While Fernando and Artur were planting trees on a farm in Mineiros (see last Thursday’s blog post), I spent a couple of hours collecting some video footage and interviewing local stakeholders.

I had the opportunity to talk to Renato Alves, project coordinator of the NGO Oréades, CI-Brazil´s local partner. In the video below (in Portuguese), he explains the carbon project.

Mirella Domenich is the communications manager of Conservation International Brazil. After filming the video above, she joined in to help plant many native trees!

VIDEO: Renato Alves explains the carbon project (em português)[See post to watch Flash video]

Em português

Enquanto Fernando e Artur plantam sementes de árvores nativas do Cerrado, em uma fazenda em Mineiros, em Goiás, na região Centro-oeste do Brasil, eu investi algumas horas coletando imagens e entrevistas sobre o projeto Carbono Emas-Taquari, que a CI-Brasil implementa em parceria com a ONG local Oréades.

Eu tive a oportunidade de conversar com Renato Alves, engenheiro agrônomo e coordenador de projetos da Oréades, que me deu explicações sobre o funcionamento e objetivos do mesmo. Confira trechos da entrevista no vídeo abaixo.

Mirella Domenich é gerente de Comunicação da CI-Brasil e, depois de coletar as informações em vídeo e foto, também colocou a mão na massa para plantar as mudas de espécies nativas.

At six o’clock this morning, Artur, Mirella and I met the Oréades staff members, an headed out to the field, where we would be planting one hectare of plants native to the Cerrado, the Brazilian savannah. Two hours later, after traveling almost 90 kilometers (56 miles) along a road surrounded by soy plantations, we arrived at the farm that would receive the first seedlings of the carbon sequestration project. I immediately smelled the fertilizer we would be using: turkey manure and eggs. The smell was terrible, but our cause was noble.

During the land work, which was divided between 12 people, I started thinking about my own life experience and the new things I was learning. Although my job makes me one of the people directly responsible for the Cerrado’s preservation, this was the first time I had planted trees in my life. Undoubtedly, it was a great experience, allowing me to see in person how much deforestation costs. They say that one of the most important things to do in life is to plant a seedling. I would say it’s even better to plant more than one tree, especially when they’re native species.

Physically exhausted by the labor and the sun that did not stop throughout the day, everybody cheered when the last seedling was planted. Mission accomplished! Now we can say that we planted the trees that, in the words of Lebanese poet Khalil Gibran, will be “the poems that earth writes upon the sky.”

Fernando Ribeiro is a sociologist and socioeconomic coordinator of CI-Brazil’s  Cerrado-Pantanal Program.

Em português

Dia 27 de janeiro foi o terceiro dia da visita de nossa equipe (eu, Artur e Mirella, conforme post anterior) no município de Mineiros, interior de Goiás, na região centro-oeste do Brasil, com o objetivo de acompanhar de perto nossos parceiros da ONG Oréades na implantação do projeto de sequestro de carbono para mitigação de mudanças climáticas, intitulado Projeto Carbono Emas-Taquari. A atividade desse 27 de janeiro foi a que mais marcou, sem dúvida nenhuma. Fui para uma fazenda com o Artur e Mirella e a equipe da Oréades para plantar um hectare de mudas nativas do Cerrado, a savana brasileira. Foi a primeira vez que plantei árvores na minha vida e devo admitir que fiquei muito contente por isso. Sem contar que foram espécies do Cerrado, bioma do qual eu sou um dos responsáveis diretos pela preservação.

Era quarta-feira quando, às 6 horas da manhã, acordo para me encontrar com o pessoal da Oréades, e irmos para o campo. Depois de quase 90 Km pela estrada, onde só se via plantações de soja, chegamos às 8h à fazenda que receberia as primeiras mudas do projeto de sequestro de carbono.  Apesar de toda a vista linda do Cerrado, eu não poderia esperar que o adubo que utilizaríamos seria esterco de peru com ovos. Sem dúvida nenhuma, o cheiro era terrível, mas a causa era nobre.

Durante o trabalho na terra, que era dividido por 12 pessoas, pensava em como eu havia chegado ali, minha trajetória profissional, pessoal e novos valores que estava adquirindo. Sem dúvida, foi uma grande experiência que, apesar de ter sido breve, me permitiu ver o quanto custa o desmatamento e as queimadas. Dizem que uma das coisas a se fazer na vida é plantar uma muda. Eu diria que uma das coisas a ser feita na vida é plantar várias mudas e, se puder escolher, que essas sejam do Cerrado.

Esgotados fisicamente pelo trabalho braçal e pelo sol que não cessou durante todo o dia, as 12 pessoas aplaudiram quando a última muda foi plantada. Missão cumprida!  Agora, podemos dizer que plantamos as árvores que, na frase do poeta libanês Khalil Gibran, serão “os poemas que a terra escreverá para o céu”.

Fernando Ribeiro é sociólogo e coordenador de socioeconomia do programa Cerrado-Pantanal, da CI-Brasil.

Over 300 miles (483 kilometers) from our office in Brasília, Mineiros is located in the Brazilian savanna region known as the Cerrado. The Cerrado comprises 21 percent of the country and is the most extensive woodland-savanna in South America. It supports a unique array of drought- and fire- adapted plant species and a surprising numbers of bird species that occur nowhere else in the world. Large mammals such as the giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) giant armadillo (Priodontes maximus), jaguar (Panthera onca)  and maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus) also live there, but are competing with the rapid expansion of Brazil´s agribusiness frontier.

The Cerrado has been greatly impacted  by deforestation, which threatens not only the survival of local people, ecosystems and species, but also contributes to global climate change. Our project aims to reforest at least 681 hectares (1,683 acres) with trees native to the Cerrado.

Representatives from our regional partner Oréades will guide us during our visit. We plan to visit the local community engaged in the project and also help to plant the first trees.

Stay tuned for more posts from our trip!

VIDEO: Artur Paiva of CI-Brazil on reforestation efforts in Brazil’s cerrado (Portuguese)

Mirella Domenich is the communication manager of CI-Brazil. She wrote this post with Artur Paiva, who is CI-Brazil’s coordinator of environmental services.

The park is located within the “Bosque y Vegetación Protector Colambo Yacuri” southern block, which is characterized by shrubby páramo vegetation (42.6 percent), high evergreen forest (22 percent), dry scrub from Southern Andes (15.1 percent) and cloud forest (15.1 percent). It is a convergence zone of warm currents from the West as well as dry and warm humid currents from the East, which combined with the topography and geographical location make the area high in plant diversity.

The area has a high value for the presence of faunal species like the spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus), the tapir (Tapirus pinchaque) and the chonto (Northern Pudu), whose presence suggest that the areas still maintain adequate conditions for the survival of these species.

The creation of Yacuri National Park is a joint initiative of the Ecuadorian Ministry of Environment, CI-Ecuador and Fundación Arcoiris (a local partner, based in Loja). Thanks to this alliance, we have worked together to develop the technical information needed to establish this new protected area in southern Ecuador.

Emili Utreras is the Communications Specialist for Conservation International Ecuador
Read this post in Spanish

en español

En Ecuador se creó una nueva área protegida – Parque Nacional Yacuri – localizada en el sector ecuatoriano del Corredor de Conservación Abiseo-Cóndor-Kutukú. El parque ayudará a proteger las cabeceras de varias cuencas hidrográficas muy importantes que proporcionan agua a las poblaciones del suroccidente de Ecuador y noroccidente de Perú. El área protegida (43.090 ha de páramo y bosques nublados) incrementará la conectividad entre el Parque Nacional Podocarpus (Ecuador) y el Santuario Tabaconas Namballe (Perú).

El área física para la creación del parque se encuentra dentro del bloque sur del “Bosque y Vegetación Protector Colambo Yacuri”, que se caracteriza por la vegetación de páramo de arbustos (42,6%), bosque siempreverde de altura (22%), matorrales secos de los Andes del sur (15,1%) y bosque nublado (15,1%). La flora es muy variada ya que es una zona de convergencia de las corrientes cálidas del oeste, así como seca y cálido húmeda de oriente, que combinado con la topografía y la ubicación geográfica lo convierten en un área con alta diversidad.

El área tiene un alto valor por la presencia de especies de fauna como el oso de anteojos (Tremarctos ornatus), el tapir (Tapirus pinchaque), el chonto (Pudu del Norte), que sugiere que la zona todavía mantiene las condiciones adecuadas para la supervivencia de estas especies.

La creación del Parque Nacional Yacuri es una iniciativa conjunta del Ministerio del Ambiente del Ecuador, CI-Ecuador y Fundación Arcoiris (un socio local, basado en Loja). Gracias a esta alianza hemos trabajado juntos para desarrollar el expediente técnico para establecer esta nueva parea protegida en el sur del Ecuador.

That’s the message that CI’s Chairman and CEO, Peter Seligmann, delivers this week to an online network of small business owners.

CI’s Center for Environmental Leadership in Business (CELB) has launched a partnership with FedEX that will focus on efforts in China to:

• fight climate change by sequestering significant amounts of carbon through reforestation efforts,
• create local job opportunities in earthquake-affected areas in southwest China
• and secure the long-term survivability of the giant panda.

CI has been pioneering projects like this for over 20 years, and the partnership with FedEx has provided CI the opportunity to bring this message to American Express’ OPEN Forum, an online community designed to help small businesses grow.  Because uniting business and conservation priorities is good business, Seligmann was asked to contribute to the Forum on what actions small business owners can take to “go green,” including joining Team Earth.

Read Peter Seligmann’s full message.

The PossibiliTEAS quiz uses thought-provoking questions to match you with one of nine symbolic Asian characters found on boxes of Celestial Seasonings’ new green tea. Take the quiz now!

Celestial Seasonings’ support of CI is part of their larger 40-year commitment to social and environmental responsibility. CI often works with companies through our Center for Environmental Leadership in Business (CELB) on creative marketing campaigns like this, helping us spread the message of conservation to a wider audience in an educational and entertaining way.

Now, thirteen years later, Wildlife Works has expanded from selling clothes and accessories to selling something that is more vital to life on Earth, yet also harder to see: carbon. Last month, Wildlife Works Carbon’s REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) project in Kenya’s Kasigau Corridor became the first REDD project in Africa to achieve the GOLD level validation under the Climate Community and Biodiversity (CCB) Alliance’s REDD Standard.

The Kenya project and its designation is a milestone for the expansion of REDD throughout the global carbon marketplace. It serves as a model for other African communities across the continent to conserve threatened natural resources, and provides direct financial incentives, helping them combat the effects of climate change and pursue sustainable development.

A contract with South Africa’s Nedbank will allow the project participants to sell the Voluntary Emission Reductions that the Kenya project generates; this new source of income is bringing relief for many community members stricken by drought and poverty, and has already created new job and educational opportunities for local people.

CI is proud to partner with Wildlife Works, and we will continue to support their efforts to integrate conservation and development for a more sustainable future.

At that time, the only way to get to Monrovia was with the UN peacekeeping mission or on one of the Nigerian carriers, all of which overbook and work on a first-come, first-serve basis. After two days of trying to catch a flight from Cote d’Ivoire, where I had been meeting with partners, my new friends and I realized we were not going to get a flight in time. So we loaded up a truck and started on a 21 hour journey from Abidjan to Monrovia.

Two images are etched in my memory from that trip. The first was just 20 minutes after we drove across the log bridge and border posts crossing into Liberia. We drove by a UN personnel carrier stopped in the middle of the road. There was a bullet hole through the windshield right about where the driver’s eye level would have been. Welcome to Liberia!

The other image was when we got to Monrovia. Just about every building we passed was completely burned out, a dark shell of concrete. And there were kids, so many kids filling these buildings and streets with nowhere and no one to go to. I had worked in Africa for a decade, but this was the first time I really had a hard time finding the positive in a situation. No one should have to suffer through this.

Then I began to get to know our Liberian partners and staff, and learn about what they were doing. Forests had helped finance the conflict, but these people were engaged in a revolutionary plan to help Liberia gain greater control of those forests and use them for human well being. When we had crossed the border and my passport was stamped, the border guard scolded me. “What Liberia needs is for people to quit coming and taking all of our resources, leaving nothing here!” I learned how CI country director Alex Peal and his team were working closely with local leaders to help them develop their own organizations, providing them with the funding they needed to improve their communities. I saw women putting new coats of mud over the bullet holes on walls, painting welcome greetings for new shops and restaurants. Liberia was moving forward, and its people wanted partners to assist.

“I can smile, having seen how far Liberia has already come. It is easy for me to be optimistic about the future.”

Four years and five trips later, Liberia and CI are still moving forward. There are no longer UN checkpoints every 10 minutes or so; security is increasingly handled locally; programs for education, business development and women’s empowerment are moving forward. The president is convincing investors to join in on Liberia’s development.
Sanctions on timber were lifted, thanks to the adoption of the regulations and plans that CI helped author. Partners we used to fund are getting the grants that we used to apply for. The burned-out buildings have mostly been renovated and now house new businesses. The streets are no longer filled with orphaned kids, but busy people working to earn a livelihood.

The entire development community here is turning over. Now government partners of Liberia are developing programs focused on five to ten years as opposed to three to five.

Many of the new faces coming in express their reservations about how far Liberia has to go. Yet I can smile, having seen how far Liberia has already come. It is easy for me to be optimistic about the future. Certainly serious challenges remain, but Liberia has already moved further than I would have thought possible four years ago. I feel lucky to be opening a new office and revising the next steps on a path defined years ago – to conserve Liberia’s natural heritage as a fundamental principle of development. It is indeed an exciting time to be in Liberia.

Eric Coppenger is the Director of Resource Strategy in the Africa and Madagascar Field Division of Conservation International.

Too often, the work being done by CI and our partners can seem remote and far away. That’s why CI launched the “Lost There, Felt Here” campaign in 2008 – to make it clear that when ecosystems are destroyed, everybody suffers.

In addition to our work at Copenhagen, we work with WWF on marine projects like the Coral Triangle Initiative and to secure the rights of indigenous peoples in Papua New Guinea to protect their own lands. Why? Because the protection of nature is not something any one of us can achieve alone.

“Inside COP15” will deliver live and on-demand video coverage of the conference’s  small and big events until December 19th.  Consider it a live-action addition to www.conservation.org/cop15.

Even with our own staff reporting back regularly, the video blog provides a great daily immersion.  If you can’t be there, this is the next best thing. Tune in!

Here is one of todays’ clips on Inside COP15:

REDD stands for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation. The main idea behind it is that deforestation is one of the main contributors to climate change and that reducing it is one of the quickest and most cost-effective ways of lowering carbon emissions. REDD projects give financial incentives to those communities or nations that are effectively working to prevent forests form being cut.

The new set of standards aims to put the interests and rights of people in the forefront, so that efforts to reduce carbon emissions from deforestation and can also contribute to poverty reduction and sustainable development. Another innovative feature is the fact that this is the first initiative to develop REDD standards through a global public consultation process. Read “Indigenous views of climate change” >>

These standards provide governments with a way of demonstrating the benefits of their REDD programs, while at the same time trying to prevent any potential negative social and environmental impacts of REDD to indigenous peoples and communities that depend on forests for their livelihoods.

The REDD+ Social and Environmental Standards can be found at: www.climatestandards.org

Read the press release: A new global social and environmental standard for REDD+ programs
en Español: Nuevos estándares sociales y ambientales para programas REDD+

Patricia Yakabe Malentaqui is the Press Officer for Conservation International.

The CCBA is a partnership convened by CI’s Center for Environmental Leadership in Business and several leading NGOs to leverage markets to foster the development of forest protection and restoration projects around the world that deliver significant climate, local community and biodiversity benefits.