Brazil made history at the recent GCF annual meeting when the State Secretary of Environment for Amazonas (SEMA), on behalf of the State Government of Amazonas, and the Amazonas Sustainable Foundation (FAS), delivered its first-ever certificate of carbon emissions reduction to the US-headquartered hospitality company Marriott International. This is the first certificate in Brazil marking a partnership between a state government, a private institution and a non-governmental organization. The certificate verifies the reduction of 400,000 tons of dioxide-carbon (tCO2) by activities between 2006 and 2013 at the Juma Sustainable Development Reserve (RDS), located in the municipality of Novo Aripuanã. This Juma REDD+ project aims to curb deforestation and associated greenhouse gas emissions in a 2,770-square-mile area is facing significant land-use pressure in Brazil’s north western Amazon. To date, 96% of the Juma Reserve, home to over 2000 residents in 39 communities, is intact Amazon rainforest.
