Comments are invited from the public about whether the below projects meet the requirements of the CCB Standards. Comments received by the VCS will be published to the project’s page on the CCBA website (unless otherwise requested) and considered by the auditor during the validation and/or verification process.

Katingan Peatland Restoration and Conservation Project
Location: Central Kalimantan, Republic of Indonesia
Project Proponent: PT. Rimba Makmur Utama (PT. RMU)
Documents undergoing public comment: Project Implementation Report
Gold Level: Climate, Community & Biodiversity
Benefits Achieved during Monitoring Period:

• Avoided the emission of over 12 million tCO₂e through avoided deforestation, restoration of peat swamp forest, prevention of peat drainage, and minimization of fire damage on almost 150,000 ha of land.
• Provided education and support for community implemented agroforestry for four communities and helped almost 150 individuals develop plans for the sustainable use of non-timber forest products.
• Reduced the threat of deforestation and restored native ecosystems that provide important habitat for 15 species classified as critically endangered or endangered, including the orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) and the proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus).

Public Comment Period: 16 June 2016 – 16 July 2016

Alto Mayo Conservation Initiative
Location: San Martin Department, Peru
Project Proponent: Conservation International – Peru
Documents undergoing public comment: Project Implementation Report
Gold Level: Biodiversity
Benefits Achieved during Monitoring Period:

• Avoided deforestation of over 3,000 ha of forest in the Alto Mayo Protection Forest resulting in avoided emissions of 1.3 million tCO₂e during this monitoring period and over 6.2 million tCO₂e since the beginning of the project.
• Promoted sustainable coffee production with local communities and created a coffee cooperative to help drive a price incentive for sustainable, organic coffee.
• Conserved habitat for over 1,200 species of plants, including 59 species of orchids, and 25 critically endangered or endangered species, including 8 endangered frog species.

Public Comment Period: 20 June 2016 – 20 July 2016

Carbono Nascentes do Xingu
Location: Mato Grosso, Brazil
Project Proponent: Instituto Socioambiental
Documents undergoing public comment: Project Design Document
Benefits Planned over Project Lifetime:

• Native forest restoration in riparian areas of the Xingu River basin will result in over 60,000 tCO₂e over the 30 year project lifetime.
• The implementation of the ‘Xingu Seed Network’ will provide farmers with native seeds to use in forest restoration activities.
• Connectivity between the Cerrado (Brazilian savanna) and Amazon biomes will be increased through reforestation efforts.

Public Comment Period: 20 June 2016 – 20 July 2016

The Purus Project: A Tropical Conservation Project in Acre, Brazil
Location: Acre, Brazil
Project Proponent: CarbonCo, LLC
Documents undergoing public comment: Project Implementation Report
Gold Level: Biodiversity
Benefits Achieved during Monitoring Period:

• Prevented deforestation of almost 35,000 ha of land and avoided emission of over 90,000 tCO₂e during this year long monitoring period.
• Constructed an on-site community health clinic and completed land titling to the first few community members who started the process.
• Continued to preserve important habitat for multiple endangered and vulnerable species including Brazilian Rosewood (Aniba rosaeodora), short-eared dogs (Atelocynus microtis), jaguars (Panthera onca), and giant anteaters (Myrmecophga tridactyla).

Public Comment Period: 22 June 2016 – 22 July 2016

Comments are invited from the public about whether the below projects meet the requirements of the CCB Standards. Comments received by the VCS will be published to the project’s page on the CCBA website (unless otherwise requested) and considered by the auditor during the validation and/or verification process.

HIMA (Hifadhi ya Misitu ya Asili ya jamii) REDD+ Program
Location: Zanzibar, Tanzania
Project Proponent: Terra Global Capital
Documents undergoing public comment: Project Design Document
Gold Level: Climate, Community & Biodiversity
Benefits Planned over Project Lifetime:

• Implement community-based natural resources management with 20,000 rural, poor households
• Prevent deforestation within the Zanzibar-Inhambane Coastal Forest Mosaic Ecoregion biodiversity hotspot
• Diversify crop types and improve irrigation systems to create more drought-tolerant agriculture practices and restore mangroves to mitigate the effects of sea level rise

Public Comment Period: 25 March 2016 – 25 April 2016

Fortaleza Ituxi REDD Project
Location: Lábrea, Amazonas, Brazil
Project Proponent: Fazenda Nossa Senhora das Cachoeiras do Ituxi
Documents undergoing public comment: Project Design Document
Gold Level: Community
Benefits Planned over Project Lifetime:

• Prevent illegal deforestation and conserve over 1,800 hectares of Amazon rainforest
• Provide technical training on sustainable agriculture and forest management for non-timber forest products

Public Comment Period: 28 March 2016 – 28 April 2016

Reduction of deforestation and degradation in Tambopata National Reserve and Bahuaja-Sonene National Park within the area of Madre de Dios region – Peru
Location:Madre de Dios, Peru
Project Proponent:Asociación para la Investigación y Desarrollo Integral (AIDER)
Documents undergoing public comment: Project Implementation Report
Gold Level: Biodiversity
Benefits Planned over Project Lifetime:

• Prevent deforestation and degradation of over 573,000 ha of old-growth tropical rainforest in the Amazonian region of Peru
• Since the beginning of the project, the Peruvian spider monkey (Ateles chamek), which was considered locally extinct, has shown signs of population recovery within the project area

Public Comment Period: 29 March 2016 – 29 April 2016

Lacandón – Forest for Life REDD+ Project
Location: Northwest Petén Department, Guatemala
Project Proponent: Fundación Defensores de la Naturaleza
Documents undergoing public comment: Project Implementation Report
Gold Level: Biodiversity
Benefits Planned over Project Lifetime:

• Reduce deforestation and forest degradation by decreasing illegal timber extraction, assuring legality of land use right, and implementing sustainable forest management
• Strengthen local governance, develop timber and non-timber forest management plans, offer environmental education and technical workshops
• Identify and monitor indicator species, such as the jaguar (Panthera onca) and tapir (Tapirus bairdii), and prevent illegal logging and hunting within the project area

Public Comment Period: 1 April 2016 – 1 May 2016

The following project documents are undergoing public comment:

Project name: Jari/Amapá REDD+ Project
Region, Country: Amapá, Brazil
Documents undergoing public comment:
Project Design Document (English)
Project Design Document (Portuguese)
Public comment period: 20 August – 19 September 2015

Project name: Restoring a Forest Legacy at Grand Cote and Lake Ophelia National Wildlife Refuges Project
Region, Country: Louisiana, USA
Documents undergoing public comment: Project Implementation Report
Public comment period: 3 August – 4 September 2015

Comments are invited from the public about whether these projects meet the requirements of the CCB Standards. Comments received will be considered by the auditor during the validation and/or verification process.

Project name: Forest Carbon Project in Quirino Province, Sierra Madre Biodiversity Corridor, Luzon, Philippines
Region, Country: Luzon, Philippines
Documents undergoing public comment: Combined Project Implementation and Project Design Document
Public comment period: 22 June – 22 July 2015

Project name: The Purus Project: A Tropical Forest Conservation Project in Acre, Brazil
Region, Country: Acre, Brazil
Documents undergoing public comment: Project Implementation Report (Portuguese), Project Implementation Report (English)
Public comment period: 14 July – 13 August 2015

Project name: Reducción de la Deforestación y Degradación en la Reserva Nacional Tambopata y en el Parque Nacional Bahuaja-Sonene del Ámbito de la Región Madre de Dios – Perú
Region, Country: Madre de Dios, Peru
Documents undergoing public comment: Project Implementation Report (English Summary), Project Implementation Report
Public comment period: 16 July – 15 August 2015

Comments are invited from the public about whether these projects meet the requirements of the CCB Standards. Comments received will be considered by the auditor during the validation and/or verification process.

The following project documents are undergoing public comment:

Project name: Reduction of Deforestation and Degradation of Tropical Dry Forests in Piura and Lambayeque
Region, Country: Piura and Lambayeque, Peru
Documents undergoing public comment: Project Design Document, Project Design Document (English Summary)
Public comment period: 1 June – 1 July 2015

Project name: Suruí Forest Carbon Project
Region, Country: Rondônia and Mato Grosso, Brazil
Documents undergoing public comment: Project Implementation Report, Project Implementation Report (Portuguese Summary), Project Implementation Report (English Summary)
Public comment period: 1 June – 1 July 2015

Project name: Laguna Seca Forest Carbon Project
Region, Country: Orange Walk District, Belize
Documents undergoing public comment: Project Design Document
Public comment period: 5 June – 5 July 2015

Comments are invited from the public about whether these projects meet the requirements of the CCB Standards. Comments received will be considered by the auditor during the validation or verification process.

VCS staff have a booth at Carbon Expo Barcelona which runs from 26 – 28 May 2015, so please stop by with questions or comments on the Climate, Community & Biodiversity (CCB) Standards! As you may be aware, VCS assumed management of the CCB Standards in late 2014. VCS has been working with the joint VCS and CCBA CCB Steering Committee to ensure high quality service is provided to project proponents and auditors and to explore potential improvements to the efficiency of CCB Standards use. We welcome your feedback and ideas.

The following project documents are undergoing public comment:

Project name: Recovery of Degraded Areas with Agroforestry Systems in Colombia
Region, Country: Department of Antioquia, Colombia
Documents undergoing public comment: Project Design Document,
Project Design Document (Spanish Summary)
Public comment period: 30 April – 30 May 2015

Project name: Natural High Forest Rehabilitation Project on Degraded Land of Kibale National Park, Uganda
Region, Country: Kabarole district, Uganda
Documents undergoing public comment: Project Implementation Report,
Project Design Document
Public comment period: 30 April – 30 May 2015

Comments are invited from the public about whether these projects meet the requirements of the CCB Standards. Comments received will be considered by the auditor during the validaiton or verification process.

The following project documents are undergoing public comment:

Project name: GUAPIAÇU GRANDE VIDA
Region, Country: Brazil, Rio De Janeiro, Cachoeiras D Emacacu
Documents undergoing public comment:
Project Design Document Summary (English) – 10 March 2015
Project Design Document (Portuguese) – 10 March 2015
Public comment period: 16 March – 15 April 2015

Comments are invited from the public about whether this project meet the requirements of the CCB Standards. Comments received at will be considered by the auditor during the validation process.

The following project documents are undergoing public comment:

Project name: Carbono Nascentes do Xingu
Region, Country: Mato Grosso, Brazil
Documents undergoing public comment: Project Implementation Report (Portuguese)
Project Implementation Report (English Summary)
Public comment period: 26 February – 25 March 2015

Project name: Makira Protected Forest Area Project
Region, Country: Analanjirofo, Sava and Sofia regions, Madagascar
Documents undergoing public comment: Project Implementation Report (English)
Project Implementation Report (French Summary)
Public comment period: 26 February – 25 March 2015

Comments are invited from the public about whether these projects meet the requirements of the CCB Standards. Comments received will be considered by the auditor during the verification process.

Ecosystem Marketplace has announced the top ten news stories of 2014 as voted by their readers. It was great to see that the story covering the VCS assuming management of CCB Standards was ranked as the second most important story of 2014.

Read the whole article here.

From November 2014, the Climate Community and Biodiversity Standards (CCB Standards) are operating under the management of the VCS.  This brings VCS experience managing a carbon certification framework to the day-to-day management of the CCB Standards and will help to develop efficiencies that will ultimately make it easier for project developers to use both standards, either on their own or with each other. The members of the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance (CCBA) (CARE, Conservation International, Rainforest Alliance, The Nature Conservancy and Wildlife Conservation Society) will continue to guide the CCB Standards in partnership with VCS.  No major revisions to either the CCB Standards or the VCS Standard are planned. LEARN MORE