tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15306282.post653666833684495582..comments2023-11-03T02:18:41.733-07:00Comments on WattHead - Energy News and Commentary: Forest Offsets Scam Exposed, Not a Strategy to Mitigate Climate ChangeJesse Jenkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00297127385884430247noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15306282.post-45951664293590281312009-10-22T07:47:02.474-07:002009-10-22T07:47:02.474-07:00My name is David Connell, I work for The Nature Co...My name is David Connell, I work for The Nature Conservancy and I'd just like to say it's a shame that this post and the original post it directly copies did not bother to find both sides of the story on this issue. <br /><br />The Conservancy was part of the original consortium that created the Noel Kempf Climate Action Project. Along with our partners, we purchased four logging concessions adjacent to Bolivia’s Noel Kempff Mercado National Park that protected almost 832,000 hectares of forest habitat and doubled the size of the national park.<br /><br />We have posted a detailed response to the Greenpeace report, which can be found here:<br /><br />http://blog.nature.org/2009/10/noel-kempff-climate-forest-greenpeace-nature-conservancy/<br /><br />For your benefit, here are some of the key points we make in the post:<br /><br />Slowing — and eventually stopping — that deforestation is one of the most cost-effective ways to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. And it is something we can do right now.<br /><br />In 1996 (when the project began), discussions about how to reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) were in their infancy.<br /><br />Trees obviously store carbon as they grow, but there were outstanding questions about how to measure the emissions reductions and to assure that saving trees in one place would not just displace logging elsewhere. Original estimates about the amount of carbon the project would sequester were obviously adjusted over time as new information and monitoring techniques became available and were refined. <br /><br />The Greenpeace report simply revisits some of those old questions in an attempt to criticize the Noel Kempff Climate Action Project and to discredit emissions offsets that businesses might claim by supporting such efforts in the future.<br /><br />The Nature Conservancy respectfully disagrees with Greenpeace’s assertions –- a disagreement based on our experience working on the ground for more than a decade to develop high quality forest carbon projects, and on the documented accomplishments and lessons learned from the Noel Kempff project.<br /><br />As the world’s first project of its kind, the Noel Kempff Climate Action Project was a pioneer project that tested and refined the science of forest carbon accounting and monitoring. It is the first — and still only — REDD project to have its carbon benefits verified by an independent third party.<br /><br />The Noel Kempff project also serves as an example of how well-designed forest carbon projects can result in real, scientifically measurable and verifiable emissions reductions with important benefits for biodiversity and local communities. These benefits and reductions include:<br /><br /> Avoiding 1,034,107 metric tons of verified CO2 emissions — emissions that would have been caused by logging and deforestation between 1997 and 2005;<br /><br />Preserving a rich and biologically diverse forest ecosystem that was chosen as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its outstanding biodiversity value;<br /> <br />Helping local indigenous communities achieve legal status as “Communities of Native Peoples” and obtain official land title;<br /><br />Providing alternative, environmentally sustainable economic opportunities for the local communities, especially via community forestry, and jobs in park monitoring;<br /><br /> Establishing an endowment which is used to fund project activities and preserve the park for future generations.<br /><br />Projects like this are critical stepping stones that can help inform development of national-level programs and build up the capacity and expertise that countries will need to protect their forests on a national scale.<br /><br />Getting REDD right and doing it at national scales is essential for making forests a part of the climate solution.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com