Vancouver, BC, July 14, 2010 - ERA Carbon
Offsets Ltd., through its 100% owned subsidiary ERA Ecosystem
Restoration Associates Inc. (ERA), has announced that their
Community Ecosystem Restoration Program (CERP) has received final
validation to the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance's
(CCBA) Gold Level Project Design Standard as of June 24th,
2010.
The CCBA Project Design Standards evaluate land-based carbon
mitigation projects in the early stages of development. The CCBA
Standards were created to foster the integration of best-practice
and multiple-benefit approaches into project design and
evolution.
The Standards identify projects that simultaneously address
climate change, support local communities, and conserve
biodiversity, while promoting excellence and innovation in project
design.
In order to meet CCBA's "Gold Level Project Standard" a project
must meet or surpass the following criteria:
The Gold Level Climate Change
Adaptation Benefits criterion identifies projects that will provide
significant support to assist communities in adapting to the
impacts of climate change. Communities and biodiversity in some
areas of the world will be more vulnerable to the negative impacts
of climate change.
Land-based carbon projects have the
potential to help local communities and biodiversity adapt to
climate change by: diversifying revenues and livelihood strategies;
maintaining valuable ecosystem services such as hydrological
regulation, pollination, pest control and soil fertility; and
increasing habitat connectivity across a range of habitat and
climate types.
Dr. Robert Falls, ERA's Chief Executive Officer, commented: "In
being the first in Canada to have attained the rigorous Gold Level
Standard, ERA has again demonstrated its pioneering spirit and its
capacity for developing high quality projects and carbon offset
products for growing international carbon markets."
The third party validation was completed by KPMG Forest
Certification Services Inc. The CERP project is the first project
in Canada to be double validated to both the ISO-14064-2 standard
and the CCBA Gold Standard.
CERP is a large scale urban ecosystem restoration program that
began in the District of Maple Ridge in 2005, and now includes
projects in the District of Mission, the City and Township of
Langley, and Metro Vancouver.
To date, CERP has generated over 700,000 tonnes of Verified
Emission Reductions (VERs) for the international carbon markets.
The VERs generated from CERP are serialized and registered on the
international Markit Environmental Registry.
About CCBA - The Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance
(CCBA) is a partnership between leading companies,
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and research institutions
seeking to promote integrated solutions to land management around
the world.
About KPMG Forest Certification Services
Inc. - KPMG Forest Certification Services Inc.
(KPMG FCSI) is a wholly owned subsidiary of KPMG LLP, the Canadian
member firm of KPMG International. KPMG FCSI is accredited to
conduct forest management and chain of custody certification audits
worldwide by the Forest Stewardship Council.
About ERA Carbon Offsets Ltd. - ERA is a
Canadian pioneer in forest restoration and conservation carbon
offset projects. The company's Community Ecosystem Restoration
Program located in the Lower Fraser Valley, British Columbia, began
in 2005 in the District of Maple Ridge, and has grown to include
five communities including Metro Vancouver.