Rio Bravo Climate Action Project

The Nature Conservancy's Rio Bravo climate action project involves the conservation and sustainable management of more than 153,000 acres of tropical forest in northwest Belize. It is estimated that the project will reduce, avoid or mitigate up to 8.8 million tons of carbon dioxide over 40 years by preventing deforestation and ensuring sustainable forest management. The project is one of the first fully funded forest-sector projects implemented under the U.S. Initiative on Joint Implementation. Programme for Belize, TNC's partner organization in Belize, manages the project and private reserve. A number of energy producers provided $5.6 million in funding for the first 10 years of the 40-year project. Investors include Cinergy, Detroit Edison, Nexen, PacifiCorp, Suncor, Utilitree Carbon Company and Wisconsin Electric Power Company.