Insights from the Sow a Seed project, started 20 years ago by IKEA founder, Ingvar Kamprad, are being made available in the hope that they may help other organizations save unique ecosystems around the Globe.
IKEA and its partners have restored 18,500 hectares of rainforest in Borneo, which had been destroyed by fires and irresponsible logging.
IKEA and its partners have restored 18,500 hectares of rainforest in Borneo, which had been destroyed by fires and irresponsible logging. Over decades, a team of 700 people have planted three million seedlings of around 80 indigenous species of large trees. Not only have other species of trees also returned, but the area is now home to an abundance of wildlife including pygmy elephants, orangutans, clouded leopards, and hornbills.
The area has now been given the highest protection status in Malaysia.
IKEA partners with the Sabah Foundation, a Malaysian government organisation, and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) to restore the rainforest but also to collect the data it now hopes to share. IKEA is also currently funding a post-doctoral position, which will determine the amount of carbon stored and measurable biodiversity gains at the site, with results coming in the next two years.
Ulrik Ilstedt, Associate Professor at SLU, believes the data collated will be invaluable in saving other threatened sites. He said: “Against the backdrop of climate change and accelerating biodiversity loss, the Sow a Seed project brings important learnings in terms of carbon storage, ecosystem integrity, water quality and much more. Data from over 20 years exists. The most important conclusion is that it is very much possible to regenerate rainforests and restore biodiversity.”
Written by: Katie Scott
