Amazon is supporting a large-scale nature-based carbon removal initiative in South Africa’s Eastern Cape that is expected to create approximately 11,000 jobs by 2030 while restoring thousands of hectares of degraded land.
The project aims to plant 180 million spekboom shrubs across more than 50,000 hectares of the Albany thicket, helping to rehabilitate one of the country’s most degraded ecosystems. The restoration area is roughly equivalent to 70,000 rugby fields.
The initiative is already in progress, with the first phase launched in April 2024. This stage involves planting 30 million spekboom shrubs across 10,000 hectares.
Beyond its environmental impact, the programme is expected to deliver significant economic benefits to local communities. More than $500 million is projected to flow into the region through wages, procurement opportunities, payments to landowners, community investments, and the development of local businesses specialising in ecological restoration.
As part of its broader commitment to achieving net-zero carbon emissions, Amazon has agreed to purchase 1.95 million tonnes of carbon removal credits generated by the project over the next decade.
The long-term purchase agreement provides investors with confidence that there will be a guaranteed market for the project’s future carbon credits. This assurance helped pave the way for the World Bank to launch the Spekboom Outcome Bond, an innovative financing mechanism designed to support large-scale ecosystem restoration while delivering measurable environmental and social outcomes.
