First CDM Credits Issued for Reforestation in China

The "Facilitating Restoration for Guangxi Watershed Management in Pearl River Basin Project," the world's first reforestation project registered under the CDM, is now the first reforestation project in China to be awarded carbon credits.  Located in a previously deforested area of the Guangxi region, the project has successfully reforested 3,000 hectares with mostly native species.  Working with provincial and local governments and companies, farmers are learning to treat carbon sequestered in the new plantings as a "virtual cash crop" by selling credits to the World Bank's BioCarbon Fund.  Farmers also sell sustainable forestry products to local markets.  In recognition of verified carbon sequestered, the CDM last month issued 131,964 temporary Certified Emission Reductions (tCERs).