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- The Conservancy and partners initiated the Noel Kempff climate action project in 1996.
- The project protects 1.5 million acres of tropical forest and benefits both people and wildlife.
- It is expected to prevent up to 5.8 million tons of CO2 emissions over 30 years.
- Read the Conservancy’s response to a Greenpeace report on REDD.
Protecting Forests to Reduce Climate Change
In late 1996, The Nature Conservancy and Fundación Amigos de la Naturaleza (FAN) created the Noel Kempff Mercado Climate Action Project to reduce climate change by protecting 1.5 million acres of tropical forest that were threatened by timber harvesting and deforestation.
Together with the Bolivian government and three energy companies, the partners terminated logging rights in 4 areas just adjacent to a pre-existing national park and incorporated the land into the national park, creating the 3.9 million acre Noel Kempff Mercado National Park. The partners also initiated a comprehensive community development program to address the problem of small scale deforestation by local communities living just outside of the park.
By protecting forests and reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD), the Noel Kempff project simultaneously addresses climate change, conserves biodiversity and brings sustainable benefits to local communities. Through the avoidance of logging and agricultural conversion, the project is expected to prevent the release of up to 5.8 million tons of carbon dioxide over the next 30 years.
Conservation Significance and Benefits
Aside from reducing carbon emissions, the project:
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Doubles the range for species requiring large tracts of land including the Brazilian tapir (tapirus terrestris) and jaguar;
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Decreases soil erosion and future agricultural runoff into the park’s rivers;
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Provides a community development program that educates community members on sustainable forest management and use of natural resources, as well as provides job opportunities in the park; and
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Assists local communities in their efforts to attain legal status as indigenous people and to secure land tenure. Project partners are also working with local communities to create economic opportunities that provide an alternative to encroaching on other forest lands.
The project’s carbon benefits are expected to last in perpetuity as the site lies within the newly expanded national park and a permanent endowment has been established to fund protection activities throughout the 30-year life of the project and beyond.
Verifying and Monitoring Emissions Reduction
In 2005, Noel Kempff Mercado was the first forest carbon emissions reduction project to be verified by a third party based on international standards international standards adapted from the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism This verification demonstrates that protecting forests can achieve verifiable emissions reductions by preventing the release of carbon that is stored in the living biomass of forests.
The project also includes an ongoing, comprehensive plan to monitor the forest in Noel Kempff Mercado, socioeconomic impacts on communities and factors contributing to deforestation and degradation in the regionthe rate of deforestation. Monitoring and third-party verification showed that between 1997 and 2005, 1,034,107 metric tons of CO2 emissions, which would have been caused by logging and deforestation, were avoided due to this project.
Forest Carbon: A Credible and Critical Climate Change Solution
Forest carbon projects, such as the Noel Kempff Mercado project, demonstrate that forest carbon is an effective and feasible part of an overall solution to climate change.
The Nature Conservancy believes that effective international and U.S. climate change policy frameworks must:
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Achieve significant reductions in emissions from all major sources;
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Create incentives to reduce emissions from deforestation and to absorb carbon from the atmosphere by conservation-based forest management and forest restoration; and
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Support adaptation strategies that help the natural world cope with the impacts of climate change.
Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © Margo Burnham (Fundación Amigos de la Naturaleza (FAN) measures, paints and tags dead and damaged trees, Noel Kempff Mercado); Photo © Dan Quinn (Noel Kempff Mercado National Park).
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