Afforestation, reforestation and restoration projects are a carbon-removal project type within the land & forests segment of the carbon market. They are designed to remove CO2 by establishing or restoring tree cover and associated ecosystem carbon stocks. The carbon benefit comes from net atmospheric CO2 removal into biomass and soils. Common project configurations include Afforestation; reforestation; landscape restoration; assisted natural regeneration where covered.

Outcomes depend not just on planting, but on species mix, survival, land suitability, and whether the restored system will persist. These projects can protect large carbon stocks and important ecosystems, but their credibility depends heavily on baseline setting, leakage control, permanence, and the strength of social and land-rights safeguards. For buyers and program designers, the most important diligence questions are: Are additionality, species choice, baseline land use, permanence, and social safeguards robust?