Reforestation Project in China is Safe After Earthquake

Among the many reports coming out of southwest China since the tragic earthquake there last month have been stories about the potential interruption of the supply of carbon offsets. The developed world relies heavily on Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects from China to satisfy their Kyoto obligations.

The story also affects Carbonfund.org and our donors: a small part of our project portfolio includes a reforestation project in the Yunnan Province in southwest China, in the same area hit by the earthquake. We recently checked in with our contact there, a staffer at Conservation International, and were extremely pleased to get this note in return:

In terms of the Teng Chong project, the project staff are all safe (one even had a baby during this whole thing), and the project nurseries are safe. The damage is primarily to the homes of the communities, which are slowly being repaired.

We also received an email from Peter Seligman, Conservation International's China Director, that detailed efforts of the local CI staff to help the surrounding communities rebuild.

It's tempting to think of something like the earthquake in China as tragic, but not really affecting us. However, one reason (among many) to think otherwise is the importance of these types of reforestation projects to the fight against climate change. An email like this, from half-way around the world, just reaffirms for me that we're all in this fight together.