Ep. 10
“These forest carbon projects that are happening all around the world are really about supporting the local communities to not extract.”
Forests, Carbon Offset Verification and Monkey Poop in a Discussion on Nature-Based Solutions to Climate Change. Today I’m delighted to speak with a brilliant scientist and personal friend, Dr. Letty B. Brown. Letty is a Fulbright Scholar with a Ph.D. in Forest Science from UC Berkeley. As a scientist, she specializes in restoration, conservation planning, and nature-based solutions to climate change. If you’ve ever considered carbon offsetting a flight by supporting a forest project, you might be interested to hear how Letty describes what goes on behind the scenes to verify the integrity of that carbon offset purchase. Letty and her crew study forest areas and interview local communities to verify the claims that a project’s benefits are indeed present. There’s some technical talk in here along with some great stories as Letty shares how she got her start in conservation as a teenager — drawing some early inspiration in a Costa Rican jungle! — and a few of her experiences in the forests of the US, Brazil, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Cambodia, Peru, Indonesia, and Kenya. Stay tuned to the end to hear about Tabitha the bear guard in Alaska before we close out with some samba.