United Nations Approves Methodology of Ricoh Reforestation Project
- A first for a Japanese company -
February 20, 2007 - Ricoh Company, Ltd. (CEO: Masamitsu Sakurai) announced that the CDM*1 (Clean Development Mechanism) reforestation project methodology*2 which Ricoh has been carrying out in Ecuador since 2003 was approved on February 16 at the meeting of the CDM Executive Board, belonging to the United Nations(UN), held in Bonn, Germany.
This is the first time that the UN has approved the methodology of reforestation project financed by the investments of a single Japanese company. Furthermore, there are no previous examples of a reforestation project with an approved methodology focusing on a primary objective of conserving biodiversity.
In contrast to projects aimed at directly reducing CO2 emissions, forestation and reforestation projects utilize complex methods for calculating the volume of greenhouse gas (e.g. CO2) removal by sink so such methodologies have been approved in only seven cases so far. However, forestation and reforestation produce real benefits in reducing CO2 in the atmosphere so it is desirable that such activities will be expanded in the future.
Ricoh and Conservation International (CI), an NGO with a global presence, are working together to advance this project. The organization actually implementing the project at the local level is an Ecuador NGO, but it is difficult for a small NGO to act alone to have the UN registration and obtain certification. Therefore it is the backup of an international NGO and partnership with a company (Ricoh) that has enabled this project to become a practical reality.
The Choco-Manabi corridor where this project is carried out is a place which cries out for conservation as it is an area of high biodiversity even considered from a global perspective, that has been devastated by long years of development. At Ricoh, we are working on this project because we believe that it is our social responsibility as a company to conserve biodiversity.
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CDM (Clean Development Mechanism): One type of measure (Kyoto Mechanisms) used for the prevention of global warming. In a case where one country provides support to a project in another country and that projects results in a CO2 emission reduction, the reduction credit can be used as a substitute for greenhouse gas reduction in the home country. |
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Methodology: Methods to be used for greenhouse gas reduction quantification and monitoring in CDM operations. The methodology must be approved by the CDM Executive Board. |
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