Amazon to invest $15 million in nature-based projects in Asia-Pacific region

Subject: Science and Technology

Section: Space technology

Context:

Amazon has announced a $15-million allocation for nature-based solutions in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.

Right Now Climate Fund:

The allocation draws from Amazon’s $100-million Right Now Climate Fund for Nature-based Solutions.
created in 2019 to support nature conservation and restoration projects that enhance climate resilience and biodiversity while driving social and environmental benefits in communities where they operate.
The fund will invest an initial $3 million into projects in India, beginning with a first project in the Western Ghats to plant 300,000 trees.
The Right Now Climate Fund’s allocation for India and APAC complements its broader sustainability and decarbonization efforts in the region.

Wildlife studies:

The first $3-million will support nature-based projects in India.
For its first project, Amazon will be working with the Centre for Wildlife Studies (CWS) to support communities and conservation efforts in the Western Ghats, a UNESCO World Heritage Site which is home to more than 30 per cent of all of India’s wildlife species, including the world’s largest population of wild Asiatic elephants and tigers.

“Wild Carbon” Program:

Establish by: Centre for Wildlife Studies (CWS)
Financing: $1 million from Amazon’s Right Now Climate Fund
The “Wild Carbon” program will support 10,000 farmers in planting and maintaining one million fruit-bearing, timber and medicinal trees.
It will enable CWS to partner with 2,000 family farms and plant 300,000 trees over three years.
The trees will help to expand land area for animals and reduce human-wildlife conflict through the creation of natural buffer zones, while also bringing in higher-value trees for the farmers compared to other subsistence crops.
Monitoring systems:
- CWS will develop monitoring systems using drone and remote sensing technology and on-the-ground surveys to verify program outcomes, advancing research on the potential positive impact of farmers on reforestation opportunities.

The Climate Pledge:

In 2019, Amazon co-founded The Climate Pledge, committing to reach net-zero carbon by 2040 – 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement.
The Pledge now has more than 400 signatories across 55 industries and 38 countries, which work together on initiatives that preserve the natural world and enable decarbonizing technologies.
Nine Indian companies have joined the Pledge: BluPine Energy, CSM Technologies India, Godi, Greenko, HCL, Infosys, Mahindra Logistics, Tech Mahindra, and UPL.
Signatories agree to:
- Regular reporting
- Carbon elimination
- Credible offsets

About CWS:

The Centre for Wildlife Studies is an internationally recognized centre-of-excellence in the arenas of wildlife research, in situ conservation, policy and education.
Founded in 1984.
Aim: To save India’s wildlife and wildlands through science, conservation, policy and education.
Vision:
- To mitigate anthropogenic impacts on wildlife and wild places by implementing programs to empower communities near protected areas through conflict mitigation, agriculture, education, healthcare, finance and job skills training, and alternative livelihood options.
- To partner with and assist the Government and civil society institutions in improving the scientific management of wildlife and habitats.
- To build individual and institutional capacity in wildlife research and conservation through education and training.
- To engage the public to care for wildlife and wild places through citizen science, storytelling, media and social-media platforms.