MIRPUR, Feb 27: The AJK forestry department will soon start a carbon finance project, first of its kind in the country, with the assistance of World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Pakistan, for biodiversity conservation.

The pilot phase of the project will be implemented in Bhare union council of Muzaffarabad district, in the buffer zone of Machiara National park, a project of the international significance for biodiversity conservation. The results from the pilot phase of the will be a guide and replicated on the larger scale in the county.

Disclosing this, chief conservator of forest, Raja Khizer Hayat told APP on Monday that the Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty to reduce green house gas (GHG).

The Kyoto Protocol and new European Union GHG emission rules has created a market in which companies and governments that reduce GHGs levels can sell the ensuing emissions credit, that are purchased by the business and the governments in developed countries that are close to exceeding their GHG emission quotas, he added.

He said carbon finance activities create new business opportunities. Selling carbon credits increases the feasibility of green investment schemes and help attract private investors.—APP