Carbon Fund

Since its launch in 2009, the Carbon Fund has achieved some early successes and learned lessons that are of critical importance to evolving national and international markets for REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation "plus" conservation, the sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks).

Early successes include the management of market-leading deals with companies such as DELL, Walt Disney and FIJI Water, which seek to reduce more than 2 million tons of CO₂ emissions to 2012. Through these financial commitments, CI and its partners are demonstrating the viability of "green" investment into low-carbon development plans and alternative livelihoods for forest dependent communities and are acting to catalyze early action by the private sector.

• In Madagascar, CI partnered with the DELL corporation to develop the Fandriana-Vondrozo Corridor Project that seeks to conserve and restore 240,000 hectares of rainforest and avoid the emission of more than 500,000 metric tons of CO₂ over the project life cycle.

• In Peru and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Carbon Fund is developing avoided deforestation projects with funding from the Walt Disney Company. These projects will conserve more than half a million hectares of threatened rainforest and prevent more than 900,000 tons of CO₂ from being released into the atmosphere. Working with local communities and regional governments, these initiatives will bring tangible benefits in the form of alternative livelihoods and social services to the communities working in and around these rich forests.

• In Fiji, the Carbon Fund is partnering with FIJI Water to develop a landmark reforestation project on degraded lands that seeks to sequester hundreds of thousands of tons of CO₂ and meet the internal emissions reductions of FIJI Water.