soil and send them over to labs to determine the texture, composition of nutrients, water holding capacity etc.
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Design layout- Based on the information collected from an initial survey/baseline, our experts design a tentative layout for the project site that is finalized in consultation with the client.
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Plant selection Based on the report of soil testing and keeping in mind the native species of that area, we select plants that are grown separately in our partner nurseries across north India. The nursery owners practice sustainable ways to grow saplings for Ikaya foundation.
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Soil bed preparation-While the plants are getting segregated and labeled, we prepare our soil by adding requisite manure, biomass, and microbial solutions.
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Plantation- Based on the design finalized earlier, we plant trees in a structured manner. To make this exercise more meaningful and interesting, we get the team members and volunteers to be a part of the plantation drive.
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Mulching-A layer of mulch is spread over the soil bed after plantation to avoid excess evaporation.
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Watering- After plantation, we ensure watering so that plants do not suffer from shock and roots can easily penetrate through the new soil.
Monitoring and Reporting
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Compulsory maintenance for the next 3 years-During the nascent stages, we ensure compulsory and complete maintenance of our plantations. We, either through our experts or through capacity building of local people ensure plants are supervised for at least 3 years
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Site visits- The team visits the site at regular intervals to ensure that the plants are being taken care of and also address challenges, if any.
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Reporting to respective stakeholders in every quarter- We believe that reporting on the deliverables committed to the client is absolutely important. Therefore, we ensure that we provide status update along with pictures and videos to the client to reassure them of the progress and also congratulate them for the impact that they have made.
Plantation
Native plantation methods involve planting different species of plants across farmlands and open land surfaces to help in land restoration and carbon fixation.
Ikaya conducts plantation activities in India
Regenerative Agriculture
We believe that nature and agriculture need to cooperate rather than compete! We also believe that it is time farmers got their due.. Farmers across the globe deserve a long-term profitable future! The solution Ikaya has identified is Regenerative Agriculture
Regenerative Agriculture is a system that is designed to reassure farmers about soil health, food security, economic growth, and climate resilience. This system has immense benefits for both farmers and communities. This includes increasing soil carbon, biodiversity, water storage, and forests preservation. It fosters food security and sovereignty, motivation for next gen farmers, rural development and women empowerment. On the economic side, it lowers external input costs, creates different income streams due to diversification and increases yields. We are into developing model farms, training programs, transition strategy, tracking program & monitoring impact all around the globe etc.
The future is regenerative. Join us now!
How does Ikaya practice Regenerative Agriculture?
Agroforestry
Agroforestry is defined as ‘agriculture with trees’. Agroforestry involves a wide range of trees that are protected, regenerated, planted or managed in agricultural landscapes as they interact with annual crops, livestock, wildlife and humans.
Agroforestry is agricultural and forestry systems that try to balance various needs:
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to produce trees for timber and other commercial purposes.
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to produce a diverse, adequate supply of nutritious foods both to meet global demand and to satisfy the needs of the producers themselves.
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to ensure protection of natural environment so that it continues to provide resources and environmental services to meet the needs of the present generations and those to come.
Multi cropping 5/2/3-layer model farms
Ikaya promotes, trains, implements, and educates farmers about growing multilayer crops instead of practicing monoculture. Regenerative agriculture has many benefits including but not limited to improving soil quality, water conservation, nutrient upliftment, preserving bio diversity, and providing stable income to farmers.
Monitoring and Reporting
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Compulsory maintenance for the next 2-3 years-During the nascent stages, we will work closely with the farmers to ensure the required assistance/support for maintenance of their farms.
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Site visits- The team visits the site at regular intervals to ensure that the site is being being taken care of and also address challenges, if any.
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Reporting to respective stakeholders in every quarter- We believe that reporting on the deliverables committed to the client is absolutely important. Therefore, we ensure that we provide status update along with pictures and videos to the client to reassure them of the progress and also congratulate them for the impact that they have made.
Water Body Rejevuniation
Only about three percent of Earth's water is freshwater. Of that, only about 1.2 percent can be used as drinking water; the rest is locked up in glaciers, ice caps, and permafrost, or buried deep in the ground. If the supply side is not scary enough, continue reading to understand the size of the demand…
Water demand globally is projected to increase by 55% between 2000 and 2050. Much of the demand is driven by agriculture, which accounts for 70% of global freshwater use, and food production will need to grow by 69% by 2035 to feed the growing population. Water withdrawal for energy, used for cooling power stations is also expected to increase by over 20%. In other words, the near future presents one big freshwater drain after the next.
Natural Water Body Rejuvenation is a great way to restore groundwater and provide consistent water supply for drinking and irrigating our farms. However, due to the rapid increase in infrastructure development, lands have been covered by concrete buildings specially in the cities. This results in rainwater being evaporated or lost to drains and eventually to oceans
With a view to conserving water for the future, Prime Minister Mr.Narendra Modi has launched a new initiative named Mission Amrit Sarovar on 24th April 2022. The Mission is aimed at developing and rejuvenating 75 water bodies in each district of the country as part of the celebration of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.
How does Ikaya practice Water body Rejuvenation ?
Ikaya along with its technical team assists the government and local bodies in recharging their groundwater and helping them fight water scarcity. We actively implement lake and well rejuvenation by
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Undertaking site inspection to understand the topography.
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Cleaning the water body of any existing debris, sand, garbage, degraded biomass, and other pollutants
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Repairing the boundaries of the waterbody
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Plantation across the water body to keep soil and embarkment area intact.
Monitoring and Reporting
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Compulsory maintenance for the next 3 years-During the nascent stages, we ensure compulsory and complete maintenance of the waterbody. We, either through our experts or through capacity building of local people ensure that the area is supervised
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Site visits- The team visits the site at regular intervals to ensure that the plantation and the waterbody is being taken care of and also address challenges, if any. We also engage in behavior change of the nearby villages/colonies, if needed.
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Reporting to respective stakeholders in every quarter- We believe that reporting on the deliverables committed to the client is absolutely important. Therefore, we ensure that we provide status update along with pictures and videos to the client to reassure them of the progress and also congratulate them for the impact that they have made.
Take your first step with Ikaya...
At Ikaya we continuously monitor forest and agricultural cover across India and take active steps and try to revive forest cover through practices of Miyawaki forestation.
We even reach out to regional NGOs for partnerships and magnify our efforts toward climate change.