Natural rubber to join carbon credit system

Singapore -- Malaysia and other NR-producing nations are working hard

to ensure that NR will become part of the carbon credit trading system

under the Kyoto protocol.  Dato' Dr Kamarul Baharain bin Basir, head of

the Malaysian Rubber Board told ERJ that Malaysia intends to have NR

accredited as part of the CDM (Clean Development Mechanism) system

being agreed at the 15th Conference of Parties (CoP 15)  to be held in

Copenhagen during December 2009.

Prof. Dr. Djoko Said

Damardjati, secretary-General of the ANRPC (Association of Natural

Rubber Producing Countries) wrote to members last November to urge them

to consider forming a global consortium of organizations dealing with

plantation crops and forestry activities and approach the UNFCCC

(United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) and try to earn

tradable credits for the ecosystem services provided by

plantation/forestry activities. 

Dato' Kamarul confirmed to ERJ that the Malysian Rubber Board is serious about getting accreditation at the December meeting.

He

said it is not clear yet how the system will work, but it is likely

that, quite independently of the price of NR, plantation owners and

smallholders could earn credits for the carbon sequestration activities

of their trees. These credits could then be sold in a specialised

market for cash, paid by carbon producers, mainly in the developed

world.

The move follows successful accredition by the palm oil industry.

Dr Chan Kook Weng of the Malaysian Palm Oil Board said NR plantations sequester about 142 tonnes of CO₂

per hectare per year. This compares with 121 for tropical forests and

51 for temperate forests. Multiply this by the 9 million hectares under

rubber globally, and NR plantations contribute positively to the total

global CO₂ balance at a substantial rate.