Deal #3404

According to Verra documents the Company’s current total land holding is 17,983 hectares. The company's website indicates the size in operation as of 2023 in 8940 ha. Note that contract area polygons are not available for all size increases, hence the total size under contract under land area is higher than the sum of the land area under the location tab. The company annual report 2019 indicates total land holding summing 48,084 hectares, of which - Ghana: 20,835 ha and in Sierra Leone: 27,249 ha. A 2023 ESIA report states that in Ghana Miro operations are in Boumfuom, Chirimfa, Awura and Abrimasu and South Formangso Forest Reserves in the Asante Akim North district, Sekyere Afram Plains district and Mampong municipality and Asante Akim South district respectively, in the Ashanti Region. The total land holding is 19,733 hectares (ha), made up of c.12,000 ha planted (i.e., Eucalyptus species, Acacia, Gmelina and Teak) and 6,993 ha of conservation area which have been leased from the government through the Forestry Commission (data source #11 7vs5W80h).

The Company mixes commercial plantation forestry with protection and regeneration of indigenous tree species and the promotion of bio-diversity and environmentally sustainable land-use management. Miro has signed a commission agreement with South Pole, one of the largest traders in carbon credits, to certify Miro’s plantations to the voluntary carbon standard (VCS) and then sell the resulting credits. As a result, Miro expects to sell approximately 700,000+ credits in the next 6-12 months followed by over 150,000 per year hereafter. The land areas not planted by the Company currently hold a canopy cover of less than 5% and show a dominance of secondary growth species such as elephant grass, characteristic of the transition zone, and is ideally suitable for growing both indigenous and commercial timber species.

Miro Forestry to lease the land in agreement with the landowners and the Forestry Commission for a period of 50 years and will be renewable for a further 50 years.

Several increases in land area have been signed since 2009.

First trees planted in 2010. From JRC: ": VHR from 2012 and 2014 are showing a small timber plantation of about 100 ha. It seems the plantation started a bit before 2012 (trees are low). From the analysis of Sentinel-2 time series between 2016 and 2019, it seems that the area covered by trees increased each year." Still in operation in 2023.

In early 2019, Miro signed agreements with IDH (the Sustainable Trade Initiative) and FMO (a development bank) for match grant funding for a three-year smallholder project in both Ghana and Sierra Leone. The focus in 2019 was to build the foundations of the project by understanding the key considerations in developing a smallholder project particularly around social and cultural environments and the land rights situation. Local civil society and land tenure experts were engaged to provide guidance as the models were developed. The aim is to have demand driven project piloting a variety of smallholder models with 40hectares planted in each country in 2020 (subject to Covid-19 restrictions).