28 August 2012: The World Bank’s BioCarbon Fund, Conservation International and the Malagasy Ministry of Environment and Forestry have launched a project designed to protect 370,032 hectares of rainforest within the Ankeniheny-Zahamena Corridor (CAZ) in Madagascar. The CAZ is a biodiversity hotspot.

The project’s goal is to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD). In reducing deforestation, freshwater will be more readily available to the local populations, and populations of lemur and native birds are expected to improve.

The project will supply Verified Emissions Reductions (VERs), or carbon credits, issued as a result of forest conservation efforts in protected areas in Madagascar. The results from the sale of carbon credits to the World Bank’s BioCarbon Fund will be used to promote biodiversity conservation efforts and to assist local populations improve their livelihood while adapting to climate change. According to the World Bank, the CAZ project provides an example of innovative sources of financing for the management of protected areas that are sensitive to the needs of sustaining the livelihoods of local communities. [World Bank Press Release]