This impact story was originally posted by Emergent here.
- Proposals from Bolivia and the Colombian Department of Chocó have the potential to increase forest protection across 16 million hectares of tropical forest
- Bolivia’s Charagua Indigenous Territory becomes the first autonomous Indigenous territory to collaborate with a national government on A LEAF proposal
- New window opens for Forest Governments to submit proposals to the LEAF Coalition
25th April – New York: Bolivia and the Colombian department of Chocó have become the latest Forest Governments (national and subnational) to have initial proposals approved to supply high integrity jurisdictional REDD+ credits to the LEAF Coalition, the public-private initiative, which aims to halt and reverse tropical deforestation. This paves the way for discussions on a binding purchase agreement.
The news comes as LEAF also announces the opening of a new window for forest governments to submit proposals to supply high integrity forest carbon credits to the LEAF Coalition. The window will be open from May 1st 2023 to May 1st 2024.
The Bolivian proposal covers an area of 12.5 million hectares of forest across the departments of Pando and the Indigenous Territory of Charagua, which is home to the Guarani autonomous Indigenous and aboriginal farming community of Charagua Iyambae. The Territory became the first legally recognized, self-governing Indigenous territory in Bolivia in 2017. Now, it becomes the first Indigenous territory to collaborate with its national government to submit a proposal to the LEAF Coalition to supply high-integrity emissions reductions credits.
The Colombian Department of Chocó’s subnational proposal to supply emissions reductions credits to the LEAF Coalition has also been approved. The Department of Chocó in Colombia’s northeastern region of the Pacific coast is one of the most biodiverse regions of the planet. The proposal, which covers 3.5 million hectares of forest has been communicated to the Colombian national government, whose support will be required.
Bolivia and the Colombian Department of Chocó join 22 other forest governments with eligible proposals to supply emissions reductions credits to the LEAF Coalition. The proposals were submitted in 2022 and have undergone a rigorous technical assessment by an independent panel. Both governments can now commence discussions with Emergent, the coordinator of the LEAF Coalition, towards the signing of binding emissions reduction purchase agreements (ERPAs). The quantity of emissions reductions laid out in the proposals are estimates supplied by the Forest Governments, however, the final number of credits issued will be dependent on the monitored reductions and removals that are verified under the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART).
Forest Governments wishing to submit proposals can do so via the LEAF Coalition website (leafcoalition.org) or by contacting Emergent directly. More details on the Call for Proposal 2 Terms and the Proposal Template are available at www.leafcoalition.org
Eron Bloomgarden, Executive Director and Founder of Emergent, the coordinator of LEAF said: “We are delighted that the proposal from the Colombian department of Chocó and Bolivia have passed our initial eligibility assessment. It is really encouraging to receive a collaborative proposal from the Charagua Indigenous Territory and the national government of Bolivia, along with LEAF’s first Colombian proposal to date. We know how vital protecting these forests is to people, nature, and climate. We are excited to work in partnership with the governments from the Colombian department of Chocó and Bolivia to support them in their plans to reduce deforestation.”
The Indigenous community of Charagua Iyambae have worked in partnership with the Bolivian national government to submit a proposal to the LEAF Coalition, with Ronal Andrés Caraica, Tëtarembiokuai Reta Imborika (TRI) of the Charagua Iyambae Guaraní Autonomous Government saying:
“We firmly believe that being part of this project is an opportunity for our Guarani people to be recognized for the efforts they have historically made to protect the environment and mother earth. The Guarani people have always lived in harmony with nature, in the search for Yaiko Kavi Päve (good living), in the framework of the Nade Reko, which has been translated into an important contribution to the mitigation of climate change.”
Governor of Pando, Dr. Regis Richter Alencar said, “Our department is unique. Extending to the horizon where it floods our sense of a green landscape, extensive, majestic and increasingly important for the continuity of humanity. Guardian trees in millions in numbers, produce water and ensure our economic and social future, in addition to sheltering countless species in the world. Our department currently contains 6.1 million hectares of forest, and it is our duty to ensure its persistence. This is only possible if we grant the populations that live there, in unity with the soil and the trees, the emergence of a development model that allows the synergy between human society and the forest.
It is for this reason that we are pleased to announce that the Department of Pando, as a result of a joint effort with the National Government, will be part of the LEAF initiative, an international cooperation initiative that will seek to provide funding to support the conservation of our forests and biodiversity, as well as to combat poverty, giving continuity to the forest culture that still resides here and is a valuable cultural legacy of the department of Pando.”
Director General of Codechocó, Arnold A. Rincón López said, “From the ethnic heart of Colombia, we thank the LEAF Coalition for supporting this initiative that seeks to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in our region. This is a global commitment that unites us in the implementation of strategies of common benefit to protect the natural heritage of our region, which is the basis of the livelihood of our communities throughout the sub-regions.” 3
The LEAF Coalition only buys forest carbon credits that meet the rigorous Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) REDD+ environmental excellence standard (TREES) Standard, typically known as ART TREES. The TREES standard ensures the highest level of environmental integrity and socials safeguards, in line with the Cancún Safeguards, the only internationally recognized set of safeguards developed with sustained IPLC consultation. Each TREES credit represents a reduction or removal of one tonne of CO2 equivalent from the atmosphere as a result of activities to reduce deforestation and increase forest cover.
The LEAF Coalition
The LEAF Coalition aims to build a market for high integrity REDD+ emissions reduction credits from large scale schemes operated by Forest Governments (national or sub national), known as the jurisdictional approach. LEAF ensures the highest environmental and social integrity of REDD+ results by only purchasing credits issued by ART as verified to meet requirements of its TREES Standard for jurisdictional REDD+ emissions reductions and removals. This builds buyer confidence and trust by ensuring the highest levels of environmental integrity and social safeguards, particularly for Indigenous peoples and local communities. Launched during President Biden’s Leaders’ Summit on Climate in April 2021, LEAF is a public- private initiative designed to accelerate climate action by providing results-based finance to countries committed to protecting their tropical forests. The LEAF Coalition has already mobilized financial support from participants including governments of the United States, United Kingdom, Norway and the Republic of Korea, together with over 25 global companies.
Emergent
Emergent is a U.S. non-profit that serves as an intermediary engaging between tropical forest countries and the private sector to mobilize finance to support emissions reductions in deforestation. It does this by developing and bringing practical, credible, and largescale forest protection solutions to market. Emergent serves as the coordinator of the LEAF Coalition.
ART TREES
ART is a standalone, independent program that develops and administers standardized procedures for crediting emission reductions and removals from national and large sub-national REDD+ programs. ART’s standard for the measurement, monitoring, reporting and verification of emission reductions and removals from the forest sector — The REDD+ Environmental Excellence Standard, known as TREES — represents the next step in the evolution of global efforts to protect and restore tropical forests. TREES supports transformational climate action at scale, while upholding rigorous social and environmental integrity.
REDD+
REDD+ is a framework created by the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP) to guide 4 activities in the forest sector that reduces emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, as well as the sustainable management of forests and the conservation and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries. It aims at the implementation of activities by national governments to reduce human pressure on forests that result in greenhouse gas emissions at the national level, but as an interim measure also recognizes subnational implementation. The implementation of REDD+ activities is voluntary and depends on the national circumstances, capacities and capabilities of each developing country and the level of support received.