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Mai Ndombe REDD Project

Reforestation project in Yingjing County, Sichuan Province

Project Proponents
Paocaowan Forestry Limited Company
Nibashan Forestry Limited Company
Contact: Guan Wang
Email: wang.guan@climatebridge.com
Tel: +86 13568765436

Auditor Contact Details
Contact: Tian Pin
Email: pin.Tian@cn.bureauveritas.com
Tel: +86 18017501112

Public Comment Period
1st Verification: 12 August – 12 September 2016
No comments received

Auditor’s Site Visit
1st Verification: 24 – 25 August 2016

  • Region, Country Sichuan, China
  • CCB Status Undergoing Verification
    Validation Approved - CCB Standards Second Edition (Jun 24, 2013)
  • CCB Auditor/Certifier Verification: Bureau Veritas Certification Validation: TÜV NORD

Social and Biodiversity Impact Assessment Manual

The Climate, Community & Biodiversity (CCB) Standards, used to assess multiple benefits of the majority of forest carbon projects, provide robust standards; however, until now there has been limited guidance on how to undertake credible and cost-effective impact assessment. This Manual is designed in a way that helps projects meet the requirements of the Climate, Community & Biodiversity (CCB) Standards (CCBA 2008), since they are the most widely used multiple-benefit standards for land-based carbon projects. The use of the SBIA Manual is not a requirement of the CCB Standards, but we believe that using the methods described here can facilitate successful validation and verification against the CCB Standards. However, the SBIA should also be useful for projects wishing to meet other multiple-benefit standards.The SBIA Manual is oriented to the CCB Standards, but the approach described is applicable to other multiple benefit carbon standards, as well as to other types of payments for ecosystem services (PES) projects.

The Manual promotes a participatory approach that integrates project design and impact assessment through the development of a project theory of change. The benefits of this approach go far beyond the generation of credible monitoring plans and include: strategic project design necessary for achieving social and biodiversity objectives; effective participation of project stakeholders; promotion of adaptive project management; ease of understanding and of explanation of the results to a range of stakeholders.

SBIA Launch Webinar, Nov. 22, 2011 from CCBA on Vimeo.

REDD+ Projects: How can we be sure if they are good or bad for local people and their environment?

You are invited to join a webinar launching a new Social and Biodiversity Impact Assessment (SBIA) Manual for REDD+ Projects, November 22, 2011, 9:30-11:00 US Eastern Standard Time (15:30-17:00 Central European Time). Click here to register in advance.

The following panelists will explain the elements of the manual and how it can be used to assist REDD+ projects to undertake credible and cost-effective impact analysis, particularly projects using the Climate, Community & Biodiversity (CCB) Standards:

  • Joanna Durbin – CCBA
  • Michael Richards – Forest Trends
  • Steve Panfil – Conservation International
  • Jeffrey Hayward – Rainforest Alliance
  • Jane Dunlop – Fauna & Flora International

The Climate, Community & Biodiversity (CCB) Standards, used to assess multiple benefits of the majority of forest carbon projects, provide robust standards; however, until now there has been limited guidance on how to undertake credible and cost-effective impact assessment. Forest Trends, the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance (CCBA), Fauna & Flora International (FFI) and Rainforest Alliance have developed a user-friendly manual that enables land-based carbon project proponents to undertake cost-effective social and biodiversity impact assessment (SBIA). The SBIA Manual is oriented to the CCB Standards, but the approach described is applicable to other multiple benefit carbon standards, as well as to other types of payments for ecosystem services (PES) projects.

The Manual promotes a participatory approach that integrates project design and impact assessment through the development of a project theory of change. The benefits of this approach go far beyond the generation of credible monitoring plans and include: strategic project design necessary for achieving social and biodiversity objectives; effective participation of project stakeholders; promotion of adaptive project management; ease of understanding and of explanation of the results to a range of stakeholders.

Find out more by joining the webinar.

If you have any questions, feel free to send a message to info@climate-standards.org.

90% of Companies Rate Avoided Deforestation as Most Desirable Forestry Project

Dublin, UK, 20th April 2009: EcoSecurities, a leading company in the business of sourcing, developing and trading emission reductions from greenhouse gas abatement projects, Conservation International, The Climate, Community & Biodiversity Alliance and ClimateBiz, announce the findings of their ‘Forest Carbon Offsetting Survey 2009’, one of the first research studies to focus on corporate attitudes concerning carbon offsets from forestry projects.

Highlights of the research, which sampled 120 global, multinational and regional organisations, and 21 carbon companies, included:

  • Avoided deforestation (91%) and reforestation with native tree species (89%) were rated the most desirable forestry projects in relation to carbon results;
  • South America (78%), Africa (71%) and South East Asia (69%) are the three most desirable regions from which to purchase forest carbon credits;
  • The Clean Development Mechanism (64%) and the Voluntary Carbon Standard (60%) were rated as the most desirable standards when purchasing forest carbon offsets;
  • Participants highlighted the most important factor when purchasing forest offsets are carbon standards (91%), closely followed by experience and credibility of the project developer (87%);
  • In comparison to Europe (19%), companies in North America (50%) are much more willing to pay up front for carbon credits that will be generated in more than five years time;
  • Benefits to local communities and the environment (88%) and the global scale of the problem (77%) have been the key motivational factors for adopting offsets from forest carbon projects.

Pedro Moura Costa, President of EcoSecurities, commented, “With the US significantly increasing its focus on climate change and the UN COP15 negotiations taking place at end of 2009 this is an extremely important year for forestry. It’s tremendously encouraging to see that companies are starting to recognise the benefits from forestry projects, not only in terms of the robustness of the carbon offsets, but also in creating sustainable co-benefits and helping to reduce the problem of climate change and deforestation.”

“A growing number of offset buyers recognise the significant role forestry can play in reducing global greenhouse gas emissions while also delivering community and ecosystem benefits,” said Matthew Wheeland, Managing Editor of ClimateBiz. “The importance buyers place on carbon standards and project developer track records, however, shows forestry offsets must meet strict additionality and permanence criteria to prove they work.”

“This survey demonstrates the growing understanding among offset buyers of the potential of forestry activities to generate high-quality, cost-effective emissions reductions while at the same time providing additional advantages like conserving species and supporting local communities,”  said Joanna Durbin, Director of Climate Community and Biodiversity Alliance.  “I believe the survey findings underscore the important role that the Climate Community and Biodiversity (CCB) Standards play alongside rigorous carbon accounting standards like VCS, helping project developers and offset buyers to identify high quality carbon projects that improve the well-being of local communities and conserve habitats.”

The survey received 141 responses from a mix of global, multinational and regional companies, covering a diverse range of sectors and industries. It provides significant insight into companies’ perceptions of forest carbon offsets and the forestry sector. Support for this research initiative was provided from a number of organisations which include: 2Degrees, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, Borealis Offsets, CleanTech.org, GreenBiz, The Karo Group and Westgate.

» Full version of the Forest Carbon Offsetting Survey 2009

For further information:

Rachel Mountain
EcoSecurities
+44 (0)1865 202 635
rachel.mountain@ecosecurities.com

or

Naomi Stern
Westgate
+44 (0)1732 779 087
naomi@westgatecomms.com

Notes to Editors:

About EcoSecurities:

EcoSecurities has spent the last 11 years focusing on climate change mitigation activities and is now one of the world’s leading organisations in the business of sourcing, developing and trading emission reductions. EcoSecurities’ emission reduction portfolio is one of the largest in the industry covering a wide range of emission reduction standards (Gold Standard, CDM, VCS etc), technology types and geographical locations. In addition, EcoSecurities provides clients with carbon management services, helping them to understand and deal with an increasingly carbon constrained world.

EcoSecurities has unrivalled climate change experience and has been recognised for a number of industry milestones including:

  • The first project developer to become a member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development
  • Development of the first CDM project registered under the Kyoto protocol, NovaGerar Landfill Project in Brazil in 2004
  • Structuring of the CDM component of the first project to receive CERs in the world, La Esperanza hydro project in Honduras in 2005
  • Received Environmental Finance’ award for ‘Best CDM/JI Project Developer 2008’for the second year in a row alongside the award for ‘Best Voluntary Market Project Developer’
  • In 2007 the Group was ranked number 22 in CNBC European Business Magazine’s ‘Top 100 Low Carbon Pioneers’
  • Recognised by Environmental Data Services as one of the top 30 international carbon offset providers

EcoSecurities Group plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange AIM (ticker ECO). Additional information is available at www.EcoSecurities.com.
Conservation International

Conservation International (CI) is one of the world’s leading international conservation NGOs with projects or programs in about forty countries. CI’s mission focuses on the linkage between the protection of natural systems and human well-being.

CI’s integrated climate change program includes science, policy, communications, and the development of market-based approaches, which includes developing incentives for the protection and restoration of tropical forests, to achieve aggressive global greenhouse gas emissions reductions. CI, with its international partners, is one of the leading developers and marketers of multiple-benefit forest carbon projects in the voluntary market, with a growing portfolio of forest restoration and reduced emissions from deforestation (REDD) projects located in sixteen countries.
The Climate, Community & Biodiversity Alliance

The Climate, Community & Biodiversity Alliance (CCBA) is a partnership between leading companies, NGOs and research institutes seeking to promote integrated solutions to land management around the world. With this goal in mind, the CCBA has developed voluntary standards to help design and identify land management projects that simultaneously minimise climate change, support sustainable development and conserve biodiversity.

The CCB Standards are now widely used by projects and demanded by buyers in the forest carbon market. As of March, 2009 twenty-four projects have been validated or are undergoing audit and approximately one hundred other projects around the world are being designed to meet the standards. These projects include reforestation, restoration, avoided deforestation and degradation, and agroforestry activities. More information about the CCBA and the CCB Standards can be found at www.climate-standards.org.

About ClimateBiz:

ClimateBiz is the business resource for climate management. ClimateBiz informs CFOs, CIOs, supply-chain, operations and other executives on the key business issues in climate and carbon. The website and its free fortnightly newsletter ClimateBiz News offer news, best practices and resources in such areas as carbon measurement, reduction and trading; renewable energy; and carbon offsets.
ClimateBiz (www.climatebiz.com) is a website of Greener World Media, the leading media and information services company focused exclusively on the greening of mainstream business. Greener World Media websites include GreenBiz.com, GreenerBuildings.com, ClimateBiz, GreenerComputing.com, and GreenerDesign.com. Greener World Media also produces the annual State of Green Business report and other research, as well as Greener By Design and other conferences.

Launch of Forest Carbon Standards in New Languages Reaches Key Audiences

Multiple Benefit Carbon Standards Now Accessible to More Project Managers and Investors

Arlington, VA – The Climate, Community & Biodiversity Alliance (CCBA) today released translations of its rigorous forest carbon standards in two additional languages, Portuguese and Japanese.  The Second Edition standards, now available in a total of six languages, will help reach two key audiences including many of the people directly involved in forest carbon projects in Brazil and the growing number of carbon offset investors in Japan.

The Climate, Community & Biodiversity (CCB) Standards provide a set of stringent and verifiable criteria to determine the ability of a forest project to reduce or remove greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while simultaneously providing social and additional environmental benefits. Independent third-party auditors verify that a project satisfies all required criteria, which demonstrates that the project will mitigate climate change, conserve wildlife and natural ecosystems and improve local livelihoods.

“We are delighted that the CCB Standards are now able to reach an even wider audience,” said Joanna Durbin, Director of the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance. “We strive to maximize the access to these standards and these new translations address a critical audience of project developers in Brazil and buyers of multiple-benefit carbon offsets in Japan.” The CCB Standards are also available in English, Chinese, French and Spanish.

Within the borders of Brazil, a Portuguese speaking country, there are approximately 3.3 million square kilometers of Amazon Rainforest – the largest in the world. When forests are cut, they release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Few people realize that burning and clearing of tropical forests globally emits 20 percent of total greenhouse gases that cause climate change – more than all the world’s cars, trucks and airplanes combined.

Deforestation in Brazil accounts for almost 60 percent of the country’s GHG emissions – making it the world’s fourth largest emitter after China, the US and Indonesia. The CCB Standards demonstrate to offset investors that forest projects provide multiple benefits and command a premium price for the sale of offsets. The availability of the CCB Standards in multiple languages facilitates the design of new projects that curb climate change and adds a new level of transparency.

“The CCB Standards were adopted by the Juma Sustainable Development Reserve project to avoid deforestation, which is being implemented by our government with local and international partners. This way we can make sure that the resources obtained by REDD (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) projects meet their goals of providing concrete benefits to indigenous and other local communities, who are the true guardians of the forest”, said Nádia Ferreira, Secretary of Environment and Sustainable Development of Amazonas. “It is important to have a tool like the CCB Standards in Portuguese because Brazil has an enormous potential for REDD projects,” she added.

In Japan, a growing number of environmentally and socially conscious investors are becoming aware that the CCB standards will help them to identify projects that meet their emissions reductions and social responsibility goals.

“CCB is becoming an international standard as an effective tool to demonstrate that projects generate multiple benefits to community and biodiversity while reducing GHG,” says Dr. Hozuma Sekine Project Manager, Science and Safety Policy Research Division at the Mitsubishi Research Institute. “The scope of CCB is wide from forest to agriculture, and I look forward to CCB being adopted for various land-use projects around the world.” Mitsubishi Research Institute and Conservation International have been designing a reforestation project in the Philippines using CCB Standards. The project is working to demonstrate clear biodiversity and community benefits in while it mitigates climate change.

Presently, over 100 land-based projects around the world are using the CCB Standards to improve project design and generate compelling multiple benefits. A number of major corporations are now using CCB carbon for their offsets, including Marriott International, Disney Company and 3M.

The Climate, Community & Biodiversity Alliance (CCBA) is a Conservation International convened partnership between leading companies and NGOs seeking to foster the development of forest protection and restoration activities around the world that deliver significant climate, local community and biodiversity benefits.  CCBA members include six companies – BP, Intel, SC Johnson, Sustainable Forestry Management, Weyerhaeuser and GFA Envest – and five NGOs – Conservation International, CARE, Rainforest Alliance, The Nature Conservancy and the Wildlife Conservation Society. Visit our website and download the standards at www.climate-standards.org

Media Contact: Katrin Olson
Conservation International
Office: 703-341-2768
Mobile: 202-549-3953
Email: kolson@conservation.org

Painting the Town REDD: Merrill Lynch Inks Massive Voluntary Forest Deal

by Steve Zwick

In a major demonstration of confidence in the viability of voluntary carbon offsets as a strategic investment, Merrill Lynch is raising equity for a 100-million-ton, for-profit avoided deforestation project in Aceh, Indonesia. Tellingly for the future of the forestry market, the decision to take the plunge had more to do with the cultural and biodiversity benefits than with the carbon itself. The Ecosystem Marketplace examines the deal and its significance.

“Pre-Bali, no one wanted to touch avoided deforestation,” says Dorjee Sun, CEO of Australian project developer Carbon Conservation. “Now people are starting to recognize AD as the next big thing, and they are looking for ways to participate with an edge.”

On Thursday, Carbon Conservation and Merrill Lynch confirmed that the investment bank will be offering its retail and commercial clients voluntary carbon credits from a massive Indonesian AD project that could yield up to 100 million metric tonnes of offsets over 30 years.

To put this number into context, Ecosystem Marketplace tracked just over 24 million tons of voluntary credits transacted in 2006.

More importantly, says Sun, the project is part of a larger scheme to build Aceh’s economy along what he calls a “Green Paradigm” incorporating not only culture and biodiversity standards attached to the carbon, but also sustainable agriculture.

Coffee and the Economic Ecosystem

The longer-term plan involves new financing mechanisms designed to jump-start the cultivation of sustainable palm oil, coffee, and cocoa, which will then be marketed under the brand name “Aceh Green.” It is this later phase, details of which are still to be announced, that convinced Merrill to take the plunge, according to Abyd Kamali, the bank’s Global Head of Carbon Emissions.

“The overall approach being proposed in Aceh is truly innovative and reflective of the need for forestry, carbon, and softs to be treated as one economic ecosystem,” he said.

Climate Community and Biodiversity

Both the future green commodity project and the current carbon project are centered on 750,000 hectares of the Ulu Masen Ecosystem. (For a detailed examination of the project and the challenges of implementing it, see It’s Not Easy Being Green in Aceh, Indonesia).

Carbon Conservation began developing the project together with Fauna & Flora International and the government of Aceh Province in February, 2007. One year later, on February 6, 2008, the project became the first forest conservation project to achieve Climate Community and Biodiversity (CCB) certification when the Rainforest Alliance SmartWood Program signed off on it.

“I can’t emphasize enough the significance of being approved by SmartWood,” says Sun. “Jeffrey Hayward raked us back and forth over the coals until he was convinced that we could implement the plan as presented, for the money budgeted, and in the time allotted.”

The Economics of Quality

Sun is banking on the idea that the extra money spent on preserving biodiversity and supporting the local economy will pay off in spades when it’s time to get the emission reductions certified – and the resulting certificates sold.

Both he and Karmali say the project wouldn’t have happened without strong local support, and they give credit for that to Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf, who Karmali first met in September. “Meeting the Governor of Aceh, as well as the other stakeholders involved in the project, left a strong impression about the collaborative approach that has been employed – and the strong buy-in from all stakeholders on this project,” he says.

Local buy-in, however, wasn’t a foregone conclusion, and the next five years will be critical in maintaining it. That is the time over which the first $48 million will be spent – more than half on economic development in local villages.

“Deforestation isn’t caused by big companies coming in and chopping down trees,” says David Pearse, who is overseeing the land use aspect of the project for Carbon Conservation. “It’s caused by local people having no other source of income than the forests.”

“Aceh still has standing forests because of the war between the Aceh rebels and the Indonesian government,” adds Sun. “Now that they have peace, illegal deforestation has started going rampant. The governor understood the loose structure of carbon credits, and tied it into a moratorium on logging.”

Jostling for Post-Kyoto

Sun says he expects the first tranche sold through Merrill Lynch to bring in $5 to $10 per tonne of CO2 sequestered, which is a slight premium to the price of voluntary allowances trading on the Chicago Climate Exchange.

Over time, however, he believes the social benefits of the project will boost the prices of his credits to a level more in line with those of the compliance market – especially if avoided deforestation becomes a recognized offset vehicle for carbon emissions in a post-Kyoto world.

“If we monitor our vintages right, we will be on the right track for compliance credits, and will be pushing a compliance price,” he says. “In the meantime, people will be looking at prices of carbon under the European Union Allowance (EUA) scheme, and then looking at voluntary methods, and they will realize that projects that can show additional benefits are worth paying extra for.”

The challenge now, of course, is to actually deliver. “This is only the first step,” says Governor Irwandi. “The hard work will be in financing and implementing our proposed project to help preserve the largest remaining bloc of unprotected Sumatran forests.”

Steve Zwick is managing editor of the Ecosystem Marketplace. He may be reached at steve.zwick at gmail.com.

First published: February 8, 2008
Updated: February 11, 2008

Original article »

Carbon Trading May Reward Indonesians for Saving Rainforest

By Jim Efstathiou Jr.

(Bloomberg) Carbon trading markets may be used for the first time to help villages in Indonesia preserve trees, part of the global effort to stop deforestation that is speeding climate change.

Under a plan to be announced today to save the 1.9 million- acre Ulu Masen forest in Indonesia’s Aceh province, about $26 million in revenue from the sale of carbon credits will go to villages that stop logging. The proposal hinges on the sale of credits to companies and individuals seeking to offset emissions and burnish their environmental reputations. The credits typically cost $4 to $8 per ton of pollution reductions.

There is no international agreement to reward developing countries for halting the burning of forests that accounts for 20 percent of global warming emissions, said John-O Niles, chief science and policy officer for Carbon Conservation, a project sponsor. The Ulu Masen plan to reduce emissions by 100 million tons over 30 years may help convince critics that saving forests can help slow the planet’s warming, Niles said.

“There is for the global community and for the atmosphere a lot of value to maintaining the forests,” Halldor Thorgeirsson, head of emissions trading at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, said in an interview. “It’s important that value is somehow transferred to the people that make decisions on the ground.”
The preservation plan for Ulu Masen will reduce emissions equivalent to Mexico’s annual greenhouse-gas output, Niles said. It is the first project for avoiding deforestation to meet standards set by the Arlington, Virginia-based Climate, Community & Biodiversity Alliance to assure tradable carbon credits.

Energy Conversion

Trees store carbon dioxide, which is used in the conversion of light energy to chemical energy. Deforestation is the third largest source of carbon emissions after fossil fuel use and industrial operations, according to the UN.

Reducing emissions by saving forests was a priority at climate-change talks in December on the Indonesian island of Bali. The World Bank has launched funds to help developing countries monitor emissions reductions and market them, said Werner Kornexl, a senior technical specialist at the Washington- based bank.
“What we want to do in this partnership is set the stage for bigger market demand,” Kornexl said in an interview. “There is broad interest for this.”

Interest in credits from projects like Ulu Masen depends on standards that “ensure the action is real,” said Elliot Diringer, director of international strategies at the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, based in Arlington, Virginia.

‘Stronger Action’

“It’s a huge source of emissions and there’s a willingness on the part of the tropical forest countries to undertake stronger action,” Diringer said in an interview.

The Ulu Masen project was certified by the Climate, Community & Biodiversity Alliance, which includes non- governmental organizations such as The Nature Conservancy and the Rainforest Alliance and companies such as Intel Corp. and Weyerhaeuser Co. The designation means the project is “extremely likely” to produce credits beginning in 2009, Niles said.

Sponsors expect to reduce logging by 85 percent at Ulu Masen, which will generate credits representing 3.3 million tons of carbon a year, Niles said. At a projected price of $5 a ton, credits will generate $16.5 million.

Local villages will receive payments once they demonstrate trees haven’t been logged, said Joanna Durbin, director of the alliance. Progress will be monitored on the ground by forest wardens and from the air through satellite images. Payments are projected to reach $26 million over the first five years.

Investor Risk

“The payments are based on results,” Durbin said in an interview.

Certification to alliance standards also guarantees community and biodiversity benefits, such as maintaining wildlife habitats and clean water supplies, said Duncan Marsh, director of international climate policy at the Arlington-based Nature Conservancy. The forest is home to Sumatran elephants, clouded leopards, Sumatran tigers and Sumatran orangutans.

“Community and biodiversity aspects are an important attraction to investors,” Marsh said.

Investors will also focus on risk, Marsh said. Credits for halting deforestation may not be used by companies to meet pollution targets under the European Union’s greenhouse gas program or by countries under the Kyoto Protocol, an international accord to limit global warming gases.

‘No Guarantee’

“If investments they make now do become eligible for credits in a future compliance regime, then the credits would be worth a lot more,” Marsh said. “There is no guarantee that will happen and those credits may continue to have the value they do on the voluntary market.”

Carbon credits from wind farms and solar power stations eligible in Europe’s program and under the Kyoto pact traded at 14.25 euros ($21.09) Feb. 5 on the Nord Pool ASA exchange in Lysaker, Norway. There is little trade in credits from projects such as Ulu Masen, said Jason Patrick, director for greenhouse- gas services for the credit broker, Evolution Markets.

“There’s a slow evolution from avoided deforestation as something that never happens to something that could be part of a future compliance system,” Patrick said. There is “speculative activity in avoided deforestation projects today with the expectation that there will be some sort of compliance value down the road.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Jim Efstathiou Jr. in New York atjefstathiou@bloomberg.net.

Original article »