Bikin Tiger Carbon Project receives JI and CCB certification

One of the projects of the International Climate Initiative supporting forest protection in Russia has been recognised for successfully combining climate change mitigation and the safeguarding of biological diversity.

The conservation and sustainable use of forests plays an important role for climate change mitigation as well as the safeguarding of biological diversity. One of the projects of the International Climate Initiative (ICI) has now been recognised for successfully combining these two components.

The Bikin Tiger Carbon Project, which is being implemented by KfW together with WWF, focuses on the last remaining old-growth forest in the Russian Far East. It protects over 460,000 hectares of primary forest from commercial or illegal logging, leading to 156,000 tons of carbon being saved on average each year from 2009 to 2012. In addition, the Bikin River Valley is home to a unique ecosystem that contains at least 12 endemic and 8 endangered animals, including the Amur tiger, which is facing extinction.

The project has now been registered as the world’s first forest management project under the joint implementation (JI) mechanism, and has also received the Gold Standard, the highest rating possible from the Climate Community and Biodiversity (CCB) Standard. JI is a mechanism defined in the Kyoto Protocol, which allows emissions reduction certificates to be transferred from one state to another. The CCB Standard recognises projects that protect the climate and conserve biodiversity while also supporting local communities. In the long term, the sale of emissions certificates generated by the project should ensure the forest’s protection and also support development activities for the local communities.