There are moments from everyone’s childhood that shape who they are today. Being born in Jakarta, Indonesia, I was constantly exposed to high rates of deforestation. During my childhood, it happened regularly and is still ongoing. I would often wake up looking at a black sky and to the smell smoke from the burning of trees across the island of Sumatra or Borneo. Although it was miles away, we would live under a cloud of black for weeks at a time, breathing in polluted air.

After leaving Indonesia, my experience motivated me to spend most of my career in the clean tech sector. When Alyssa and I started Alliance Advisors IR, we knew we had to do our part to continue this work to make our planet a better place to live for our children and generations to come. At Alliance Advisors IR, we intentionally align ourselves with companies that share our dedication to sustainability and provide strategic advice to build or strengthen their ESG strategy. Over the past year, we have had the opportunity to work with amazing C-suites and Boards who are just as dedicated as Alliance Advisors IR in protecting the environment. This earth day, we are leading by example.

Alliance Advisors IR, though a partnership with veritree will be planting 2,000 trees in Mnurwar, Indonesia. The coastal mangrove population plays a keystone role in many coastal ecosystems, by stabilizing coastlines and reducing erosions through the trapping soft sediments – this acts as a vital line of defense to protect the land and the people who live there during tropical storms. Mangrove forests are among the most carbon-rich ecosystems in the tropics. In fact, scientific studies have shown that the average annual carbon sequestration rate for mangrove is approximately two to four times greater than the global average annual carbon sequestration rate for mature tropical forests. Protecting and restoring these forests is key to mitigating climate change. These forests not only provide primary habitat for thousands of species, from green turtles, proboscis monkeys, fishing cats, to sambar deer, but also breeding and nursery grounds for many fish and invertebrate species. The rich biological diversity and highly productive nature of mangrove forests provide a crucial source of livelihoods for coastal communities – by providing food security and income sources through ecotourism and agriculture.

These efforts will help restore the damaged ecosystems to give the forest a new chance of survival, and opportunities to thrive. With this hard work, the local communities once displaced will be able to rebuild their livelihoods and their futures. veritree’s innovative platform is built with blockchain technology that brings transparency, accuracy and traceability to global restoration efforts. The platform is able track on-the-ground data linked to trees planted that is verified and transmitted to Alliance Advisors IR’s portal allowing us to follow the impact of our partnership.

Global warming and climate change are issues that are here and now; and we have seen and experienced what feels like every type of extreme weather in the last few years. We are very proud to be a part of this effort in giving back to a country that has given me so much and are excited to watch our investment grow with veritree.