Created on Monday, 23 April 2012 03:38

IPBES was established by more than 90 Governments in Panama City on Saturday 21 April, after several years of international negotiations.

“Today, biodiversity won”, said the chair of the meeting, Sir Robert Watson, Chief Scientific Advisor of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs of the United Kingdom. “Biodiversity and ecosystem services are essential for human wellbeing. This platform will generate the knowledge and build the capacity to protect them for this and future generations.”

The German city of Bonn won the bid to host the secretariat of the new independent body.

Fore more information, see:
- the full press release in English and Spanish;
- IISD’s coverage of the meeting and the ENB summary report for the meeting.

Posted by : Ludovino Lopes

Source: http://www.ipbes.net/news-centre11/229-ipbes-established-today-biodiversity-won.html

MEXICO CITY

As the 11th largest emitter of carbon worldwide, Mexico has passed a law requiring a 50% reduction in emissions below 2000 levels over the next 40 years.

CARLOS CAZALIS/CORBIS

The Mexican legislature passed one of the strongest national climate-change laws so far on 19 April. Mexico, which ranks 11th in the world for both the size of its economy and its level of carbon emissions, joins the United Kingdom in having legally binding emissions goals aimed at stemming the effects of climate change.

After three years of debate and revisions, the bill passed in Mexico’s lower house with a vote of 128 for and 10 against, and was later passed unanimously by the Senate. The new law contains many sweeping provisions to mitigate climate change, including a mandate to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by 30% below business-as-usual levels by 2020, and by 50% below 2000 levels by 2050.

Furthermore, it stipulates that 35% of the country’s electricity should come from renewable sources by 2024, and requires mandatory emissions reporting by the country’s largest polluters. The act also establishes a commission to oversee implementation, and encourages development of a carbon-trading scheme. Although there was initial resistance from Mexico’s steel and cement industries, the bill passed with bipartisan support.

Global trend

Experts say that Mexico’s climate bill reflects a global trend in which individual states and countries, frustrated with stalled United Nations climate agreements, have begun implementing their own emissions regulations.

“It’s at the domestic level that the rubber hits the road. The actions we need to see at this stage are more in the nation’s capitals than in the UN negotiations,” says Elliot Diringer, vice-president of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions in Arlington, Virginia. “The international regime is not very effective at driving domestic action. And that was the theory behind Kyoto.”

In recent years, countries such as Australia, South Korea and China have all taken steps to create their own standards and goals for mitigating climate change, including the establishment of carbon markets. Although some observers have called this a failure of multinational climate agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol, others say that it is a more effective ‘portfolio’ approach, whereby a suite of different plans spread risks across individual countries.

“These sorts of things actually make me feel very positive,” says Mark Maslin, a geographer at University College London. He suggests that Mexico taking the lead on climate change is probably more important than the UK doing so, noting that many observers would expect Britain to take a stance on climate: “It’s very easy to look … and say ‘they are a bunch of liberals, they care about the planet and they can afford to’.”

Despite the rosy assessments, however, this portfolio approach may face some of the same hurdles as the international efforts. “We’re very good at making laws. And then the problem is enforcing them,” says Juan Bezaury, an expert in Mexican public policy with the Nature Conservancy in Arlington. He adds that the new law is “only the first phase of a complete legal overhaul for Mexico. It deals with the environment, it deals with energy, it deals with human settlements, it deals with health issues, it deals with a whole lot of stuff”.

He compares the bill to a skeleton on which many other laws must be hung. One of those is Mexico’s REDD+ policy (for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation). The policy creates a monetary value for carbon in forests, and attempts to give people living in those regions a financial incentive to preserve rather than cut down virgin forest — either by being paid to save the trees or by harvesting sustainably. But REDD programmes have been dogged by controversy over the models used to calculate the value of carbon in forests, and over how the scheme is run.

“The projected carbon savings are created through modelling. And those models have a lot of uncertainty,” says Ana Peña del Valle, a scientist at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), the country’s largest university. “We have quite a bit of concern with the way the risks related to REDD are shared between sellers and buyers. Because so far, the risk schemes are focused more on protecting the buyers.”

Despite concerns about Mexico’s ability to enforce the legislation, experts point out that the bill can already be seen as a successful response to the 2010 UN Climate Change Conference in Cancún.

“Mexico was widely credited for helping to rescue the international effort in Cancún. But some noted the lack of corresponding action domestically. Now Mexico has something to show at home too,” says Diringer.

Posted by Ludovino Lopes

Source : http://www.nature.com/news/mexico-passes-climate-change-law-1.10496

Ley General de Cambio Climatico Mexico (follow the link):

http://www.alexdelmazo.com/diputado/pdf/LALEYGENERALDECAMBIOCLIMATICO2012.pdf

Over the next decade, California may play a unique role in helping to advance state-level REDD+ initiatives. In forums such as the Governor’s Climate and Forest Task Force (GCF) and REDD Offsets Working Group (ROW), policymakers in California and around the world are grappling with a wide range of critical issues, including finance, safeguards, reference levels, monitoring, reporting and verification. Ludovino Lopes wil be panelist in the NACW 2012 Seminar between 10th and 12th April – San Francisco – California discussing ongoing efforts to build sub-national REDD+ policies and programs linked to California and beyond.

See http://www.nacw2012.com/speaker/lopes and http://www.nacw2012.com/

O Mecanismo de Desenvolvimento Limpo (MDL), instituído pelo Protocolo de Kyoto para auxiliar países desenvolvidos a alcançarem suas metas de redução de emissões de gases estufa – e promover o desenvolvimento em nações em desenvolvimento – está em risco. “O MDL não faleceu, mas está tecnicamente em coma. Suas condições de sobrevivência estão em análise. Prova disso é que ele representou apenas 1% das transações no mercado de carbono mundial no ano passado”, afirma Ludovino Lopes, advogado especialista em direito ambiental. Durante palestra na tarde desta segunda-feira (5/9), no Fórum Internacional de Estudos Estratégicos para o Desenvolvimento Agropecuário e Respeito ao Clima (Feed 2011), promovido pela Confederação da Agricultura e Pecuária do Brasil (CNA), em São Paulo (SP). Para Lopes, o mercado de carbono é um mosaico, com demandas múltiplas. “Formas voluntárias de compensação, caso doRedd [Redução das Emissões por Desmatamento e Degradação], estão crescendo e vão sobreviver a este processo”, prevê.

Estima-se que 46% dos créditos transacionados no mercado voluntário de carbono em 2010 tenham relação com a terra – sendo 29% ligados ao Redd, número que deve crescer para 50% este ano. “Florestas e agricultura representam, juntas, 32% das emissões globais de gases estufa. Trabalhar esse número pode ser uma forma mais rápida de baixar as emissões do planeta, e também de custo mais acessível”, diz o advogado. E há iniciativas localizadas de grande potencial, a exemplo da parceria entre o estado brasileiro do Acre, de Chiapas, no México, e da Califórnia, nos Estados Unidos. Em fevereiro deste ano, as três localidades assinaram um acordo de cooperação técnica e científica, que tem o objetivo de gerar créditos de carbono a partir de reflorestamento e manejo florestais no Acre e em Chiapas para vendê-los à Califórnia, no âmbito do Redd. O projeto deve ser colocado em prática já em janeiro de 2012.

Rodrigo Lima, gerente-geral do Instituto de Estudos do Comércio e Negociações Internacionais (Icone), ressaltou a importância do Redd Plus, cujo escopo foi definido durante a 16ª Convenção da ONU sobre Mudanças Climáticas (COP-16), com a redução das emissões florestais relacionadas à diminuição do desmatamento e da degradação florestal, manejo florestal sustentável e, como novidades, as salvaguardas (como a proteção a povos indígenas e à biodiversidade) e a ênfase no financiamento. Estima-se que já tenham sido concedidos algo em torno de US$ 8,35 bilhões para projetos Redd Plus no mundo. Na avaliação de Lima, a COP-17, marcada para novembro, na África do Sul, deve ter papel essencial para o contínuo ganho de força dessas iniciativas. “A questão do financiamento segue como fundamental, aliado ao fato de que é preciso olhar com mais atenção para as áreas privadas, onde hoje estão os maiores remanescentes de vegetação nativa, mas que ainda não são elegíveis para o Redd”, diz.

De acordo com o professor da Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiróz (Esalq/USP), Gerd Sparovek, somente 170 de um total de 537 milhões de hectares da vegetação nativa do Brasil estão em unidades de conservação no país – o que indica que o maior estoque está mesmo nas propriedades agrícolas. “Por isso, a redução da exigência para a reserva legal e as áreas de preservação permanente [APPs] deve ampliar a falta de proteção a essa mata. A situação já está difícil com as leis vigentes e pode piorar com a aprovação do novo código florestal”, adverte.

Para Sparovek, o pagamento por florestas em pé, a modernização e a elevação da produtividade agrícola e a regularização fundiária são questões que devem entrar na agenda comum da sociedade, na busca pela redução das emissões. “Essas soluções poderiam estar sendo promovidas de forma propositiva, não deixando que conflitos de interesses interfiram”, afirma.

Posted by – Ludovino Lopes

Fonte:  http://revistagloborural.globo.com

After announcing plans to introduce a nation-wide carbon tax scheme, Australia is set to take center stage internationally.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard recently announced an emissions trading program that will take the form of both a carbon tax and a cap-and-trade system.  The comprehensive plan, which has few carbon policy rivals, will set a price of A$23 for every ton of carbon starting in July 2012.  Prime Minister Gillard says the new policy will cut Australia’s emissions by by 160 million tons by 2020.

Since announcing the program, the Prime Minister has been traveling the nation, selling Australians on the scheme, which her opponents have labeled as a redistribution of wealth that will not effect climate change.

It appears to be a hard sell, as a recent Galaxy Poll for the Sydney Heraldshows her popularity has dipped significantly since the carbon tax was announced.  Nevertheless, as Ms. Gillard has been espousing to the masses, her administration is putting deeds behind their words, and making a clean energy future a reality for Australia.  Through a coalition between the Prime Minister’s Labour Party and the Greens Party, the carbon scheme is expected to pass through the legislature.

In its infancy, the carbon tax will focus on 500 major emitters; these chosen ones will have to pay $23 for every ton of carbon they produce.  The price of carbon will increase incrementally over the first three years of the plan.  After three years, the scheme will move toward a more traditional cap-and-trade program, where the market will set the price for carbon.  Some economists estimate, when opened up to the free market, the carbon price could rise as high as $50.

Emitters will push the new costs on consumers.  As a result electricity bills are expected to rise 10%, gas prices 9%, and food prices 0.5%.  To offset these costs the government will reimburse low-income and medium-income households as well as reduce income tax rates.

Major trade-exposed industries such as coal and steel will be compensated in order to ensure their competitiveness and allow for  them to transition toward lower-carbon production.  The government has set up a $10 billion compensation fund for these industries.  For example, the electricity industry will be given $5.5 billion over the first six years of the program.  Coal and steel will be given financial assistance outside of this funding.

In order to spur development of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies to help meet the country’s target of reducing its emissions by 80% of their 2000 levels by 2050, the government has created a $10 billion Clean Energy Finance Corporation, which will provide funding and support for these industries in conjunction with the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, which has $3.2 billion at its disposal.

With this policy, Australia is taking a leading role in energy politics.  Since 2005, the European Union has operated anemissions trading scheme.  Other countries have instituted policies on a state or provincial level.  Sitting way behind the curve is the United States, which saw its most progressive energy policy, one that included a cap-and-trade program, die in the legislature in 2009.  Currently, the world’s second largest emitter has one regional area which has established a carbon trading scheme.

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, currently comprised of ten states along the northeast coast, has set a cap on carbon emissions and established a regulatory body to enforce the scheme.  However, RGGI’s existence sits in a tenuous spot, asseveral member states have considered leaving the initiative.  Meanwhile, New Jersey’s legislature has successfully voted to remove the state from RGGI.

On the other side of the country, another regional carbon regulatory framework is trying to establish itself — the Western Climate Initiative, which is comprised of several U.S. states along with Canadian provinces.

The WCI has set a goal of reducing emissions 15% below 2005 levels by 2020.  A major part of achieving this reduction is by instituting a carbon trading scheme.  Although governors of these jurisdictions have pledged their support for the initiative, few have moved forward with passing the necessary legislation.  Earlier this week, Quebec announced its plans to implement acap-and-trade program by 2013.  This will allow it to join California as the only WCI partners to pass the necessary cap-and-trade legislation.

The world’s eyes, as well as those of RGGI and the WCI, will surely be focused on Australia’s energy policy, as it will provide another litmus test for lawmakers.  Perhaps, it will be the example which leads the United States to move beyond regional carbon regulation schemes and, instead, toward a comprehensive national plan.

Source : http://www.energyboom.com/policy/australias-national-carbon-tax-example-other-countries-follow

Author : Nathanael Baker – Managing Editor of EnergyBoom

Posted by : Ludovino Lopes

London, Friday, 13th May, senior legislators from four key forested developing countries met to launch the GLOBE Legislator Forest Initiative to develop complementary legislation to prepare the way for efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD). The Global Legislators Organisation (GLOBE), which is coordinating the initiative with senior legislators from Brazil, Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia and Mexico, is supported by the UN-REDD Programme, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development.

The participating legislators made commitments to strengthen the role of their parliaments in creating effective, efficient and equitable laws for REDD. These pledges marked the launch of this new GLOBE initiative, which aims to strengthen legislation and parliamentary scrutiny functions in support of national REDD strategies.

Brazilian Senator Rodrigo Rollemberg, said; “As Chair of the Brazilian Senate Environment Committee I will be considering the amendments to the Forest Code and advancing legislation on REDD. Participating in the GLOBE Legislator Forest Initiative will enable me to understand how legislation in other countries is being developed, introduced and implemented to address challenges that are common to all our countries. These lessons will have a strong impact on my own deliberations in Brazil.”

Mexican Deputy José Ignacio Pichardo Lechuga, Chair of the Special Commission on Forests in the Mexican Congress, said: “To date Mexico’s national REDD strategy has been developed without the involvement of the Mexican Congress. As legislators, we fully support the government’s objective of achieving zero emissions from deforestation by 2020. However, in order for this ambitious goal to be achieved, it will be essential to engage legislators in this process. The GLOBE Legislator Forest Initiative will strengthen our capacity to advance legislation and scrutinize the budget in support of national REDD strategies.”

To date there has been a limited engagement of legislators in discussions at the national and international level on reducing emissions from deforestation. However, as the REDD+ process advances, the typical functions of parliament will play an increasingly important role in creating effective and durable national strategies to reduce deforestation. The GLOBE Legislator Forest Initiative, which was launched in London, will build capacity within parliaments to develop, evaluate, pass or amend legislation, scrutinize government policy and budgets, and safeguard the rights of forest communities and indigenous people. By working directly with senior legislators to achieve these goals and to develop political will, GLOBE will aim to underpin national REDD+ strategies by broadening the political support base for ambitious targets to reduce deforestation.

Indonesian MP, Hon Dr Akhmad Muqowam, Chair of Commission IV on Agriculture, Plantations, Maritime Affairs, Fisheries and Food, said: “In order for REDD to be a success in Indonesia, it is critical that the national strategy is equitable and transparent. We believe that legislators can play a unique role in achieving this by providing greater parliamentary scrutiny of the government’s policies and budgets to reduce emissions from deforestation. The GLOBE Legislator Forest Initiative will support GLOBE Indonesia and legislators from other key rainforest nations to achieve this goal.”

Brazilian Senator Vanessa Grazziotin, Member of the Special Joint Committee on Climate Change, Brazilian Congress, said; “As legislators, it is our responsibility to ensure that equitable systems are created that fairly reward local communities and indigenous people for their critical role as forest stewards. The GLOBE Legislator Forest Initiative will support legislators around the world to deliver equitable and just policies.”

During the meeting each group of legislators outlined the current status of their legislation that is relevant to forestry and the drivers of deforestation. Over the next year, GLOBE will work with legislators to identify how legislation could be amended or advanced to provide REDD+ with a stable foundation for success. Furthermore, the initiative aims to support the financial oversight functions of parliaments to ensure that REDD+ finance is managed in a transparent and equitable manner.

The Chair of the meeting UK Member of Parliament and former Environment Minister and Prime Ministerial Envoy on Forestry, Barry Gardiner MP, said: “Too often donor governments think of REDD simply as a way of mitigating carbon emissions. What legislators have agreed in our discussions is that it must be used as an instrument of economic development to tackle poverty. If it is not then it will not work.”

Ravi Prabhu, Senior Programme Officer, Forests and Climate Change, UNEP & UN-REDD, said: “Legislators have enormous contribution to make to the REDD process. Firstly, they can help bring local communities into the decision-making process by representing their constituents’ needs to the government. Furthermore, legislators can play a critical role in helping climate-proof every piece of legislation in order to create a comprehensive and compatible national strategy to reduce emissions. When addressing REDD, a mechanism that engages multiple sectors and stakeholders, the responsibilities of legislators are of particular importance. The GLOBE Legislator Forest Initiative will play a critical role in strengthening the capacity of legislators to make REDD a success in four key countries.”

Maryam Niamir-Fuller, Director Global Environment Facility Coordination Office of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said; “I am very pleased to have supported the effective launch of the GLOBE Legislator Forest Initiative. The meeting has consolidated a common vision among the legislators of four key forested nations, Brazil, DRC, Indonesia and Mexico, and other partners including UN-REDD, CBD Secretariat, Norway, and UNDP, on how to fast track the implementation of REDD within the context of the Green Economy paradigm, and how to achieve both global benefits of reduced carbon emissions, and local benefits of sustainable forest management and securing livelihoods of forest dwellers. This is an important step in support of Rio+20 and the upcoming World Summit of Legislators in May 2012.”

The legislators involved in this new initiative will report back on their progress at the World Summit of Legislators, which will take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in May 2012 just ahead of the Earth Summit 2012, or “Rio+20”. This legislators’ summit, which will be hosted by the Government of Brazil, the Mayor of Rio and GLOBE, aims to place national legislation, natural capital and parliamentary scrutiny at the heart of implementing the Rio+20 agenda.

About Globe

GLOBE International is the ‘Global Legislators Organisation for a Balanced Environment’ and was founded in 1989. GLOBE’s vision is to create a critical mass of legislators that can agree common legislative responses to the major global environmental challenges. To achieve this GLOBE works across the major economies to support the advancement of complementary legislation and policies on climate change, natural capital, forestry and fisheries.

About the UN-REDD Programme

The UN-REDD Programme is the United Nations collaborative initiative on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) in developing countries. The Programme was launched in 2008 and builds on the convening expertise of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The UN-REDD Programme supports nationally-led REDD+ processes and promotes the informed and meaningful involvement of all stakeholders, including Indigenous Peoples and other forest-dependent communities, in national and international REDD+ implementation. The Programme also works to build international awareness and consensus about the importance of including REDD+ in a future climate change agreement.

www.un-redd.org

Posted by:  Ludovino Lopes

Source : http://www.globeinternational.info/

Divulgada para Consulta Pública a Minuta de Lei de Serviços Ambientais e REDD do Estado do Amazonas - A minuta está disponível para consulta pública nos portais da SDS (www.sds.am.gov.br) e do Ceclima (www.ceclima.sds.am.gov.br) até o dia 22 de junho de 2011. Um formulário de consulta pública também está disponibilizado para críticas e sugestões.Acesse em :  http://www.sds.am.gov.br/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=361:consulta-publica-minuta-de-lei-de-servicos-ambientais-no-am&catid=37:noticia&Itemid=11

Released for public consultation the Bill of Law on Environmental Services and REDD of the State of Amazonas – Brazil – The draft is available for public consultation at the website of SDS (www.sds.am.gov.br) and Ceclima (www.ceclima.sds. am.gov.br) until June 22, 2011. A form of public consultation is also available for comments and suggestions.

Link : http://www.sds.am.gov.br/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=361:consulta-publica-minuta-de-lei-de-servicos-ambientais-no-am&catid=37:noticia&Itemid=11

Posted by: Ludovino Lopes

Fonte : http://www.sds.am.gov.br/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=361:consulta-publica-minuta-de-lei-de-servicos-ambientais-no-am&catid=37:noticia&Itemid=11

The inaugural UN-REDD Programme Strategy 2011-2015 which provides a critical roadmap for increased support to UN-REDD partner countries, is now available. Key elements of this five-year Programme Strategy include:

Definition of six key work areas, on which an increasing majority of the UN-REDD Programme’s support will focus. The definition of these six work areas will enable the UN-REDD Programme to provide targeted support to 20-40 individual countries in one or more of the defined work areas. This will allow the UN-REDD Programme to continue to provide relevant support to countries far later within the REDD+ ‘life cycle.’

Support to up to an additional 20 countries for initial REDD+ readiness, which will build on lessons learned from Quick Start support to the Programme’s nine initial pilot countries.

Creation of a new financial modality known as ‘Tier 2’, which will go beyond the Programme’s Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) to include REDD+ activities undertaken by UN-REDD Programme agencies (FAO, UNDP and UNEP) that are clearly contributing to the overall UN-REDD Programme Strategy and which are funded through various sources.

Scaling up coordination with strategic partners, including the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), the Forest Investment Program (FIP), the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the REDD+ Partnership. For example, in the context of piloting multiple delivery partners for the FCPF Readiness Fund, the World Bank and the UN-REDD Programme agencies are developing common social and environmental principles.

Delivery of the strategy, through UN-REDD National Programmes and the Global Programme

The Programme’s overall VISION, defined in the Strategy is: Developing countries have significantly reduced their forest and land-based emissions, as a result of incentives from a performance-based REDD+ mechanism, while achieving national developmental goals in a sustainable and equitable manner.

The Programme’s MISSION is: To support countries’ efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation through national REDD+ strategies that transform their forest sectors so as to contribute to human well-being and meet climate change mitigation and adaptation aspirations.

The Strategy also identifies the following OBJECTIVE for the Programme in 2011-2015: To promote the elaboration and implementation of National REDD+ s trategies to achieve REDD+ readiness, including the transformation of land use and sustainable forest management and performance-based payments.

You can download the Programme in : http://www.unredd.net/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=4598&Itemid=53

Posted by : Ludovino Lopes

Source:  www.un-redd.org

San Francisco, CA and Rukinga, Kenya – February 7, 2011 – Wildlife Works announced its pioneering Kenya based, Kasigau Corridor REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) project as the first ever to be issued Voluntary Carbon Units (VCUs) for REDD under the Voluntary Carbon Standard(VCS),the most widely used carbon accounting standard among projects issuing credits in the voluntary market.

The company received early support for the project from Nedbank Group of South Africa, through a multi-million dollar carbon credit sale, brokered by Nedbank Capital, which demonstrates that Carbon markets can bring solutions to endangered forests, wildlife and enhance the well being of rural communities.

“This is a watershed moment for REDD projects everywhere because it demonstrates they can attract private investment to this critical work,” said VCS CEO David Antonioli. “These credits, which are the world’s very first REDD credits issued under a major third party GHG program, will chart the course for the conservation of large swaths of forest.”

“This project is proof positive that REDD projects can engage communities in changing the economic incentives that drive deforestation,” said Antonioli.  “Coupled with being able to measure emissions reductions accurately and generate verified credits, this is exactly what is needed to attract private investment for forest protection.”

In addition to delivering significant environmental and biodiversity conservation benefits to the region, the Wildlife Works Kasigau Corridor REDD project was designed to bring sustainable benefits to local communities in the form of job creation, education and direct financial rewards – all of which contributed to the project’s previous GOLD level validation with the Climate, Community and Biodiversity (CCB) Standard, the most rigorous standard for ensuring that communities and biodiversity benefit from climate change projects.

According to Kevin Whitfield, Head of Carbon Finance for Nedbank Capital, the primary significance of the validation and verification of the Wildlife Works Kasigau Corridor REDD project is the evidence it presents that REDD is now a truly viable commercial investment market, rather than merely a means of delivering on environmental targets. “The realization of these VCS REDD credits illustrates Nedbank Group’s long-held belief in the commercial, environmental and social opportunities inherent in the carbon market,” Whitfield explains, “and is unquestionable proof that sound investment decisions and a strong social and environmental conscience are by no means mutually exclusive.”

Mike Korchinsky, founder and CEO of Wildlife Works echoed this sentiment and commended Nedbank Group for having the courage of its convictions to step forward and act on its commitment to be Africa’s first Carbon Neutral bank. By purchasing these offsets, Nedbank helps to bring broad benefits to rural Kenyans, while ensuring protection for Kenya’s magnificent biodiversity.

“Thanks to Nedbank’s commitment and the hard work and dedication of the many people who have played a role in making this landmark event happen, the world is now witnessing the potential that exists for economic development to take place through global carbon markets,”  said Korchinsky, “and I am especially proud of the dedicated staff of Wildlife Works in Kenya lead by Rob Dodson, VP African Field Operations, and in the US lead by Jeremy Freund, VP Carbon Development who made this happen”

Korchinsky added, “I am also immensely grateful to the Kenyan communities of the Kasigau Corridor who have been patient and continued to trust Wildlife Works to deliver unprecedented opportunities for sustainable development.”

Building on Nedbank Group’s early financial support for the project, Wildlife Works is now leveraging the extensive rural African experience it has gained. The organization aims to expand its innovative forestry protection model to other REDD projects in Africa and elsewhere in the world where biodiversity and communities face threats from deforestation.

“The project was an excellent fit with the bank’s integrated approach to sustainable development and investment. As the recognised ‘green’ bank in South Africa, and one that fully subscribes to the guidelines of the Equator Principles, Nedbank Group is very pleased that the backing we were able to provide has helped establish Wildlife Works as a leading force in the rapidly emerging REDD marketplace. Projects like this align extremely well with Nedbank’s integrated approach to environmental, social and economic sustainability and afford us a valuable opportunity to tangibly demonstrate the value of such an approach for all our stakeholders.” said Whitfield.

The project was validated and verified against the VCS REDD “Methodology for Avoided Mosaic Deforestation of Tropical Forests”, developed by Wildlife Works.

“We are impressed with the very high standards that Wildlife Works established for this project” said Sam Stevenson, who leads REDD Climate Change Activities at DNV, the validation and verification entity for the project. “It was clear throughout our evaluations in Kenya that every detail of the project has been carefully managed.”

Wildlife Works selected Markit to register the Kasigau Corridor REDD project. Markit Environmental Registry will provide Wildlife Work’s REDD VCU credits with financial markets registry infrastructure for their carbon credit serialization, transactions and documentation.

“We believe the global voluntary carbon marketplace is ready for carbon credits that the average consumer can relate to. Carbon credits that protect natural forests, endangered species and the livelihoods of Africa’s rural communities will be massively appealing to organizations or consumers wanting to do their part by reducing their own carbon footprint.” said Korchinsky.

Posted by:  Ludovino Lopes

Publication Date: February 8, 2011

News Source: Wildlife Works Carbon