First-Ever, REDD+ Project in the State of Acre, Brazil to Achieve Dual VCS-CCBS Validation

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BETHESDA, Md. and RIO BRANCO, Brazil, Jan. 24, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- CarbonCo, LLC, a subsidiary of the Carbonfund.org Foundation, a leading climate solutions organization, is excited to announce the Purus Project, a Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) forest conservation project, has officially become the first-ever REDD+ project in the State of Acre, Brazil to achieve dual-validation to the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) and the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standard (CCBS) with Gold Distinction. 

CarbonCo, LLC provided financing and project development services for the Purus Project, while partnering with Carbon Securities and the local landowners' organization known as Moura e Rosa Empreendimentos Imobiliarios LTDA.  Technical services were provided by TerraCarbon LLC.

The Purus Project will protect up to 34,702 hectares (85,714 acres) of privately-owned tropical rainforest within the Amazon Basin.  Furthermore, the Purus Project will simultaneously preserve endangered species and a wide range of ecosystem services, provide direct benefits to local communities, and mitigate the release of nearly 900,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions over the first 10 years of the Project.   

The Purus Project activities include undertaking a forest carbon inventory, modeling regional deforestation and land-use patterns, and mitigating deforestation by utilizing payments for the Project's ecosystem services, along with ongoing monitoring of the climate, community and biodiversity impacts of the Project.  Social projects and activities to mitigate deforestation range from agricultural extension training, to patrols of potential deforestation sites, to eventually building better houses and installing solar photovoltaic panels for local communities.

The Amazon Rainforest is the largest contiguous rainforest in the world and home to an extraordinary diversity of life.  The Amazon River, and its many tributaries, contain one-fifth of the world's freshwater while stretching nearly 4,000 miles (6,437 kilometers) from the Andes Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean port city of Macapa.  There are an estimated one to two million animal species throughout the Amazon Rainforest and species such as scarlet macaws and Amazon River dolphins have been observed within the Purus Project.  In addition, at least two endangered flora species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List – known as Car-cara (Aniba rosaeodora) and Baboonwood (Virola surinamensis) – were identified at the Purus Project.

"The Purus Project is proof that REDD+ projects can provide vital development assistance for people while protecting our planet and tackling climate change in a manner that is technically robust, internationally-accepted, and market-based," said Eric Carlson, CEO CarbonCo, LLC. "Developing countries have enormous carbon stocks that need protecting and industrialized countries have the funding and incentive to reduce emissions in the most cost-effective manner possible."

"The validation of the Purus Project to the CCBS and VCS is the realization of a dream," said Normando Sales and Wanderley Rosa, Managing Directors of Moura & Rosa, "and is proof that it is possible to keep the forest standing while being profitable and also providing numerous environmental benefits."

"The Purus Project is the first private REDD+ project developed in Acre and is fully aligned with the State's System of Incentives for Environmental Services (the SISA)," said Eufran Ferreira do Amaral, President of the State of Acre's Climate Change Institute, "the Purus Project proves that it is possible to enhance the standing forest, guaranteeing the rights of traditional occupants and include a promising resource for improving the basis for sustainable production and conservation strategies on private areas in Acre."

The Purus Project is a Code REDD approved project and the first sales commitment of the Project has been contracted by The CarbonNeutral Company, based in London, United Kingdom.

About CarbonCo LLC
CarbonCo, LLC ("CarbonCo"), the wholly-owned subsidiary of Carbonfund.org Foundation, is a limited liability company based in Bethesda, Maryland.

CarbonCo develops large-scale, carbon reduction projects by working with landowners on the documentation and programs needed to ensure large tracts of tropical forests are protected from deforestation, attain international certification, and create value for all Project Proponents.

CarbonCo is focusing on a number of project opportunities and the advisory services necessary to help these conservation projects reach certification.  To learn more, visit: www.CarbonCoLLC.com.

About Carbon Securities: 
Freitas International Group, LLC is a Florida-based limited liability company, doing business as Carbon Securities, with a main office located in Miami, Florida and associates in the Brazilian cities of Goiania, Brasilia, Rio Branco, Belem, and Sao Paulo. 

Carbon Securities, through its operations in the US and Brazil, links international and local partners to identify, develop, certify and finance high quality carbon reduction projects, especially REDD+ projects in the Amazon Basin.

About Moura & Rosa: 
The creation of Moura e Rosa Empreendimentos Imobiliarios LTDA ("Moura & Rosa") was a dream nurtured by the Landowners since 2001 and was later founded in February 2009 to promote the preservation of tropical rainforests situated within the Purus Project.

Moura & Rosa was created by private landowners Normando Rodrigues Sales and Wanderley Cesario Rosa to ensure the continuity of ongoing projects and investments targeting the preservation of the Purus Project. 

With the possibility of valuing the ecosystem services from tropical rainforest preservation on the property, the Landowners decided to invest in knowledge, searching for information, studies and site surveys, so that conservation would become a reality while also privileging local communities.

SOURCE CarbonCo, LLC