Abstract
The reforestation project designed for the Maringa-Lopori- Wamba region in Democratic Republic of Congo is an example of the possibile use of the Clean Development Mechanism, a flexibility mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol, for biodiversity conservation. This reforestation project was designed by applying the first and newly approved baseline and monitoring methodology for Clean Development Mechanism afforestation/reforestation project activity. The project aims to enlarge the forest habitat of bonobos (Pan paniscus), a non-human primate species sharing almost 99% of the human genome. Bonobos are endemic to the Democratic Republic of Congo and are currently under a strong risk of extinction. Implementation of the present venture as a Clean Development Mechanism project activity provides an opportunity to participate in the emission trade with emissions reduction achieved by reforestation. The proposal envisions from a reforested area of 5,000 hectares are more than 4,000,000 tons of CO2-e emissions reduction over the 30 years crediting period.