The first reforestation and afforestation project to receive registration under the Clean Development Mechanism (
CDM) passed its final approval hurdle last week.
The
project in the Pearl River Basin in Guangxi province, China, seeks to
reforest 2000 hectares of cleared and eroded land in order to sequester
carbon and create a sustainable harvesting industry for local villages.
The forestry models being used involve mixed plantings of pine,
liquidamber and eucalyptus.
Locals would contribute land and
labour in return for revenue from both selective timber harvesting and
a share of the carbon credits generated from the forest carbon sink.
The project developers say in the Project Design Document that the
project is pilot in this respect. Improved biodiversity and erosion
control are also stated objectives of the project.
The project is expected to generate 400,000
CERs
by 2017 and a further 600,000 by 2050. Project participants include the
International bank for Reconstruction and local Chinese government
forestry agencies.