Information on A/R CDM Projects
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Information on A/R CDM projects. The Forest Development Bureau under the Agency of Environment and Natural Resources considers that areas with high potential for afforestation and reforestation are the non-arid areas on the western side of Chiquitos Province, the provinces of Andres Ibañez, Sara, Ichilo and Obispo Santiestevan in the Santa Cruz Department and the whole of the Beni Department. They wish to promote A/R CDM projects in these areas. （１） A case of CETEFOR project for carbon sequestration through reforestation in Cochabamba, Bolivia The purpose of the proposed small-scale A/R CDM project activity (hereinafter the ‘proposed activity’) is to reforest a portion of the land owned by 53 farmer families covering an area of 318 ha and the implementation of 84 ha of agro forestry and silvipastoral systems on land of the same farmers. The proposed activity adds to sustainable development by introducing an integrated farming system aiming at efficient land use practices on the entire farm, considering current and future needs of the farmer family. Sustainable crop and timber production will generate income in the short, mid, and long term. The proposed activity will be executed as part of a portfolio of small-scale projects in the Cochabamba Tropics, Province of Ichilo in the department of Santa Cruz, Northern La Paz, and Western Beni, intending to reforest 6000 ha on farm land, i.e. the ‘portfolio area’. Within the areas in which activities will take place, national parks, indigenous territories and areas colonised by settlers can be distinguished. The latter areas are not limited to the areas originally allotted for this purpose but small farmer families also have invaded and are still invading the national parks and indigenous territories. The settler’s areas have been a destination for migrants coming from High Valley and Altiplano regions of Bolivia since the 1930s. This migration has intensified during the last two decades due to increased poverty, the “coca boom” and deterioration of the mining and agricultural economic base that have traditionally supported the people of the Bolivian highlands. Small holders own 95% of the land in the portfolio regions. The sizes of the properties vary, but they are on average 20 hectares per family and are usually 100 by 2,000 m in the Cochabamba Tropics, and 25 to 50 ha in the other regions. Only few farmers have land less than 20 ha. 1 Proposed portfolio area in Bolivia The settlers are organised into syndicates of 20 to 60 farmer families. Approximately 5 syndicates form a central, which belongs to a federation. The recent migrants have tried to apply traditional land-use practices from their native regions that are not adapted to the new tropical setting where soils, climate and pests are totally different. Unsustainable land-use practices and associated over-harvesting of native forests has lead to widespread deforestation, causing substantial emissions of greenhouse gases. Moreover, it has lead to a growing shortage of timber from commercial native species, causing an increase in operating costs in the timber processing industry due to longer supply lines for raw materials from native resources. This has spurred interest by small farmers in the conservation and sustainable management of the primary and secondary forests and planting trees on their farmland. In 1994 a regional sustainable development programme for the Cochabamba Tropics was setup to support these goals. In the baseline scenario, loss of biomass and degradation is expected to continue, eventually reducing food production per capita. Favourable conditions, i.e. rapid growth of native species, readily available land, low labour costs, increasing demand for forestry products, good road access, and experiences gained in establishing and managing native species for reforestation and enrichment planting, provide a good basis for initiating forestry activities in the portfolio area, with the dual aim of generating carbon credits and producing marketable timber. In the regional sustainable development programme, the sequestration of carbon and avoidance and reduction of CO2 emissions are intended to generate marketable carbon credits, both for Kyoto and voluntary markets, enhancing the possibilities for reforestation and thus creating a new source of income for the rural people, and stimulating additional investment by the private and public sectors. The programme works with finite and committed funds and the proposed activity (and subsequent ones in the portfolio) serves as an extension to this programme. 2 The area eligible for A/R CDM project activities is several thousands of hectares, scattered over a large number of farmer’s properties. Demonstration of land eligibility presents no problem since good-quality Landsat TM images are available dating back to the 1980s. The scattered nature of the deforested land and the large number of farmers involved commands the development of small-scale A/R CDM project activities rather than normal scale. The portfolio area will be gradually covered by a series of small-scale A/R CDM project activities organised in a portfolio managed by Centro Tecnico Forestal (CETEFOR). Individual farmers will reforest a portion of their farm. If fully developed, the portfolio will directly benefit at least 1500 families (participants in the portfolio). This proposed small-scale A/R CDM project activity is the first to be implemented in the portfolio area, i.e. the Ichilo province. SSC A/R CDM Project Location of Small Scale A/R CDM project activity, within part of the portfolio area. CETEFOR will provide planting material and technical assistance, and will pay part of the labour cost for plantation, complemented by the in-kind contribution of the farmers in the form of labour for plantation and for maintenance, and land. Throughout the project lifetime, CETEFOR will provide technical assistance and administrative and managerial support. The proposed activity has a 20 years crediting period. CETEFOR will generate funds by the sales of shares in a timber fund as well as the sales of carbon credits to Kyoto and voluntary markets. Revenues from timber sales are channelled to the farmer families (50%) and shareholders (50%). Revenues of CER and VER sales will be used to cover administration, management, monitoring and transaction costs during the lifetime of the proposed activity. This is regarded to be a strong point of the portfolio developed, since other reforestation efforts in the country in the past failed due to lack of mid and long-term involvement and management. Since 1995, the FAO, EU, the Flemish Government (Belgium) and the regional government have funded the reforestation of 2000 ha as part of the regional sustainable development programme. This program aims at promoting and implementing economically viable and labour-intensive land-use and forest resource 3 management practices in the Cochabamba Tropics region of Bolivia, in the form of plantation forestry, agroforestry, silvipastoral systems and sustainable management of residual primary forests. The program served as a pilot for the proposed activity and generated knowledge on how trees can fit into an integrated farming system as part of plantation forestry, agroforestry and silvipastoral systems. （２） Afforestation Program in Inquisibi Province A PIN (Project Idea Note) has been prepared to obtain approval for an A/R CDM program. The people concerned hope for the provision of funds from various organizations in the countries listed in Annex 1. They also have the prospect of receiving funds from the World Bank. In the following, this program will be outlined according to the PIN. 1) Gneral discription of the project ① Implementation Organization：REALTORA LTDA. ② Project Duration：2005～2009（32 years） ③ Project Objectives and Activities: The purpose of the afforestation and reforestation project at the Inquisivi Province of the Department of La Paz is to contribute to alleviate Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions by fixing and capturing carbon with the plantation and proper forest management of the area selected. Activities of afforestation and reforestation will take place in 3 Municipalities of the Inquisivi Province Quime, Inquisivi and Licoma Pampa, within an area of 16.000 ha, at a rate of 500 ha per annum. The three Municipalities cover an extension of 441,700 ha with altitudes that vary between 1.880 to 3.200 meters above sea level; the temperature fluctuates from 30C to 2600 and a variation of precipitation between 889 to 1.000 mm per annum. The total population of the Inquisivi Province is of 52,742 inhabitants and the target population in the project area is of 22,926. 89% of this total population is considered to be below poverty level. Agriculture is the most important economic activity: production of potatoes, oca, papalisa, corn, wheat, beans, peas and tropical fruits. The forestry industry and cattle raising of bovines, ovine, porcine and camelides are also other important economic activities of the region. Land tenancy consists of commonalty and private farming family properties established after the Agrarian Reform (1952). The project is expected to contribute in the following ways: ¾ Improve the social and economic conditions of the population in this region, ¾ The conservation of native forests, ¾ Establish a sustainable agricultural system, ¾ Soil recovery and ¾ Overall economic, sustainable development of the region. 4 The project proposes to plant 32 million trees, to develop agricultural extension work to train the peasants regarding improved and sustainable agricultural practices and to train young forestry technicians. 2）Expected environmental and socio-economic benefits ① Estimate of carbon sequestered (in metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent - tCO2e.) Up to and including 2012: 58,001 tCO2e Up to a period of 7 years: 55,314 tCO2e Up to a period of 10 years: 60,371 tCO2e Up to a period of 14 years: 105,413 tCO2e ② Environmental benefits Better rainfall system, recuperation of degraded land, increase of forest and wildlife. With the development of the project, the environmental benefits are multiple.