To combat global warming while conserving biodiversity, Conservation International and the Jatun Sacha Foundation, an Ecuadorian conservation organization, have launched a carbon offsets project to reforest 680 acres of degraded pastureland in northwest Ecuador. This reforestation project offsets a part of the carbon reductions required of new power plants built in the State of Oregon. The Climate Trust, a nonprofit organization set-up to invest in carbon activities for these companies, provided $186,000 in investment for this project.

In 1997, Oregon passed the first law in the United States to limit carbon dioxide emissions, the primary gas responsible for the changes in weather patterns resulting from climate change. The law limits the net amount of carbon dioxide that a new power plant can release. One way new plants can meet these standards is by investing in carbon offsets projects through The Climate Trust, a nonprofit organization formed in 1997 in response to the Oregon legislation. This project marks the first time that The Climate Trust has funded an international carbon offsets project. Over the project's 100-year lifespan, an estimated 65,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide will be mitigated, equaling 12,000 cars driving 12,000 miles.

"Conservation International and the Jatun Sacha Foundation consider this investment vital in our continuing efforts to working with corporations to combat global warming," said Sonal I. Pandya, manager of Conservation International's Carbon Offsets Program. "Reforestation projects like these also have the additional benefits of protecting critical rainforest habitat, decreasing soil erosion, and providing a new source of investment for local communities."

"We're excited to partner with these leading land conservation groups to provide permanent protection to an Ecuadorian rainforest where deforestation has worsened global warming," said Diana Bodtker, chair of The Climate Trust Board.
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Contact: Jason W. Anderson
j.anderson@celb.org
202-912-1464
Conservation International
29-Oct-2002

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