New York, NY (August 7, 2006)--The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has joined the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance (CCBA), a partnership of research institutions, corporations and environmental groups promoting the development of high-quality climate change mitigation projects that also support biodiversity conservation and sustainable development.

The CCBA promotes solutions for tackling one of the most significant drivers of climate change--tropical forest loss, which accounts for as much as 25 percent of annual global greenhouse gas emissions.

"The world is facing two simultaneous crises--the mass extinction of species globally, and the unprecedented pace of climate change due to the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere," said Dr. John G. Robinson, Executive Vice President of WCS. "With over 500 projects in more than 60 countries around the world, WCS can place its tangible, field-based knowledge of how to protect forests and other habitats in the service of carbon mitigation."

"Through the release of its Climate, Community & Biodiversity Standards last year, the CCBA has created a powerful tool for designing and evaluating forestry projects that mitigate climate change, conserve biodiversity and create sustainable livelihoods for the world's poor," stated Toby Janson-Smith, Director of the CCBA. "With its outstanding scientific expertise and project experience, WCS will help the CCBA showcase the tremendous potential of these Standards and multiple-benefit forestry activities in general. We are delighted to welcome WCS into the Alliance."

The CCB Standards are made available to project developers to design high-quality carbon mitigation projects that incorporate biodiversity conservation and community development. The CCBA has also developed a scorecard that allows private-sector companies, multi-lateral funding organizations, and government agencies to screen and identify those projects w
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7-Aug-2006