Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) signed a "Myanmar mangrove afforestation CDM business contract with WIF (Worldview International Foundation), an international environmental organization, and Eco-I, a CDM business development and consulting firm, in Yangon, Myanmar on May 31.
It is a CDM project in which KEPCO and Eco-I jointly invest and WIF, an NGO, creates mangrove forests in the 50-ha coastal area of Myanmar to reduce greenhouse gases, enabling the company to secure a combined 170,000 tons of emissions rights over the next 20 years.
Through the mangrove afforestation project, Myanmar's people can be protected from natural disasters such as typhoons and tsunamis through forests created along the coast.
In addition, the KEPCO will contribute to revitalizing the local economy by directly employing local residents in the collection of mangrove seeds, seedlings, and plant materials for this project, and return some of the emissions right earnings from the project to the local community.
Meanwhile, KEPCO held a meeting with the Myanmar Forestry Service to carry out the mangrove afforestation project on May 30, the day before the contract was signed.
KEPCO has agreed to participate in the 2nd 2,000 hectares and 3rd 35,000 hectares projects and sign an agreement in the future stating that the carbon emission rights obtained through the project will be owned by KEPCO.
KEPCO plans to complete its business registration with the U.N. within this year and obtain carbon emission rights from the U.N. by early 2020.
This will be the first CDM project conducted by a domestic company in the field of afforestation, a KEPCO official said.
