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

Amazon on Monday announced to invest $15 million in nature-based projects to support communities, climate resilience, and biodiversity in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. The company will invest its first $3 million from the fund's APAC allocation to support nature-based projects in India. 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.

Amazon's funding of $1 million will help CWS establish the “Wild Carbon” programme, which will support 10,000 farmers in planting and maintaining one million fruit-bearing, timber and medicinal trees. "To protect the region from the impacts of climate change and preserve biodiversity, we will need both large-scale and local action - and we're committed to investing in both," Kara Hurst, Amazon's Global VP for Sustainability, said in a statement. Amazon's direct contribution will allow CWS to partner with 2,000 family farms and plant 3,00,000 trees over three years.

CWS will also use project funds to develop state-of-the-art 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. "Amazon's support enables us to plan and build a programme that is self-sustaining in the long term. The farmers will receive upfront support to select tree types that serve both their livelihoods and the wildlife, whilst also receiving technical assistance, agroforestry training, and support for replanting failed saplings," said CWS Executive Director Dr Krithi Karanth.

Further investments in projects located in India and other APAC countries will be announced in the coming months, the company said. This funding comes from Amazon's $100 million Right Now Climate Fund, which was established in 2019 to support nature conservation and restoration projects that improve climate resilience and biodiversity while driving social and environmental benefits in the communities where they operate.

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