We have always been confident that the Southern Cardamom REDD+ Project has fully complied with the VCS, CCB and SD VISta standards. 

We are pleased that Verra has reconfirmed this today, and welcome Verra’s decision to lift the hold on the project following an exhaustive review lasting well over a year. 

In the course of this review, Verra re-examined eight years of the project’s work and independent audits, and found no non-conformities to their standard. This is testament to the Southern Cardamom REDD+ Project’s strength and quality. The Project, therefore, has been and remains in full compliance with the requirements of Verra’s standards. 

But despite today’s news, the Southern Cardamom REDD+ Project – and all that it has achieved – is under threat. 

After more than a year on hold and unable to issue Verified Emissions Reductions (VERs), we have been implementing the project relying upon dwindling reserves. During this time, threats to the forest persisted and thousands of local people looked to the project for funding to provide clean drinking water, increase food security, and for healthcare and education. 

Now that the hold has been lifted, we will do everything we can to meet this urgent need and deliver essential funding to the communities of the Southern Cardamoms – to continue to improve their quality of life while protecting this vital forest ecosystem.

We also take this opportunity to make clear:

The Southern Cardamom REDD+ Project is going above and beyond Verra’s standards

In the spirit of continuous improvement, we welcome the actions proposed by Verra in its review report but note that these are outside the requirements of Verra’s standards. Rather, these actions go above and beyond VCS, CCB and SD VISta to further strengthen the project’s integrity and impact. These actions, some of which are listed below, improve upon existing programs as per feedback from ongoing consultation with communities, exemplifying our adaptive management approach.  

  • We have hired a Conservation Communication Officer, a new role to enhance communication between communities and forest rangers.
  • We have organised a network of focal point volunteers for every community in the project zone to share information about the project and help us learn from families in their respective communities.
  • We are delivering additional human rights training for all 204 Cardamom Forest Protection Program staff.
  • We have engaged with community members to ensure their access to quality pro bono legal counsel. 

Going forward, we will provide the necessary financial and technical assistance to any of our partner communities that choose to seek communal land titles. We will also establish the Southern Cardamom REDD+ Community Fund so that future investment in community initiatives is directed by elected community representatives. 

The Southern Cardamom REDD+ Project has overwhelming community support

Throughout the review, we have consistently emphasized that the Southern Cardamom REDD+ Project is overwhelmingly supported by the 29 Indigenous and local communities it serves. Between June and September 2024, communities reaffirmed their support. As part of the Southern Cardamom REDD+ Project’s ongoing commitment to Free, Prior, and Informed Consent, every community in the project zone was invited to vote in a secret ballot on whether to continue their partnership with the project. Participation greatly increased, with almost three times as many community members participating compared to the previous year. 

On average, 93% of community members voted in favour of the project, with support ranging from 81% to 98% in the communities where many Indigenous Chorng reside – in O’som and Areng. 

The Southern Cardamom REDD+ Project delivers significant and verified positive impacts

Local people support the Southern Cardamom REDD+ Project because the project has significantly improved their quality of life. Thanks to the project, 43 water wells have been built, providing clean drinking water to over 27,000 people. Over 2,000 people have access to improved healthcare, and over 10,000 people have benefited from the project’s education initiatives, with USD 360,000 distributed through the Southern Cardamom REDD+ Scholarship Award Program.

In 2023 alone, the Southern Cardamom REDD+ Project invested over $2 million in community development and alternative livelihood programs, made possible by the sale of VERs generated by the project’s conservation impacts in recent years. 

The project protects over 450,000 hectares of at-risk dense evergreen forest, which has reduced global carbon emissions by more than 27 million tons to-date and helps conserve 62 globally threatened species.

These impacts have been independently and repeatedly verified by certified third-party auditors and exhaustively reviewed and accredited by Verra.