Big Tree Receives Favourable Assessment Report on Generating Carbon Credits in the Ogoki Crown Forest - Seite 2

The Assessment Report recommends pursuing co-benefit certification of any developed project to ensure that generated Verified Carbon Units ("VCU") achieve a rigorous "quality" standard which would attract a purchase premium at auction. The Assessment Report has identified forest stands best suited to generation of carbon offsets, delivered project development estimations of costs for registering offsets in both compliance and voluntary market scenarios, and delivered project operation costs and audit/verification costs on an annual basis. The Assessment Report baseline conditions included current conditions within the Ogoki Crown Forest, including planned harvest blocks and fibre commitments during the 2023-28 plan period.

ADC signed a ground-breaking forestry agreement with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNR&F) to take on forest management of the Ogoki Forest's Sustainable Forestry License (SFL). (See www.agokedevcorp.ca). The Ogoki Forest is one of 42 Crown Forest management units in Ontario, and one of 18 in Northwestern Ontario.

In June 2018, ADC signed a joint venture agreement with the Nakina Sawmill, with the sawmill being a principal consumer of fibre from the Ogoki Forest Management Unit. Big Tree acknowledges that this relationship is very significant to ADC and the partner First Nations, and is reflected in the methodology for the Assessment Report.

Big Tree acknowledges that the Province of Ontario does not have a policy to guide the consideration of carbon offset projects involving Crown resources, nor has it proposed to develop an offset policy in the short term. While this is currently the most significant impairment to realizing the revenue from this project, there are, however, precedents in other provincial jurisdictions in Canada that can represent a win-win for the ADLP First Nations, the Crown, Big Tree and emitters that have need of high-quality carbon offset credits.

Big Tree and the Crown have an obligation under clause 92 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action (the "TRC Report") and particularly clause 92.ii. of the TRC Report to ensure "that Aboriginal communities gain long-term sustainable benefits from economic development projects." Chris Angeconeb, President and CEO of Big Tree stated: "Big Tree and ADLP will be consulting with the Ontario Government to establish protocols to facilitate this project. This project offers a perfect opportunity to provide the ADLP First Nations with long-term sustainable benefits. With the cooperation of the Ontario Government, the substantial revenue generated from this project could be split equitably between the Crown, ADLP and Big Tree".