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Transatlantic Yacht Race Helps Protect Brazil's Threatened Atlantic Forests |
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LONDON, ENGLAND, Oct. 29 -/E-Wire/--
An ecologically strategic piece of one of the world's most threatened habitats - the Atlantic Forest of Brazil - will be reforested and protected as part of an innovative partnership brokered by the Rainforest Alliance and organizers of the Transat Jacques Vabre.
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International conservation organization the Rainforest Alliance, was approached by Jacques Vabre - the coffee brand behind the transatlantic yacht race - to identify and create a programme that would enable the estimated greenhouse gas emissions from the event to be offset through a reforestation project in Brazil, where the race ends.
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Rainforest Alliance and Jacques Vabre have been working together for a number of years on sustainable coffee sourcing with an increasing number of products in the Jacques Vabre range now including coffee from Rainforest Alliance CertifiedTM farms*.
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Chris Wille, Chief of Sustainable Agriculture, said: "For the Rainforest Alliance, bringing together the interests of coffee farmers and local communities whilst also helping conserve one of the worlds most threatened and biodiverse forests - Brazil's Atlantic Forest - was a terrific opportunity and challenge.
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"The investment made by Transat Jacques Vabre will enable thousands of native trees to be planted as part of important conservation efforts and demonstrates the real value that carbon offsets through community forestry projects can deliver."
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In selecting the organisations and the site to offset the emissions, Transat Jacques Vabre and the Rainforest Alliance turned to Forest Trends, a US-based NGO, which, after a rigorous search, recommended a coalition of environmental groups, led by The Nature Conservancy (TNC), which is working to conserve the Caraiva River Basins in the State of Bahia, located between Monte Pascoal and Pau Brasil National Parks and about about 50 km from the popular tourist town of Porto Seguro, where Europeans first arrived in Brazil.
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The 2,700 tons of carbon dioxide* that will be produced from the Transat and Le Havre fair will be offset by thousands of native trees to be planted in deforested areas within the Caraiva River Basin, thereby helping to restore Brazil's Atlantic Forest, one of the world's most biodiverse and threatened ecosystems. Saving the Caraiva River Basin is a priority because it is home to about 7,000 people who depend on its natural resources, including the Pataxo ethnic group, and also to many endangered plant and animal species, including 14 kinds of birds and 3 types of monkeys.
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Transat Jacques Vabre is funding (via TNC and its local conservation partners) the planting of enough trees to offset the estimated race emissions. And in order to make sure that any variations in tree growth and survival rates are covered, Jacques Vabre will be buying an extra amount (+20%) than the estimated emissions for the event.
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The project will be inspected by auditors from the Rainforest Alliance, who are authorized to validate carbon offset projects according to internationally accepted standards of the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance (CCBA). Future monitoring will ensure that the trees are properly cared for over 30 years, which is how long it will take them to grow to maturity and absorb the carbon.
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Miguel Calmon of The Nature Conservancy in Brazil says, "This is our first carbon transaction in Bahia, and we hope that Transat Jacques Vabre example will be followed. This support will help us reforest a home for endangered wildlife, reduce the build up of greenhouse gas emissions and establish an innovative partnership model that involves NGOs and local communities and landowners."
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The fair for the Transat Jacques Vabre opens on Friday 26 October in Le Havre, France. The town has invested in a range of sustainability measures* to reduce the environmental impact of the festivities prior to the race commencing on 3 and 4 November. Leading yachts are expected to arrive in Brazil three weeks later.
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Editor's Notes :
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Rainforest Alliance certification is an independent, third-party, voluntary system. It works with a network of specialist non-profit sustainable agriculture organizations - the Sustainable Agriculture Network - to create rigorous, independent standards for environmental and social sustainability, including habitat and ecosystem conservation, reforestation, integrated pest management, worker protection, access to medical care, education, and community investment. Producers that meet the standards obtain Rainforest Alliance certification, and earn the right for their products to bear the Rainforest Alliance Certified seal.
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Ethicity, a sustainable development and corporate social responsibility consulting firm calculated the estimated emissions from the Transat Jacques Vabre. All potential sources of greenhouse gas emissions have been considered from the motors of the yachts that accompany the racing sailboats, to the media helicopters, race staff transportation back and forth to Brazil, the energy use at the Le Havre fair and participant's car travel to and from the fair
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Actions to reduce the emissions include: a special bicycle network spreading from the fair to part of the rest of the city, a special bus network leading to the fair, a special tent with crystal roofs to let the sunlight light the inside and warm up the air inside instead of using electricity and fuel, car-sharing by the members of the organisation, free and monitored parking for bikes at the entrance of the fair and several points to rent bikes in the city.
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Contact Info:
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Anita Neville
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Communications and Media Advisor (for Rainforest Alliance), London
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Cell : +44 (0) 7795 157 811
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E-mail : anita@themessagehub.com Website : Rainforest Alliance
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