ERA and Wildlife Works Deliver First REDD+ Project in the Congo
Basin Rainforest
VANCOUVER, British Columbia and
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- ERA Carbon Offsets
Ltd. and Wildlife Works Carbon LLC are pleased to announce the
validation and verification of the first REDD+ project in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo
(DRC). The project has earned 2.5 million tonnes of Verified
Emission Reductions to date and will generate an average of 5.6
million tonnes annually.
H.E. Mr. Bavon N'sa Mputu Elima, Minister of Environment, Nature
Conservation and Tourism of the DRC stated, "The Ministry welcomes
the validation and verification of this project in two rigorous
standards - the Verified Carbon Standard and the Climate, Community
and Biodiversity Alliance Standard. The Department is pleased to
work with ERA-Congo and its
partners, ERA Carbon Offsets and Wildlife Works, for the protection
of forests in the DRC and the improvement of local community
livelihood through REDD+ projects."
The 299,645 hectare Mai Ndombe REDD+ project, a former logging
concession in the Bandundu Province, will avoid more than 175
million tonnes of CO2 emissions over the 30-year life of the
project.
The local forest community of 50,000 Congolese villagers will
receive direct benefits from the project in the form of jobs,
schools, health clinics, improved food security through better
agronomy and redevelopment of robust native fish stocks, and
capacity building of local NGOs and Community Based Organizations
all financed through transparent and equitable sharing of the
carbon revenues.
"As someone who knows personally the hardships that families in
these forest communities have to bear, I am overjoyed at the
benefits this REDD+ project will bring, making a brighter future
for 50,000 of my friends, family members and compatriots in
Mai Ndombe," said local project
Manager Jean-Robert Bwangoy Bankanza.
The project area is part of the Congo Basin, the world's second largest intact
rainforest after the Amazon. It is part of the Ngiri-Tumba-Mai
Ndombe wetland, recognized under the Ramsar Convention as the
largest wetland of international importance in the world. It is
home to a wide array of biodiversity including highly endangered
forest elephants and bonobo chimpanzees, which have been driven
away in increasing numbers due to logging and poaching activities.
It is expected that the wildlife populations will be restored now
that the project area is on a conservation trajectory.
The Government of the DRC will receive a substantial portion of
the project income to ensure that REDD+ represents a financially
competitive alternative to logging Congo's rich forests.
The Mai Ndombe REDD+ project is the world's largest REDD+
project to achieve validation and verification under the Verified
Carbon Standard (VCS), and received Gold Level validation from the
Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance Standard (CCBA) for
exceptional climate change adaptation and biodiversity
benefits.
According to Jeremy Freund,
Wildlife Works' VP Carbon Development, "This demonstrates that
robust VCS methodologies for monitoring, reporting and verification
can scale to make REDD+ highly significant to the future of the
Congo Basin Rainforest and
beyond."
The Joint Venture between ERA and Wildlife Works has both
companies cooperating on project finance, technical development,
implementation and sales of carbon credits generated from the
project.
About REDD
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) was
originated by the United Nations (UN) to help stop the destruction
of the world's forests. "REDD+" goes beyond deforestation and
includes the role of conservation, community development and job
creation, and enhancement of forest carbon stocks among other
benefits.
About Wildlife Works LLC
Wildlife Works is the carbon market's leading REDD+ project
development and management company, applying innovative
market-based solutions to the conservation of biodiversity. Over a
15-year history, Wildlife Works established a successful model that
uses the emerging marketplace for REDD+ to protect threatened
forests and wildlife, and uplift impoverished local communities.
The company is recognized for developing the world's first REDD+
project to successfully achieve issuance of REDD+ carbon
credits under the VCS and CCBA Standards. For more
information, visit: www.wildlifeworks.com
Contact: pr@wildlifeworks.com or Gerald
Prolman, Phone: 415-548-0973 Email:
Gerald@wildlifeworks.com
About ERA Carbon Offsets Ltd.
As Canada's largest and most
diversified carbon management solutions company, ERA Carbon Offsets
Ltd. helps organizations understand, reduce and offset their
climate impact. Its team of industry leaders specializes in the
origination, development and commercialization of high-quality
carbon offset projects and is proud to also provide clients with a
comprehensive offering of sustainability consultancy services. A
merger of ERA Carbon Offsets and Offsetters, ERA Carbon Offsets
Ltd. is based in Vancouver, Canada
and has worked with over 150 of the world's most prestigious
organizations including Aimia, Vancity, lululemon athletica,
Catalyst Paper, Harbour Air, HSE - Entega, and Shell Canada
Limited. ERA is publicly listed company on the Toronto Venture
Exchange (TSX-V:ESR) and in Frankfurt:9EA. For more information,
please visit us at www.eraecosystems.com and www.offsetters.ca.
Contact: David Rokoss, Phone:
604-973-6512 Email: david.rokoss@eraecosystems.com
SOURCE Wildlife Works LLC; ERA Carbon Offsets Ltd.
