Campo Verde Project : breaking the cycle of deforestation in the Amazon (.pe)

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The Campo Verde project in Peru became the first commercial reforestation endeavor with native species to be validated under the Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS) following the AFOLU guidelines for Afforestation and Reforestation. It was validated by TÜV SÜD.

The project has planted 919 ha to date, with a target of 18,900 ha. It uses a mix of native species within a 30-year cycle, with an initial validation of 101,982 credits for Emissions Reduction after the application of a 40% buffer.

The project breaks the cycle of deforestation in the Amazon in which extraction of high-value timber is followed by changes in land use through conversion to cattle ranching and subsequent land abandonment. The project reverses this inexorable trend by recovering heavily degraded soil prior to plantation of a
mix of native species of high commercial value, in a process that resembles natural forest succession. “We are very pleased to be the first native commercial reforestation project to be recognized for carbon sequestration. We want to expand this model of sustainable forestry to other areas in Peru and adjacent countries” said Jorge Cantuarias, SFM-BAM’s Chief Executive Officer and the pioneering Peruvian entrepreneur behind this major accomplishment.

The project is also undergoing validation under the Carbon, Community, and Biodiversity Standard (CCB). “The ancillary biodiversity and social benefits generated represent a new promise for sustainable development, in which private capital can be a force of change in rural areas” said Gonzalo Castro de la Mata, a Washington-based businessman and ecologist responsible for the investments made by SFM in this project.

>From a financial perspective, “this is ideal – the long-term value generated by timber revenues is complemented by the ability to treat carbon as a market-based commodity, the future value of which can be more readily monetized,” said Richard Saettone, a businessman with an international financial background, and currently SFM-BAM’s Chief Financial Officer.

SFM-BAM is a Peruvian company specialized in forestry and environmental services. It employs over 250 people, and is in the process of developing several large REDD projects in various regions of the Peruvian Amazon. The VCS standard is widely accepted as the most accurate and rigorous approach for carbon projects in the voluntary markets.

http://www.sfmbam.com

Tagged as: Carbon Market, Carbon Project, Peru Carbon, Reforestation

Posted on September 13, 2009 · in Global