Forest Conservation and Carbon Markets
- Madagascar Masoala Photo
- Makira Forest spans more than 1,500 square miles, making it one of the largest remaining intact blocks of rainforest in Madagascar.
- Julie Larsen Maher ©WCS
Scientists estimate that as much as 20 percent of annual global carbon dioxide emissions—roughly equivalent to the volume of greenhouse gases the U.S. generates each year—are caused by the fragmentation and clearing of forests, especially in tropical areas. Brazil and Indonesia are the third and fourth largest emitters of greenhouse gases after the U.S. and China, due principally to deforestation.
Healthy forests can store carbon dioxide in vast reserves and prevent it from being released into the atmosphere. Protecting an intact forest keeps its store of carbon from heating the planet. In addition to its environmental value, the sequestration of carbon has an economic value, which allows us to create an even greater incentive for conservation.
WCS is currently working with our partners to establish “forest carbon
credits”—a new kind of green commodity that can be traded on an
international carbon market. The credits are generated by successfully
halting deforestation and land degradation at targeted sites, thereby
reducing carbon dioxide emissions. By purchasing credits from projects
that prevent forest destruction, individuals, companies, and
governments can “offset” their emissions and help reduce the global
concentration of greenhouse gases.
WCS Projects
WCS works with the CIB logging company to reduce the pressures on gorillas, elephants, and other endangered wildlife in four timber concessions and to control the trade in bushmeat. This collaborative project is called PROGEPP: the Project for Ecosystem Management in the Nouabalé-Ndoki Periphery Area.
While peat lands represent a tiny portion of the earth compared to forests, they store double the amount of carbon. WCS is working to safeguard the peat bogs of Chile's Karukinka, and to sell carbon offsets to help guarantee their preservation.
In collaboration with the government of Madagascar, WCS’s Makira Carbon Company will help sell more than nine million tons of carbon offsets to the global market. Proceeds will protect the forest from further destruction, and help enhance the economic wellbeing of neighboring communities.
From the Newsroom
As negotiators from around the world gather for the 2010 United Nations Climate Change Conference, WCS climate policy experts are urging progress on the strategy known as REDD+, or Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation.
The forest haven for monkeys, tigers, and elephants also stores carbon and will help in the global fight against climate change. Key research conducted by WCS led to the park’s creation.
Congo Basin heads of state and conservation groups celebrate 10 years of success in saving the world’s second largest rainforest.
WCS applauds the inclusion of forestry provisions in the American Clean Energy and Security Act, which paves the way to comprehensive climate change policy.
To save Madagascar’s pristine forests and combat climate change, WCS and the government of Madagascar agree to launch a massive carbon sale, totaling more than nine million tons.