New forest conservation projects are being initiated in Asia as part of the global effort to help control deforestation and reduce carbon emissions. These forestation projects aim to enable carbon sequestration, enhance biodiversity conservation, improve soil and water conservation and alleviate socio-economic conditions of the local rural communities. TUV SUD provides third party validation and verification for these projects and has provided these services for several forestation projects including the first AR (Afforestation and Reforestation) project registered by the UNFCCC, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in November 2006, the Guangxi Watershed Management project in the Pearl River Basin, China. Deforestation accounts for about 25% of global carbon emissions and is second only to the energy sector as a source of emissions, a statistic that if left unmanaged, could see more heat-trapping gases in our atmosphere and the earth's increasing inability to cool itself. To address this concern, more sustainable forest conservation projects are being implemented in Asia's developing countries.

TUV SUD experts verify and validate operational processes as well as assess reference and monitoring points that are used to establish the viability of each forestry project. As part of these audits, the project design is evaluated to determine, among other things, the effects of long term unmonitored and unchecked carbon emissions within each project scope. TUV SUD was selected to validate the Guangxi Watershed Management project in the Pearl River Basin in China, the world's first forestation project registered by the United Nations Climate Change Panel. Through the planting of natural forests in the Guangxi province, estimated to harness and consume close to 770,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide over a thirty year period, the project is expected to see credible carbon sequestration that will improve the livelihoods of many local rural communities in this region. Through the successful implementation of these projects, rural communities will benefit through higher incomes generated from harvesting forest products within their plantations as well as from the sale of carbon credits. These projects also result in environmental benefits such as enhancing the biodiversity balance in the area, controlling soil erosion and stabilizing the hydrological flow in the watershed area.

"TUV SUD's competencies in afforestation and reforestation really stem from our ability to stay ahead of the latest forestation trends and developments, especially in relation to global warming and GHG, Greenhouse gases, emissions management", says Bhuvaneswaran Veerasamy, TUV SUD's CDM expert for the Asia Pacific. Coupled with our standing as the only DOE, Designated Operational Entity, accredited to validate all 15 sectoral scopes including that of afforestation and reforestation, this expertise has reinforced our reputation as a renowned global audit expert in forestation management. TUV SUD is currently working on several new forestation projects including some still in the pre-design stage and one in which it is reviewing and pre-validating a proposed large scale forestation project to be initiated in Indonesia.