| UN-REDD Phl not involved with Manobo Corridor Carbon Project |
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| Tuesday, 31 January 2012 | |
 The UN-REDD Philippines Programme recently issued a statement to clarify its non-involvement and non-support of the Manobo Corridor Carbon Project, an initiative of Carbon Central Network (CCN). REDD stands for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation.
According to UN-REDD Philippines, a CCN press release dated 16 November 2011 announced "a joint venture with indigenous land owners to work on validation, verification and issuance of REDD carbon credits under the Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS) and Climate, Community and Biodiversity (CCB) standards." The statement further claimed that the project is collaborating with and supported by three UN agencies -the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
In CCN's website, the Butuan Philippines project was initiated last year, highlighted with their sponsorship of an indigenous people's congress in October as "part of developing a Manobo showcase for REDD conservation based projects." And only recently, CCN president Erminio Kotlar and Sustainability Business Development Manager Arvin Chang met with Mayor Ferdinand Amante, Jr of Butuan City in Agusan del Norte, northern Mindanao, to discuss the city's proposed tree planting and mangrove project. This project intends to rehabilitate mangrove areas in the city and surrounding areas and CCN's interest is in the ability of mangrove trees to suck carbon out of the atmosphere, a geoengineering tool to slow down climate change. However, UN-REDD Philippines Programme, together with its donors - FAO, UNDP, UNEP, and its implementing partner, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) - clarifies that it is not in any way involved in the Manobo Corridor REDD Project. Instead, the programme currently focuses on implementing actions contributing to the country's REDD+ readiness. It has not, in any form, been involved in actual carbon trading with any organizations or communities in the Philippines. It calls on the Philippine government to review the CCN project and its impact on the wellbeing of the Manobo community. For the full press release, please go to NTFP-Code REDD. |