LUSAKA, Zambia-Saturday 12 September 2020 [ AETOS Wire ]
BCP is a leading African conservation social enterprise with a mission to make wildlife habitat conservation valuable to people. BCP employs over 160 people across 13 chiefdoms in Zambia, partnering to help conserve 1 million hectares of habitat in critical ecosystems.
(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Twelve communities in the Luangwa Valley are benefitting from direct
cash payments of K50 million ($2.3 million) thanks to a partnership with
forest conservation business BCP (BioCarbon Partners).
The
ground-breaking Lower Zambezi REDD+ Project (LZRP) and Luangwa Community
Forests Project (LCFP), facilitated by BCP in partnership with
communities, the Zambian Forestry Department and Department of National
Parks and Wildlife have resulted in direct monetisation of forest
resources by local people.
The
public-private-community projects set a new standard in forest
conservation that puts the nation at the forefront of global efforts to
combat climate change, while protecting forest resources and creating
livelihood opportunities for local people.
His Royal
Highness Chief Bunda Bunda said: “My community has worked hard towards
this REDD+ verification success for Zambia. We thank the government for
helping our Chiefdom to access REDD+ benefits and to BCP for the
partnership, which has increased employment, livelihoods and development
projects.”
LZRP is the
world’s first REDD+ project to pass seven Verified Carbon Standard (VCS)
audits, enabling income to be generated from credits that offset the
carbon footprints of organisations producing greenhouse gases. LZRP was
also the first REDD+ project in Africa to achieve triple-gold validation
under the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standard for exceptional
social impact.
BCP CEO Dr
Hassan Sachedina said: “We are privileged to support government and
community efforts to conserve the Luangwa-Lower Zambezi ecosystem, one
of the greatest remaining wildlife strongholds on earth.
“This has
been a tough year due to the pandemic; tourism and conservation funding
have declined, but through the extraordinary efforts of our partners
such as Forestry Department, the LCFP has channelled K50 million into
communities in 2020. We are grateful for USAID backing the LCFP’s
development. This is just the beginning of a long-term, self-sustainable
conservation model which benefits communities and wildlife”.
At 944,000
hectares, the triple-gold CCB validated LCFP is Africa’s largest project
by hectares and improves the lives of 217,000 people in 12 chiefdoms,
while LZRP covers 40,000 hectares and benefits 7,000 people in 1
chiefdom.
Ends
About BCP
BCP is a leading African conservation social enterprise with a mission to make wildlife habitat conservation valuable to people. BCP employs over 160 people across 13 chiefdoms in Zambia, partnering to help conserve 1 million hectares of habitat in critical ecosystems.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200910005409/en/
Contacts
Gina Woolley
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