To celebrate becoming the first to publish one million Open Access (OR) articles, research and education publisher Springer Nature has announced it will fund the planting of 10,000 trees – one for every employee - over the next year, in the Khasi Hills in Northeast India.
The commitment, which was chosen to reflect the importance of sustainability to Springer Nature, will be delivered in partnership with C Level and the Synjuk (federation) of ten indigenous Khasi communities. The Synjuk has already engaged 84 villages within a successful project certified by Plan Vivo, the leading standard for community projects that seek to restore and protect ecosystems.
OA and open research are key to Springer Nature’s objectives: to facilitate greater access to knowledge and learning, which are essential in tackling global challenges and achieving the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs). In recognition of reaching the important OA milestone, the company has chosen to invest directly in a project working to improve biodiversity, address localised impacts of climate change and build sustainable communities.
The project will address deforestation and biodiversity loss. Indigenous tree species, grown in community tree-seedling nurseries run by local women, will be planted as a special initiative within the larger project in the Khasi Hills, India’s first community-based REDD+ programme (the UN’s programme to guide sustainable forestry).
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