February 6, 2004 -
Ricoh Corporation And World Wildlife Fund Sign Agreement To Advance Forest Conservation In Mexico
Ricoh Corporation And World Wildlife Fund Sign Agreement To Advance Forest Conservation In Mexico
West Caldwell, NJ, February 6, 2004 - Ricoh Corporation, the leading provider of digital office equipment, today announced its agreement with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to advance forest conservation in Mexico's Sierra Tarahumara.
Under the partnership, Ricoh Corporation has committed to support WWF's Mexican Sierra Tarahumara Forest Ecosystem Conservation Project. The overall goal of WWF's project, supported by Ricoh, will be to improve the ecological integrity of the forested ecosystems of the Sierra Tarahumara and the forest-based livelihoods of local people through expanding and augmenting community forest management. To do that, WWF is working with selected communities in the Sierra to protect sacred sites, develop their capacity to administer and manage their forest resources sustainability, and improve forest conditions to ensure continued water production.
"Ricoh prides itself on leading the office automation industry in creating environmentally friendly products and processes, and in promoting partnerships among government, industry, and environmental groups," said Sam Ichioka, vice chairman, Ricoh Corporation. "We're especially proud to support this important WWF project and look forward to sharing in its achievements in the coming months and years."
The Sierra Tarahumara, a mountainous area of pine-oak forests located in the Sierra Madre Occidental in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico, is the birthplace of the most ecologically and culturally important rivers in northern Mexico. One of the main economic activities of the Sierra is timber production, but the forests have not been managed well and local people haven't benefited. WWF, with support from Ricoh, is working to address these issues.
Over the past decade WWF has championed "ecoregional conservation" as a way of prioritizing global conservation. Ecoregional conservation first identifies the most biologically rich and most threatened areas of the globe, called the Global 200, and then develops a biodiversity vision and action plan for the ecoregions of highest priority. The Sierra Tarahumara is in one of these priority areas. It is part of the Sierra Madre Occidental Pine-Oak Forests Global 200 and also has major influence on the Chihuahuan Desert and Freshwater Global 200 ecoregions.
In addition to its philanthropic efforts, Ricoh Corporation sets ambitious environmental goals for itself, including ISO 14001 certification, and engages in a wide range of environmental activities designed to achieve them. In May 2003, Ricoh Corporation was awarded the 19th annual World Environmental Center (WEC) Gold Medal for its International Achievement in Sustainable Development. Ricoh Corporation has also contributed toward the establishment and spread of the Energy Star program in America as part of its leadership campaign to combat global warming. In recognition of its efforts, Ricoh Corporation won the Energy Star award for 5 straight years, from 1996 to 2000.
About World Wildlife Fund
Known worldwide by its panda logo, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is dedicated to protecting the world's wildlife and wildlands. The largest privately supported international conservation organization in the world, WWF has more than 1 million members in the U.S. alone. Since its inception in 1961, WWF has invested in over 13,100 projects in 157 countries.
WWF directs its conservation efforts toward three global goals: protecting endangered spaces, saving endangered species and addressing global threats. From working to save the giant panda, tiger, and rhino to helping establish and manage parks and reserves worldwide, WWF has been a conservation leader for 40 years.
About Ricoh Corporation
Ricoh Corporation, headquartered in West Caldwell, N.J., is a subsidiary of Ricoh Company Ltd., the 68-year-old leading supplier of office automation equipment and electronics, with fiscal year 2002 sales in excess of $14.7 billion.
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