CARBON SCRUBBING

Reforestation is carbon-offsetting on steriods, although there are new findings about the relative value of it in temperate and tropical regions still to be posted.

First Carbon-Scrubbing Forestry Projects Certified
March 30, 2007 (GreenBiz.com via greatnewsnetwork)

WHO
The Climate, Community & Biodiversity Alliance (a partnership between research institutions, corporations and environmental groups, including BP, Intel, Weyerhauser, Conservation International, the Nature Conservancy and others) in conjunction with Conservation International and the Nature Conservancy in China and in conjunction with Futuro Forestal and CO2OL-USA in Panama

WHAT
Reforestation projects certified under comprehensive new standards set by Climate, Community & Biodiversity Alliance

WHEN
Both projects have begun. The Chinese project will be operational for 30 years. The Panamanian project is expected to be finished in 2019.

WHERE
One project is in degraded and abandoned sections of Chiriqui and Veraguas provinces on Panama's Pacific Coast. The other is in Tengchong, China, in Yunnan province south of the Gaoligongshan Nature Reserve on the western slope of the famous Gaoligongshan Mountain.

WHY
Reforestation is a way to combat global warming because the forests absorb carbon dioxide. It is estimated these projects will offset 850,000 tons of CO2 over 30 years.
The Climate, Community & Biodiversity Alliance Carbon Forestry Project Standards, applicable internationally to any land-use or forestry project, set 15 criteria to mitigate climate change, conserve biodiversity, and improve socioeconomic conditions for local communities.

QUOTES
- "We are thrilled to have the first two of many anticipated forestry projects to be certified under the CCB Standards," said Toby Janson-Smith the director of Climate, Community & Biodiversity Alliance. "After all the hard work by some of the world's top NGOs, companies and research institutes ... it is satisfying to see the CCB Standards making a real difference on the ground."
- Keegan Eisenstadt, president of CO2OL-USA: “As more carbon projects are designed and evaluated with the CCB Standards, and as awareness grows of these projects and the unique benefits they deliver, we are hopeful that the Standards will play a key role in steering international finance towards high-quality sustainable tropical forestry projects.”