Global Green Carbon Announces First REDD+ Project in Cameroon

Global Green Carbon Corporation ("Global Green Carbon", "GGC" or the "Company") and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Center for Tropical Research (CTR) consortium announced today that it has received formal Letters of Approval from the Cameroon government to advance feasibility assessments for the first REDD+ (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) project in Cameroon, located in and around the Dja Biosphere Reserve (DBR).

The Cameroon Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife, MINFOF, and Ministry of Environment and Nature Protection, MINEP, have awarded official approval to the GGC-CTR consortium to conduct REDD+ feasibility assessments within the Dja Biosphere Reserve as well as the surrounding buffer zone. The Reserve is a highly threatened UNESCO world heritage site with very high biodiversity and ecological value. The ministries are currently advancing REDD+ readiness preparations at the national level as one of the leading Congo Basin countries to employ innovative conservation methods in protecting their remaining primary forests.

"On behalf of the Government, I use this opportunity in appreciation of the interest of your organization (GGC) in the development of activities related to REDD in Cameroon," stated Pierre Hele, Minister of Environment and Nature Protection. "MINEP, the administration in charge of the implementation of CCNUCC in Cameroon, is willing to work closely with your organization and the parties involved to allow for a feasibility study to reveal the opportunity cost of REDD in the Dja Forest Reserve and its buffer zone."

Ngolle Ngolle Elvis, Minister of Forestry and Wildlife, stated, "I have the honor to inform you of the approval of my ministerial department for the realization of feasibility studies by your consortium for the development of a REDD+ project in the Dja Biosphere Reserve and buffer zone, with positive results from these studies a Definitive Agreement could be signed for the development and implementation of the project."

The DBR project aims to reduce deforestation and degradation and encourage an increase in carbon stocks within the 624,000 hectares of reserve, as well as reduce deforestation/degradation and reforest areas of a 15 km buffer zone surrounding the park equating to 604,500 hectares. In total the Dja Biosphere Regional REDD+ project will conserve and/or rehabilitate 1,228,500 hectares of forest in the Congo Basin. In addition, the project incorporates a comprehensive integrated land management strategy benefiting the Baka (traditional forest dwellers) and Bantu communities living in the region, as well as a research facility twinned with an educational eco-tourism lodge.

"Global Green Carbon has been working on the Dja project concept for the past six months, and we're very pleased to receive approval to advance the project," stated Kirsten McGregor, Co-Founder and President of GGC. Ms. McGregor went on to say, "This sub-national REDD+ project aims to generate voluntary sector carbon credits to protect and conserve the Dja and its rich biodiversity, as well as generate co-benefits for the local communities. Ultimately GGC hopes to provide a sustainable model to nest within Cameroon's national REDD+ scheme."

Dr. Thomas B. Smith, Founder and Director of CTR, stated, "The CTR has been working in the Dja for the past two decades and we're very pleased to receive approval to proceed with an initial feasibility assessment. The area is highly threatened and we're excited about applying REDD+ methodology and funding to create a new paradigm in conservation."

ABOUT:
Global Green Carbon Corporation (GGC) is a world-wide project developer of carbon financed AFOLU (Agriculture, Forestry and Land Use) initiatives. Global Green Carbon's unique integrated land management strategy not only addresses one of the primary causes of global warming, but also rehabilitates degraded ecosystems, conserves bio-diversity, regenerates dwindling water resources and provides employment for marginalized communities. Pioneering projects using innovative strategies, Global Green Carbon is positioned to become a leader in the forest carbon industry. For more information, visit www.globalgreencarbon.com.

The Center for Tropical Research (CTR) was founded by Dr. Thomas B. Smith in 1997 as a research unit at San Francisco State University (SFSU). In January 2002, CTR moved from SFSU to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to become a formal organizational research unit of the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability (formerly Institute of the Environment). This move enabled CTR to expand its multidisciplinary scope and impact. Funding support from the National Science Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health, CALFED, the National Geographic Society, USAID, ECOFAC, NSERC, the Rothschild Foundation, the Turner Foundation and other sources has enabled CTR to expand its research programs to more than 15 countries on four continents. CTR's outstanding international cadre of senior scientists, postdoctoral researchers, and graduate students now numbers more than 155, with dozens of alumni from countries around the world.