Friday, January 14, 2022
Ingka Investments, the investment arm of Ingka Group which represents the largest IKEA retailer, announces that it has acquired 1,321 hectares (3,264 acres) of land in Florida as part of its long-term commitment to responsible forest management. The investment property, Tupelo Honey, consists of two parcels of land in Gulf and Liberty Counties near the Apalachicola River that will be used for an ongoing afforestation project, creating new forestland by planting trees in areas where there were none before.
The new forests will support increased biodiversity, help ensure sustainable timber production from responsibly managed forests, and recover land damaged by Hurricane Michael in October 2018. The project will begin by preparing the land for planting, including clearing debris from storm-damaged areas and rehabilitating abandoned pastureland. The property will then be planted with a mix of local species, focused on longleaf pine. At least 650,000 new trees will be planted in the first rotation of the 40-year cycle.
“We are delighted to expand our forestry portfolio in the Unites States, and this demonstrates Ingka Group’s long-term commitment towards investing in responsible forest management. The Tupelo Honey acquisition is a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate the responsible forestry management approach Ingka Investments uses on all our properties: caring for the environment and the planet, meeting the needs of the local community through long-term, sustainable stewardship,” says Krister Mattsson, Managing Director, Ingka Investments, Ingka Group.
“Reforestation and afforestation all form part of the solution for climate change, and the afforestation business – buying bare, unforested land and converting it by planting seedlings that will eventually become mature trees – is a long-term investment that consolidates our business while also positively impacting the climate through the absorption of CO2 during the forests’ growth,” Mattsson explains.
Ingka Investments’ Florida acquisition builds on Ingka Group’s total investment of U.S. forestland properties, which are located in southeast Georgia (11,000 acres), South Carolina (17,000 acres), Alabama (29,000 acres), Oklahoma (18,000 acres) and Texas (59,000 acres).
Tags: COVID-19, Florida, IKEA, Ingka Investments, mastercam, woodworking, woodworking and manufacturing, woodworking industry, woodworking USA
