Madagaskars regering og Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) har annonceret salg af klimakreditter til bekæmpelse af klimaændringer og beskyttelse af biodiversitet og lokales levebrød, skriver miljøsitet Mongabay.
Carbon credits generated from protecting thousands of hectares of endangered rainforest in northeastern Madagascar have now been certified for sale, reports the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), the project’s main organizer.
The development represents the first time that credits generated by African government-owned project have been put on the voluntary carbon market.
The Makira REDD+ Project aims to protect 400,000 hectares of forest in a part of Madagascar that has suffered from illegal rosewood logging.
Backers estimate the initiative will prevent emissions of 32 million tons of carbon dioxide over the next 30 years, or roughly the annual emissions of the state of Montana.
More importantly, the project will help protect some 20 species of lemurs, including more than a dozen at-risk species, while creating new economic opportunities for locals living in and around the park, according to WCS.
“Along with its benefits to wildlife, the sale will directly benefit local communities living around the protected area by allocating 50 percent of the net revenues of carbon sales to improve local infrastructure, provide health and education services, and support training, inputs, and technical assistance for sustainable agriculture,” said the group in a statement. WCS is charged with implementing the project.
The Makira REDD+ Project was conceived before the March 2009 coup that displaced Madagascar’s democratically-elected president from power.
The coup cut off the flow of critical conservation funds, spurring an orgy of illegal logging and poaching in Makira and the neighboring protected areas of Masoala and Marojejy.
While some of the illegal logging and rosewood smuggling was linked to political officials who took power after the coup, the activity has since slowed dramatically, offering opportunities to strengthen conservation efforts in the region, including bolstering the Ministry of Environment and Forests, whose staff made heroic efforts to stave off illegal logging during the worst of the 2009 political crisis.
Læs videre her:
http://news.mongabay.com/2013/0917-makira-carbon-madagascar.html
WCS’s pressemeddelelse:
http://www.wcs.org/press/press-releases/makira-carbon-sale.aspx
