1 August 2008: The Secretariat of the Convention on
Biological Diversity (CBD) has announced, in a notification, that the state
government of Parana in Brazil has delivered on its commitment to offset all
carbon emissions arising out of the CBD Secretariat’s operations between the
ninth and the tenth Conference of the Parties (COP), including the travel of
funded party representatives to attend official CBD meetings, estimated at
around 10,200 tons of carbon equivalent.

The commitment was made at the CBD COP 9 in Bonn, Germany,
in a memorandum of cooperation signed on 27 May 2008. Since the signing, the
agents of the State of Parana’s Environment Office have supervised the planting
of 57 000 tree saplings and have already surpassed the proposed tree planting goals.
The initiative is part of a larger project called Riparian Reforestation
Programme, led by the Parana state government, which has already planted over
80 million seedlings of endemic and locally occurring trees. The reforestation programme supports the
restoration of ecosystems associated with the original Atlantic Rain Forest,
protects river borders from erosion, and creates a buffer zone for the
protected areas around Foz de Iguacu National Park. CBD Executive Secretary,
Ahmed Djoghlaf, underlined the leadership by Brazil and Governor Requião
towards the implementation of the three objectives of the Convention, and noted
its contribution to the UN carbon-neutral initiative. The CBD’s efforts to
reduce its carbon footprint are part of a wider strategy to green its
operations, which was presented at COP 9 and includes raising awareness with
staff and partners, and reducing waste in all meetings. [CBD Notification, 1 August 2008]