APRIL SALUMEI RAINFOREST CONSERVATION PROJECT — Papua New Guinea
Stand For Trees Project Impacts
The April Salumei Rainforest Conservation project area is home to 164 forest-dependent communities. These communities have strong cultural ties to the forest, and a common desire to protect their environment whilst developing basic local necessities like clean water, solar power and the establishment of sustainable productive activities. Supporting this project helps the communities to achieve these goals while protecting virgin tropical rainforests from commercial threats.
Key Facts:
• Protects tropical forest from commercial logging and potential conversion to Oil Palm
• Protects important natural habitat
• Provides social services such as clean water and solar power to local communities
• Is the pilot REDD Project for Papua New Guinea
PROJECT IMPACTS
Ecosystem
Papua New Guineas contains over 8% of the world’s biodiversity on less than 1% of the world’s land mass. PNG features one of the most significant areas of tropical forest on the planet and is considered one of the ten most important biodiversity hotspots on earth. The project protects a unique ecosystem, home to many endangered species.
Endangered Species
The project area is home to a huge number of plants and animals, including 387 bird species like the Palm Cockatoo, Bird of Paradise, and Southern Crowned Pigeon. The project contains remnant strands of Kauri Pine (Agathis labillardieri).
Economic Development
The project works to provide jobs as Community Forestry Stewards. These stewards receive training to monitor and protect the forests and the biodiversity contained within them. Training programs such as project management, planning, budgeting and reporting provide additional skills to community members. Proceeds from Stand for Trees certificates create alternative livelihoods for people in the region which removes the need to rely on deforestation.
Community Development
The communities within the April Salumei Rainforest Conservation Project are integral to the development and management of the project. Key project goals include:
• Improved health standards within the area;
• Improved education opportunities;
• Development of communications within the project area;
• Creation of sustainable activities to create employment within the project zone;
Three priority projects include providing boats to improve mobility and accessibility to services and markets, building basic solar power systems to each village, powered mosquito coils and recharging facility, provision of clean water to each village.
Water
There is currently a single source of reliable clean water in the project area. A key objective of the project is to provide reliable and clean drinking water to every village. This will decrease incidences of water borne disease and improve living standards.
Emission Reductions & Certifications
The project will conserve 603,579 ha of virgin tropical rainforest that was identified for commercial logging. There is also increasing pressure to convert large areas to palm oil. The project will avoid 23 million tonnes of CO2e over 38 years in its first stage. The project was validated and verified to the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) in October 2013. In addition, the project has achieved Climate, Community, and Biodiversity Alliance (CCBA) validation in June 2011 and been achieved the gold level for exceptional biodiversity benefits.
