|
New carbon emissions offset program for forest owners |
|
The
Northwest Natural Resource Group (NNRG) announcde the historic first
sale of carbon offsets from Northwest small forestlands through NNRGs
new NW Neutral program. The first buyer of these carbon offsets
through the program is local green building materials retailer ecohaus.
This sale is the first of its type to connect Northwest small
forestland owners who wish to sequester additional carbon in their
forest with a Northwest business looking to offset its own emissions.
Carbon
offsets could create a new market for small forest landowners that
would keep working forests working, said Commissioner of Public Lands
Peter Goldmark. In these challenging economic times, he said, we must
innovate ways we can simultaneously fight climate change and protect
forestlands from conversion.
In the Pacific Northwest, where
more than 30 percent of forests are privately owned, there has been an
increase in the loss of private forestland due to rising real estate
values, increasing competition in commodity timber markets,
increasingly complex regulation, and declining rural economies. The
loss of this land can be slowed by giving private owners of forest land
alternative revenue streams which promote continued sustainable
management.
www.nwneutral.org
www.ecohaus.com
|
