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Carbonfund.org’s Return to Forest Project Awarded Gold Rating Certification

Deforestation causes up to 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions globally. Responsible reforestation projects thus carry great potential for mitigating climate change. Nicaragua, a country that has forestland covering about 40 percent of its area, lost about 20 percent of its forests between 1990 and 2005, much of it the result of cattle ranching and agriculture. For the past three years, Paso Pacífico, a California-based nonprofit conservation organization, has been working to restore and protect natural ecosystems in Nicaragua.

“Small developing nations are often ignored within the climate change debate,” said Sarah Otterstrom, Executive Director of Paso Pacifico, “yet they are a key piece of the solution. Paso Pacifico’s efforts in Nicaragua capitalize on the great ability of tropical forests to reduce greenhouse gases while also contributing to sustainable development.”

The Rivas Isthmus in southwestern Nicaragua, a rural area home to a wealth of biodiversity, including sea turtles, yellow-naped parrot, and spider monkeys, is also a region in which nearly a quarter of the population lives in extreme poverty. Through the planting of some 70 varieties of native tree species, Paso Pacífico and Carbonfund.org aim to restore a biological corridor in the region, and at the same time to offset the emission of an estimated 170,000 tons of CO2 over the next 40 years. Carbonfund.org helped develop the project and is its primary source of funding.

“Return to Forest is a landmark project for Carbonfund.org.  It’s not only offsetting 170,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, but also restoring tropical dry forests which are an endangered ecosystem,” said Eric Carlson, Executive Director of Carbonfund.org.  “We’re very proud to celebrate this accomplishment with Paso Pacifico, the Rainforest Alliance and the CCBA. The partnerships formed between these organizations should serve as model for future reforestation projects that will both positively impact the local community and help mitigate global climate change.”

The Rainforest Alliance, a nonprofit conservation organization based in New York, served as the third-party independent certifier to evaluate the project proposal to standards that ensure support for local communities, biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation.
“By earning the highest rating to the CCB standards, Paso Pacífico and Carbonfund.org have proven this project is designed in a way that will conserve biodiversity and support local communities while mitigating climate change,” said Jeff Hayward, verification services manager at the Rainforest Alliance. “Carbon finance holds great promise in helping restore endangered ecosystems such as Central America’s tropical forests, and the Rainforest Alliance congratulates both organizations on the launch of this ambitious project.”

“The Return to Forest project is just the sort of high-quality multiple benefit forest carbon project that the CCB Standards aim to identify,” said Joanna Durbin, director of the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance. “Local farmers are closely involved in the project design and implementation and they benefit directly from the carbon revenues, not by degrading native forests but by restoring them, bringing global climate benefits as well as improving habitats for endangered wildlife.”

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