REDD is Ready for Prime Time in Africa
By Wildlife Works Carbon Llc, PRNESunday, December 13, 2009
Wildlife Works becomes the first REDD project in Africa to achieve CCB GOLD Validation and inks multi-million dollar carbon credit sale that brings immediate relief to drought stricken communities in Kenya
SAN FRANCISCO and RUKINGA, Kenya, December 14 - Today in the midst of the debate on climate change in Copenhagen,
Wildlife Works Carbon LLC announced that their Kasigau Corridor REDD (Reduced
Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) Project in Kenya has
just been awarded the first GOLD level validation in Africa, under the
Climate Community and Biodiversity (CCB) Alliance's REDD Standard. In
addition they have entered into a contract with a major South African bank,
Nedbank, to sell the Voluntary Emission Reductions (VERs) generated by the
project.
The Wildlife Works REDD project brings substantial benefits to local
communities in education, job creation, environmental protection and direct
financial rewards, while protecting precious biodiversity at the same time,
and proves that well designed, well managed REDD projects can succeed in
Africa.
This is a milestone in the progress of REDD towards achieving legitimacy
in the global carbon marketplace, and sets a positive example for those
millions of Africans who have the potential to gain financial reward from
REDD to help them move forward with sustainable development in the face of
massive and growing pressure to their livelihoods caused by climate change.
"We believe this demonstrates clearly that REDD is ready for prime time in
Africa," says Mike Korchinsky, Wildlife Works' Founder and President.
Alfred Gichu, a Senior Assistant Director and Head of climate change
response programmes at Kenya Forest Service (KFS), and Kenya's National Focal
Point for REDD Projects adds, "KFS is very pleased that Kenya is pioneering
in the efforts to utilize REDD as a tool to protect and restore our valued
forest resources, while bringing significant financial and environmental
benefits to the poorest sectors of our rural population. We plan to build on
this success working closely with Wildlife Works Carbon, to assist us and
Kenya's rural landowners to manage the technical complexity of the global
carbon market and to engage the global carbon offset buyers in our efforts to
protect our wilderness heritage, while contributing to global efforts in
climate change mitigation."
The project was validated by independent verifier Scientific
Certification Systems (SCS) against the CCB Standard Second Edition. SCS
conducted both desk and field-based assessment activities and found that, in
addition to conforming to the 14 required criteria, the Kasigau Corridor REDD
project meets two additional, optional CCB criteria qualifying the project
for Gold Level status.
"We congratulate Wildlife Works for successfully implementing this
multi-attribute CCB project in Africa and are pleased to lend our extensive
international experience certifying forest management projects to validate
projects like the Kasigau Corridor REDD Project," said Dr. Robert J. Hrubes,
SCS Senior Vice-President and head of SCS's Greenhouse Gas Program.
The Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance is the most rigorous
standard for ensuring communities and biodiversity benefit from climate
change projects. The Project will also seek validation and verification under
the Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS).
Wildlife Works Carbon is a new venture of Wildlife Works, Inc. a global
leader in applying innovative market based solutions to the conservation of
biodiversity.
"Wildlife Works has been a leader in using the power of the consumer
marketplace to conserve biodiversity and protect forest habitat, and we see
the emerging Voluntary Carbon Marketplace as a logical and exciting extension
of our 12 year history," said Korchinsky.
"We are very pleased that we have been able to demonstrate that the
carbon marketplace is ready to support projects that will bring broad
benefits to rural Kenyans while ensuring protection for Kenya's magnificent
biodiversity," says Colin Wiel, co-Founder of Wildlife Works Carbon.
Wildlife Works Carbon was established to help local landowners in the
developing world to monetize their incredible forest and biodiversity assets
whether they are governments, communities, ownership groups or private
individuals. "As an organization or consumer wanting to do your part by
reducing your carbon footprint wouldn't you love to have carbon credits that
protect natural forests, endangered species and the livelihoods of Africa's
rural communities?" asks Korchinsky.
About Wildlife Works Carbon, LLC
Wildlife Works Carbon, LLC is a joint venture of Wildlife Works Inc. and
Colin Wiel Enterprises, and was established to pursue the use of the emerging
marketplace for REDD Carbon Offsets as a sustainable and scaleable funding
mechanism for rural economic development and biodiverse forest protection.
The company's first project in Rukinga, Kenya, builds on a successful 12 year
track record, of bringing much needed jobs to a community that was being
forced to destroy their magnificent wilderness in order to survive. Wildlife
Works teaches local people to make sustainable products as part of an
alternative livelihoods strategy. The products will be sold through Wildlife
Works Retail, directly to consumers. Wildlife Works also founded an organic
greenhouse to promote healthier farming practices, to provide local farmers
with cash generating citrus trees and free agroforestry trees to use for
building and fuel wood. Wildlife Works Carbon will provide the financial
additionality to ensure long term sustainability of Wildlife Works efforts in
Kenya and beyond.
www.wildlifeworkscarbon.com
About Nedbank Group
Nedbank Group, a subsidiary of the Old Mutual Group, operates as one of
the four largest banking groups in South Africa. It is the only African bank
to be included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index., The company's ordinary
shares have been listed on the JSE Limited since 1969.
Nedbank offers a wide range of wholesale and retail banking services
through three main business clusters, namely Nedbank Capital, Nedbank
Corporate and Nedbank Retail.
About Nedbank Capital
Nedbank Capital comprises the Nedbank Group's investment banking
businesses that together manage the structuring, lending and underwriting
activities and all trading and broking activities in the equity, capital,
interest rate, and foreign exchange and derivative markets across the African
continent.
To position Nedbank and its clients appropriately for a
carbon-constrained future, Nedbank Capital has a dedicated Carbon Finance
Team that views carbon dioxide and other emissions holistically. The team
looks at emissions end to end, using a five-pronged approach that draws on
cross-functional expertise in finance against the backdrop of a value
proposition comprising the following:
- Sustainability - devising carbon strategy and policy. - Carbon advisory and footprinting services. - Identification and development of Clean Development Mechanism projects. - Identification and development of carbon projects for the voluntary carbon market. - Carbon trading - trading of certified emission reduction and verified emission reduction certificates and providing client brokerage services to monetise carbon benefits or to obtain carbon neutrality. www.nedbankgroup.co.za www.nedbankcapital.co.za
About The Kenya Forest Service
The Kenya Forest Service as the national REDD focal point, is currently
spearheading a local multi-stakeholder effort to among other things develop a
national strategy for implementation of REDD activities in the country. This
will be done in close liaison with the Ministry of Environment and Mineral
Resources which is mandated to coordinate climate change activities in the
country. The Ministry has been very active in enlisting support from the
private sector towards climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts.
About Scientific Certification Systems (SCS)
SCS has been providing global leadership in third-party environmental and
sustainability certification, auditing, testing and standards development for
more than 25 years. The SCS Greenhouse Gas Verification Program provides
verification of project-based emissions reductions, project design validation
and pre-assessment analysis. SCS is accredited to ISO 14065 for GHG
validation and verification by the American National Standards Institute
(ANSI) and, under this accreditation, offers Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS)
and Climate Action Reserve (CAR) offset verification services. SCS also
offers offset verification services under the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX)
and the Climate, Community and Biodiversity (CCB) standards.
www.SCScertified.com
Gerald Prolman, +1-415-883-3393, gerald at wildlifeworks.com, SKYPE gerald_prolman; or Kevin Whitfield of Nedbank Capital, +27-(0)-82-901-5846, kevinwh at nedbank.co.za
Tags: Africa, california, kenya, San Francisco And Rukinga, United Kingdom, Wildlife Works Carbon Llc