Madre de Dios Amazon REDD Project

The 98,900 ha project covers two Forest Stewardship Council certified timber concessions 28 km from the new sealed road between Brazil and Peruvian ports

It is in the Vilcabamba-Amboró Conservation Corridor in the Peruvian Amazon, one of the world biodiversity hotspots

Without the project, 9.46 million tCO2e would be released over 10 years

The new road is generating a series of environmental and social impacts

Improved access increases the risk of new settlers entering the area to subsist by agricultural and livestock activities, as well as illegal logging and gold mining

The conclusion of a recent analysis was that obtaining revenue for the environmental services that the rainforest offers was the only way to preserve these areas

Project activities such as surveillance, community technical assistance and education are too expensive without a supplemental revenue source which comes from the project’s carbon offsets

This revenue contributes to the sustainable development of rural producers and indigenous people (at least 5 different tribes) living in the buffer area

It finances environmentally friendly productive projects and reduces the project area’s vulnerability to external factors of deforestation and degradation through in-field patrolling and satellite monitoring

The forest provides habitat to 4 endangered rainforest species and 11 endangered wildlife species including cedar, mahogany, jaguars, red howler monkeys, giant anteaters and armadillos, lowland tapir, red-and green, and scarlet macaws

In one survey, 37 mammal and 172 bird species were identified in the project area

Within the broader region over 160 mammal, 324 bird, 106 reptile and 123 amphibian species exist, plus many species of invertebrates

The project increases local employment opportunities while it conserves the habitat and livelihood of indigenous communities

It provides a buffer for those indigenous populations that have chosen to remain in voluntary isolation within the Madre de Dios Territorial Reserve

It is helping improve education and training of children and young people