April Salumei Rainforest Conservation
Papua New Guinea
Supporting this project
In partnership with Tasman Environmental Markets (TEM), Ecowheels has been able to successfully retire carbon credits for the April Salumei Rainforest Conservation project.
The April Salumei REDD+ project is located in Papua New Guinea, a country which contains ~7% of the world’s biodiversity in less than 1% of the world’s total land area.
As a result of the project, 603,712ha of virgin tropical rainforest is being conserved against planned deforestation, preventing approximately 22.8 million tonnes of GHG emissions from being released into the atmosphere. The project also protects vital habitat for many endangered species include the palm cockatoo, the bird of paradise and the southern crowned pigeon.
The project channels climate finance to autonomous Indigenous groups, through the conservation of one of the most ecologically distinct forest communities in the world. The project also promotes culturally inclusiveness, sustainable community development via an agreed Sustainable Development Plan.
Project information
PROJECT TYPE
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+)
CARBON STANDARD
VERRA Voluntary Carbon Standard
UNIT TYPE
VCU
METHODOLOGY
VM0007 REDD+ Methodology Framework
CARBON STANDARD
VERRA Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS)
PROJECT ID
VCS1122
VINTAGE
2013-2015
RETIREMENT
https://registry.verra.org/myModule/rpt/myrpt.asp?r=206&h=247511
Real and lasting impact
Permanence: Project activities must generate permanent reductions and removals in GHG emissions. This requires that the carbon sequestered and stored within the project area will not be released due to unmitigated risk factors such as forest fires, extreme weather events, pest and disease outbreaks and land tenure disputes that result in deforestation. The project has a permanence period of at least 38 years (until 2047). TEM is currently in discussions with PNGFA to extend this permanence period for an additional 40 years.
Additionality: A project is additional if the GHG emissions reductions and removals would not occur without the implementation of the project activities. In the case of April Salumei, the project area was under threat from planned commercial logging. Local communities have agreed to cancel logging permits, with revenue from carbon offsets being paid in lieu of royalties from logging.
Leakage: Leakage risks refer to risks that timber harvesting and/or land-use conversion will relocate to other areas in PNG and pertain to market effects and activity shifting. Leakage effects due to market effects are negligible, however, they have been robustly accounted for in both the calculation of GHG reductions and in additional mitigation measures undertaken by the project proponents. Risks of activity shifting were deemed non-existent.
SDGs: The project contributes to the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:
Community impact
164 distinct clan groups and 9000 indigenous people live in the project area, covered by the project’s Sustainable Development Plan (SDP).
The SDP is driven by a team of local and international specialists, who work with local communities and stakeholders to identify a long-term suite of local investments that attend to local needs and aspirations, encompassing health, education, training, economic development (including sustainable agriculture) and local employment to support conservation and biodiversity outcomes. Projects to date include:
Light up April Salumei
1000 Sustainable, solar powered lights provided to 30 schools, 26 health centres, aid posts, families and cultural centres
Created 8 meaningful jobs
Provided 6 skill development traineeships
Eagle Wood Project
Employed experts in nursery management that trained representatives from each Landowner Company as forest community stewards
Created 10 meaningful jobs
Facilitated the planting of 10,000 trees
Biodiversity impact
The project activities deliver vital biodiversity conservation outcomes. PNG contains ~7% of global biodiversity across just 1% of the globe’s landmass. April Salumei is one of the top 10 most ecologically distinct areas on the planet home to a staggering level of biodiversity, including threatened species such as:
Palm Cockatoo
Bird of Paradise
Southern Crowned Pigeon
These species are protected from the most prominent key threatening process in the region – deforestation.
The Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance (CCBA) has previously awarded the project a gold medal for ‘exceptional biodiversity benefit’.